In 1850’s Oregon the Sisters Brothers, Eli (John C. Riley) and Charlie (Joaquin Phoenix) have been sent to track down Hermann Kermit Warm (Riz Ahmed) by their boss The Commodore (Rutger Hauer). Ahead of them is John Morris (Jake Gyllenhaal), another employee of the Commodore whose task it is to slow Warm down.

John C. Reilly bought the option to turn Patrick DeWitt’s 2011 novel into a film and acts as a producer as well as taking on one of the lead roles here. It’s a good fit for Reilly as he often switches between comedic and dramatic roles and he gets to use both skills in this unique western. Jacques Audiard, in his first English language film co-wrote the screenplay with Thomas Bidegain and I have to say the result is very different. The camera work and shoot outs are filmed in a typically non western method as well, constantly roving and disorienting in the fire fights.

I can safely say that at no point in the watching of this film was I able to predict where the plot would turn next. It starts out by switching between the travails of the Brothers and the burgeoning friendship of John and Hermann before bringing them all together for the second half of the film. All of the characters have hidden depths that slowly reveal themselves over the course of the film. Whilst Eli may seem the gentler soul he is capable of killing three men single handed in the street. Charlie appears to be an impulsive drunk, but has his own demons that explain his behaviours. Hermann dreams of creating a utopian civilisation and John has found himself a criminal whilst trying to escape his father.

As they travel further west and find themselves in San Francisco they seem more and more out of place in “civilisation” and start to consider whether they want to be assassins all of their lives. Both brothers have a suitably different career aspiration.

Compelling, interesting and really well acted by the four leads. But also quite disorienting.