The Sisters Brothers
“The Sisters Brothers,” a well-acted Western about two siblings who make a living as hired assassins during the Gold Rush, has all the makings of a wild adventure, but it’s not really an action film. Instead, “Brothers” is a character study hiding in cowboys’ clothing — and even if its pacing could use a little more giddy-up, it delivers an inspired ending that makes the brothers’ longish journey worthwhile.
Sensitive assassin Eli Sisters ( John C. Reilly, the heart of the movie) and his less than refined brother, Charlie Sisters (Joaquin Phoenix, very good), work for an outlaw businessman named Commodore (Rutger Hauer, in a wordless role). Commodore has enlisted the Sisters duo to track down idealistic chemist Hermann Warm (Riz Ahmed, convincingly soulful), torture the chemist into revealing his secret gold-hunting process, and then do to him what assassins do.
Meanwhile, a morally conflicted detective with a distracting accent, John Morris ( Jake Gyllenhaal, steady as always), is also on the trail of Warm, hoping to detain the chemist so that the Sisters can make quick work of him.
Along the way, there are shootouts and shifting alliances, but these are rather perfunctory events in the grand scheme of this movie. Much of director Jacques Audiard’s focus is on the cantankerous yet tight-knit relationship between Eli and Charlie, and Audiard has the actors to pull it off.
It’s obvious that Reilly and Phoenix are having a ball acting together, and their scenes together are a delight, though Audiard goes to that well a little too often at the expense of dramatic tension. We realize that some kind of showdown with Commodore looms on the horizon, but that notion instills more indifference than dread.
To enjoy this film is to enjoy the smaller, often lighter moments: the brothers squabbling over everything, including Eli’s horse issues and Charlie’s boozy debacles; Eli using this strange thing called a toothbrush; or the brothers riding up to the coastline to take in a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean.
When Eli and Charlie are traveling from point to point, they could easily be mistaken for the Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight, but once they have guns in their hands, they mow down opponents with the flick of a finger. And certainly when the Sisters brothers pay a visit to town, there is bound to be a body count.
What makes “The Sisters Brothers” distinctive is that Audiard isn’t interested in making sure that vengeance is meted out to his antiheroes. Their ultimate mission becomes one that can be seen through the lens of their souls, not through the barrels of their guns. Audiard makes this viewpoint abundantly clear in the wonderful finale, which involves Carol Kane in one of the best cameos of the year.
It’s not certain what a Western purist would think of this revisionist approach, but we still can’t help but revel in it.