I Finally Saw ‘Sinners’ & I Have a Wild Color Theory That's Connected to ‘The Matrix’

It's fascinating to see how filmmakers use color to enhance their stories. For example, Jordan Peele does this brilliantly in Nope with the use of green—a color that's typically associated with cash and greed—as he dives into themes of exploitation and the American Dream. Then, there are classics like Do the Right Thing, where Spike Lee smartly focuses on red and orange hues to signify hot anger and simmering tensions on a hot summer day. The same could be said for Ryan Coogler's Black Panther, where Shuri's purple attire reflects her royal ancestry and power.

So, when I finally saw Sinners, there was one particular detail that stood out about Michael B. Jordan's dual role. One twin, Elias "Stack" Moore, consistently wore red throughout the entire film, while Elijah "Smoke" Moore wore blue. On the surface, this made it easy to tell the two criminal brothers apart, but having seen Coogler's intentional use of color in his previous work, I thought: Surely, that can't be the only reason. As the credits rolled, I pondered, Why red and blue, specifically? Should they be taken in the context of the American flag? Are they mere reflections of their personalities? Do they foreshadow each brother's fate?

I posed the question to my friend after we finished the film, and her response immediately set off a lightbulb in my head. She said, "Their costumes remind me of the red pill and blue pill in The Matrix." I reflected on the significance of those pills in the '90s classic and was stunned to find that they add yet another layer of meaning when it comes to Smoke and Stack's fates. Here's how.

Now, before I dive in, it's worth noting that throughout the film, Coogler intentionally reverses common tropes—like having a plus-sized Black woman be the love interest rather than a modernized mammy figure, or having the white couple be the first victims to turn into vampires. The same could be said for how he uses the colors red and blue—though I should clarify that I don't mean the twins' personalites.

Clearly, their respective colors represent them pretty well. Red is often associated with danger, excitement and passion, so it makes sense that Stack—the carefree and reckless twin with a fiery personality—wears red and drives around in a crimson-colored luxury car. And then there's Smoke in his blue newsboy cap and vintage Ford Model A. He's calm, practical, reserved, extremely protective and perpetually stone-faced, which is fitting. But I don't think their outfits were only meant to reflect who they are.

After giving it some thought, I've become convinced that their fates represent the opposite color pill from The Matrix.