---
title: "The Sisters Brothers"
year: 2018
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-sisters-brothers"
fi1m_id: "the-sisters-brothers"
imdb_id: "tt4971344"
tmdb_id: 440161
fi1m_score: 78
critics_score: 72
critics_reviews: 27
published: "2026-09-24T22:19:47.126726+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-24T22:19:47.547652+00:00"
region: "SE"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The Sisters Brothers (2018)

Directed by Jacques Audiard · 2h 01m · Statens medieråd 15 · Western, Drama, Comedy

## Identity

The Sisters Brothers

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-sisters-brothers
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** the-sisters-brothers
- **IMDb ID:** tt4971344
- **TMDB ID:** 440161
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4971344/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/440161

**Fi1m score: 78** · Critics 72 from 27 reviews

*In a sentence:* Two hired guns ride south to kill a chemist and one of them discovers the toothbrush on the way

> Jacques Audiard’s western is a kind, odd, frequently funny thing about two killers who would rather be doing something else, and it is worth your evening. It dawdles in the middle, and the strand following Gyllenhaal and Ahmed is thinner than the one it keeps interrupting.

## Synopsis

Oregon, 1851. Eli Sisters (John C. Reilly) and his brother Charlie (Joaquin Phoenix) kill people for money on behalf of a man known as the Commodore (Rutger Hauer), and the film opens with them at work: a night raid on a farmhouse, lit only by gunfire, that ends with a barn burning. Their next job is a chemist, Hermann Kermit Warm (Riz Ahmed), who is heading south towards the California goldfields and is said to have taken something from the Commodore. Ahead of them rides John Morris (Jake Gyllenhaal), a scout paid to find Warm and hold him until the brothers arrive. Charlie drinks and wants to be the lead man. Eli wants a quieter life, carries a schoolteacher’s shawl in his coat, and buys himself a toothbrush.

## Review

Jacques Audiard, whose films have mostly been about hard men in small rooms, has gone to the American West and found it full of hard men who would rather be somewhere else. *The Sisters Brothers*, written with Thomas Bidegain from Patrick DeWitt’s novel, follows two hired killers south from Oregon on a job neither of them much wants. It is a kind, odd, frequently funny film, and it is worth your evening. It also dawdles, and for a stretch in the middle it seems as unsure of where it is going as its heroes are.

The brothers carry it. John C. Reilly, who also produced, plays Eli as a big, careful man who says sorry to his horse and means it. Joaquin Phoenix plays Charlie as a drunk who wakes up mean, shoots better than anyone in the territory, and needs his brother more than he will admit. Their arguments about who is the lead man, about their mother, about whether a toothbrush is a sensible purchase, are the best writing in the film. Watching Reilly work out what the little wooden brush is for, alone in a boarding-house room, we laughed and then felt oddly protective of him.

Benoît Debie shoots the opening raid in something close to total darkness, so that all we see of the fight is muzzle flash and, after a while, a barn going up. His days are green and gold and a little too bright. Michel Barthélémy builds the towns so that they get more finished the further south the brothers ride: tents, then boards, then a hotel with a flushing lavatory that stops Eli in his tracks. Milena Canonero puts Eli in a coat a size too big and Charlie in a red shirt. Alexandre Desplat’s score is plucked and sly, a saloon tune heard through a wall, and it keeps its good humour even when the film does not.

The other pair are stranger. Jake Gyllenhaal plays John Morris, the scout sent ahead, in a clipped, bookish voice that sounds as though he learned English from his own diary, which he reads aloud to us. Riz Ahmed’s Hermann Kermit Warm is a chemist with a formula that makes gold shine in a riverbed and a plan to spend the proceeds on a better kind of town. Ahmed is gentle and persuasive and Gyllenhaal thaws nicely, but their scenes are written thinner than the brothers’, and each time the film cuts to them it slows. Juliette Welfling cuts most scenes short, before the point has been made twice, which is a virtue elsewhere; here it means the Morris strand never quite settles.

What got us was the horse. Eli’s animal, Tub, is slow and plain and Charlie wants him replaced, and Eli will not have it. There is an encounter with a bear that we will not detail, and afterwards Reilly tends to the horse with a care he gives to nothing else in his life. It moved us more than we thought a horse in a western could, and it did so because Audiard holds on Reilly’s hands and face rather than on the wound. The same attention goes into a scene with a spider that had us squirming, and the film knows it can do both.

The trouble is pace. The middle hour drifts from camp to camp, and while every stop has something in it, including a saloon in Mayfield run by a woman of the same name (Rebecca Root), the film loses its pull. The violence, when it comes, is fast and ugly and the score stays cheerful, and that gap works about half the time. The last stretch takes a turn we will not describe. Some critics found it soft; we thought it was earned, and that it says what the previous hour had been circling about men who kill for a living and what it costs them.

[*A Prophet*](https://film.one/film/a-prophet) (2009) was Audiard’s harshest film and this is his gentlest, and it is odd how alike they feel underneath: men stuck in a trade and looking for a way out. It runs 121 minutes and carries a 15. See it for Reilly, for the toothbrush and the horse, and for a western that thinks a hired gun might be a man who wants to go home.

*Fi1m score 78, published 24 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics like this one, and they like it for the same reasons. The praise gathers around John C. Reilly, whose Eli several reviews name as the film’s emotional centre, and around his bickering, affectionate interplay with Joaquin Phoenix. Beyond the performances, critics enjoy the way Jacques Audiard turns a violent Western into something humane and mournfully comic, with the humour puncturing the brutality rather than softening it. A handful also single out Benoît Debie’s cinematography and the detailed production design.

Where the reviews part is on pace and freshness. Several find the film languid or rambling, and a few think its subversion of the genre is less new than it believes. Variety finds it witty but plodding and familiar, and Vulture faults the brothers’ story and an ending it considers unearned; Vulture and the Evening Standard both prefer the quieter strand between Riz Ahmed and Jake Gyllenhaal. The spread is otherwise narrow, with only two outright negatives among twenty-seven.

## Straight answers

**Is The Sisters Brothers worth watching?**

*The Sisters Brothers* is worth watching, and we scored it 78: a kind, odd, frequently funny western about two hired killers who would rather be doing something else. It suits anyone who likes their westerns talkative and slow rather than lean, and who can forgive a middle hour that drifts from camp to camp before the film finds its pull again.

**How long is The Sisters Brothers, and what is it rated?**

*The Sisters Brothers* runs 2h 01m and is rated 15 by the Statens medieråd in Sweden. It is a western and drama film.

**Where can I watch The Sisters Brothers in Sweden?**

*The Sisters Brothers* is streaming on Amazon Prime Video in Sweden, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from kr 39.00. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is The Sisters Brothers, and is it suitable for children?**

*The Sisters Brothers* carries a 15 and is not for children. The violence is fast and ugly when it arrives, including a night raid seen only by muzzle flash and an encounter with a bear, and there is a scene with a spider that had us squirming. Older teenagers who can take a hard western should be fine; the squeamish should brace for the animal scenes.

**How does The Sisters Brothers compare to McCabe & Mrs. Miller?**

*The Sisters Brothers* is the warmer and funnier of the two, and [*McCabe & Mrs. Miller*](https://film.one/film/mccabe-and-mrs-miller) is the sadder and, we think, the better film. Altman builds a muddy, mumbling town where business matters more than gunfights; Audiard follows two brothers on the road and keeps his eye on their bickering. Choose Altman if you will listen closely, Audiard if you want company.

**Is The Sisters Brothers based on a true story or a book?**

*The Sisters Brothers* is based on a novel, not a true story: Patrick DeWitt's book of the same name, adapted by Jacques Audiard and Thomas Bidegain. The setting is Oregon and the California goldfields in 1851, but the brothers, the chemist and his gold-finding formula are fiction. You do not need to have read the novel to follow or enjoy the film.

**What should I watch after The Sisters Brothers?**

After *The Sisters Brothers*, try [*McCabe & Mrs. Miller*](https://film.one/film/mccabe-and-mrs-miller) (1971, Fi1m 90): Altman’s muddy, mumbling frontier, where the town matters more than the gunfight. Then [*Dead Man*](https://film.one/film/dead-man-walking) (1995, Fi1m 84): Jarmusch sends an accountant west to die slowly; funny, strange and black and white; and [*Slow West*](https://film.one/film/slow-west) (2015, Fi1m 77): A short, odd, tender western from a Scottish director, with Fassbender riding shotgun.

### Reviews we read (27)

- **Empire**, Nick de Semlyen (85/100, inferred): The critic finds it a terrific, funny, unpredictable Western that deftly undercuts the genre’s conventions. They especially praise John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix’s pugnacious, charming performances and interplay. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/sisters-brothers-review/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (85/100, inferred): Chang finds the film soulful and affecting, blending a comic western with a tender story of brotherhood and unexpected connection. He especially praises the lakeside sequence, where the four men briefly bond and the film nearly breaks the viewer’s heart. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-the-sisters-brothers-review-20180920-story.html)
- **Evening Standard**, Charlotte O'Sullivan (4/5): O'Sullivan finds the western erudite, visceral, and chuckle-worthy, with a mysterious shift in focus that makes it feel distinctive. She especially praises Riz Ahmed and Jake Gyllenhaal, singling out their intense chemistry and Ahmed's striking performance. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-sisters-brothers-review-erudite-and-chuckle-worthy-tale-gives-fresh-take-on-gold-rush-america-a4110111.html)
- **Little White Lies**, Hannah Strong (4/4/4): The review finds the film a bittersweet, entertaining tale elevated by its warmth and comic pathos. It praises the chemistry and performances of John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix, while wishing Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed had more screen time. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-sisters-brothers)
- **Radio Times**, Emma Simmonds (4/5): Simmonds finds Audiard’s adaptation a rugged, searing take on the Western. She praises its authenticity and the flashes of humanity that puncture its brutality. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-fj4mgm/the-sisters-brothers/)
- **Sight and Sound**, Jessica Kiang (80/100, inferred): Kiang finds the film a mournfully comic western that builds to a moving, compassionate conclusion. She especially praises its tender humor and the brothers’ gradual emotional development. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/sisters-brothers-first-look-jacques-audiard-takes-delightful-detour-from-western-trail)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (80/100, inferred): Bradshaw finds the film an enjoyable, funny and subtly affecting Western. He especially praises the brothers’ performances and Audiard’s easy-flowing, unsentimental storytelling. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/sep/02/the-sisters-brothers-review-jacques-audiard-saddles-up-for-a-subtle-and-funny-western)
- **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (80/100, inferred): Lane finds the film moving and compelling, especially as it turns away from the Western’s expected cycle of violence. He singles out its character transformations and its affecting conclusion. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/09/24/the-sisters-brothers-is-not-your-average-western)
- **Time Out**, Phil de Semlyen (4/5): The review finds the western wry, surprising, and heartfelt. It praises the odd-couple chemistry between Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-sisters-brothers)
- **The AV Club**, A.A. Dowd (B): Dowd finds the film an enjoyable, minor-key Western whose pleasures come from its characters more than its action. He praises Reilly and Phoenix’s believable, affectionate portrayal of the brothers’ bickering bond. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/joaquin-phoenix-and-john-c-reilly-bicker-bond-and-ch-1829205198)
- **Slant Magazine**, Rory O'Connor (3/4): The review regards the film as a gentle, darkly comic western with a compassionate, Edenic vision, though one tinged with sadness. It praises the film’s humane treatment of hard men and the understated affection between Warm and Morris. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-sisters-brothers/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Todd McCarthy (75/100, inferred): McCarthy finds the film a pleasing, lovingly crafted Western, though its momentum is moderate. He particularly praises John C. Reilly’s boisterous lead performance and the film’s richly detailed production design. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/sisters-brothers-review-1139240/)
- **Film Comment**, Michael Sragow (65/100, inferred): The available page text does not reveal the critic’s verdict. Its standfirst frames the film as Jacques Audiard’s Western, but gives no specific praise or complaint. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/deep-focus-the-sisters-brothers/)
- **RogerEbert.com** (65/100, inferred): The page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. Its praise or complaints cannot be determined from the available content. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-sisters-brothers-2018)
- **Screen Daily**, Tim Grierson (65/100, inferred): The visible page identifies this as a Venice review, but the reviewer's verdict is hidden behind a paywall. No praise or complaint from the review body is visible. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-sisters-brothers-venice-review/5131887.article)
- **The New York Times** (65/100, inferred): The URL identifies a review of the 2018 film, but the page content is unavailable. The critic’s verdict and specific praise or complaint cannot be verified. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/20/movies/the-sisters-brothers-review-joaquin-phoenix.html)
- **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (40/100, inferred): Gleiberman finds the film witty and watchable but ultimately wearying, familiar, and plodding. He praises John C. Reilly’s straight-shooter performance while criticizing its reheated take on male obsessions. [Read](https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/the-sisters-brothers-review-joaquin-phoenix-1202924636/)
- **Vulture**, Emily Yoshida (35/100, inferred): Yoshida finds the film intermittently fresh but ultimately too familiar and underdeveloped. She praises the quiet, affectionate bond between Ahmed and Gyllenhaal’s characters, while faulting the brothers’ story and an unearned ending. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2018/09/the-sisters-brothers-review.html)
- **The Wrap** (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film one of the year’s best, praising its fresh, ambitious take on the Western. Reilly is singled out for making Eli achingly human and unforgettable. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/the-sisters-brothers-film-review-john-c-reilly-joaquin-phoenix-jake-gyllenhaal-riz-ahmed/)
- **/Film**, Chris Evangelista (8 out of 10): The critic finds the film a gorgeous, surreal, and uniquely balanced Western. They single out its painterly cinematography and Eli’s tender care for his dying horse for praise. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/560853/the-sisters-brothers-review/)
- **Collider**, Adam Chitwood (B+): Chitwood finds the film a fascinating, poetic, and funny Western, though its languid pace may test some viewers. He especially praises John C. Reilly’s sensitive, heartbreaking performance as the story’s emotional center. [Read](https://collider.com/the-sisters-brothers-review/)
- **Den of Geek**, Don Kaye (4/5): Kaye praises the film as an unusual, humane Western that blends buddy comedy with character drama. He singles out John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix’s performances and the film’s exploration of the brothers’ bond. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-sisters-brothers-review/)
- **The Skinny**, Ross McIndoe (★★★★): McIndoe finds the film brutal and nihilistic yet also beautiful, sweet and funny. He especially praises how Audiard holds the grandeur of the Western landscape against the greed and ugliness of its inhabitants. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/gff19-the-sisters-brothers)
- **Paste**, Dom Sinacola (7.4/10): Sinacola finds the film’s anti-Western approach thoughtful and refreshing, though its traditional resolution weakens its offer of escape from violence. He praises the performances and Benoit Debie’s vivid, neon-tinged frontier cinematography. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/the-sisters-brothers/the-sisters-brothers)
- **HeyUGuys** (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a touching, unconventional western despite its occasionally rambling pace. They especially praise the chemistry among the four central actors, which gives the final act momentum. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-sisters-brothers-review/)
- **Consequence**, Dominick Suzanne-Mayer (45/100, inferred): The critic finds the film intriguing but ultimately underwhelming, as its playful tone clashes with its graphic violence and familiar story. John C. Reilly’s performance is singled out for its range and emotional depth. [Read](https://consequence.net/2018/09/film-review-the-sisters-brothers/)
- **Eye for Film**, Jennie Kermode (45/100, inferred): Kermode finds the film rambling and less gripping than it should be, despite its capable cast. She particularly praises John C. Reilly’s performance and the melancholy final stretch. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-sisters-brothers-2018-film-review-by-jennie-kermode)

## Details

- **Director:** Jacques Audiard
- **Director:** Jacques Audiard
- **Screenplay:** Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain
- **Novel:** Patrick DeWitt
- **Cinematography:** Benoît Debie
- **Editor:** Juliette Welfling
- **Music:** Alexandre Desplat
- **Production design:** Michel Barthélémy
- **Costume design:** Milena Canonero
- **Producer:** John C. Reilly, Pascal Caucheteux, Michael De Luca
- **Cast:** John C. Reilly as Eli Sisters; Joaquin Phoenix as Charlie Sisters; Jake Gyllenhaal as John Morris; Riz Ahmed as Hermann Kermit Warm; Rebecca Root as Mayfield; Allison Tolman as Girl Mayfield Saloon; Rutger Hauer as The Commodore; Carol Kane as Mrs Sisters
- **Runtime:** 2h 01m
- **Certificate (Statens medieråd):** 15
- **Release (Sweden):** 15 March 2019
- **Genres:** Western, Drama, Comedy
- **Budget:** $38 million
- **Box office:** $13 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pShK7n9fY_Q

## Where to watch in Sweden

- Amazon Prime Video: streaming
- Amazon Prime Video: rent kr 39.00, hd
- Apple TV: rent kr 39.00, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy kr 49.00, hd
- Apple TV: buy kr 49.00, hd

*Checked 2026-09-24.*

Also available in: AE, AT, AU, BE, CA, CH, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, HU, IE, IT, JP, NL, NO, NZ, PL, SE, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *McCabe & Mrs. Miller* (1971), Fi1m 90: Altman’s muddy, mumbling frontier, where the town matters more than the gunfight. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/mccabe-and-mrs-miller.md)
- *Dead Man* (1995), Fi1m 84: Jarmusch sends an accountant west to die slowly; funny, strange and black and white. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/dead-man-walking.md)
- *Slow West* (2015), Fi1m 77: A short, odd, tender western from a Scottish director, with Fassbender riding shotgun. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/slow-west.md)
- *The Proposition* (2005): Australia’s outback as the West, brothers again, and Nick Cave writing the words.
- *A Prophet* (2009), Fi1m 86: Audiard’s prison film: the same trapped men, none of the sunlight. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-prophet.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-sisters-brothers