Of all the places for Palme d’Or winning director Jacques Audiard (Rust & Bone, A Prophet, Dheepan) to go, the dark comedy western The Sisters Brothers is the least likely. Audiard makes his English-language debut with the film that boasts a terrific cast led by John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Riz Ahmed, and I’m expecting it will be very popular on the fall festival circuit.
That goes double now that the trailer is out and it looks like a strange synthesis of Audiard’s gifts as a dramatic filmmaker with the comedic skills of his cast. Based on the novel by Patrick deWitt, the story follows siblings Eli and Charlie Sisters (Reilly and Phoenix) who have been hired to hunt down a thieving prospector in 1850s Oregon.
The western genre has become fertile ground for comedy movies and they have found a home in the indie scene. Slow West and Damsel are two recent examples and both were notable presences at film festivals, so don’t be surprised if Annapurna Pictures gives The Sisters Brothers a similar run before it hits theaters this fall.
