"Sinners": A Character Analysis (Elias "Stack" Moore)

Hello and welcome to Stack’s character analysis! It’s been quite a few weeks since I’ve talked about anything Sinners and I was excited to begin working on this post. If you still haven’t had the opportunity to watch this film what’re you doing? Go watch it and come back! If you have seen it, tell me your thoughts on it. I would love to discuss the many layers that this film has with those who are just as interested and curious about this universe.

**I would also like to quickly insert an apology here for this post being almost a week late. I didn't like where it was while it was still in draft mode and I didn't feel happy with putting out incomplete or less than acceptable work for you all.

Elias (Stack) Moore is the twin brother of Elijah (Smoke), and though he is also portrayed by Michael B. Jordan, he has his own personality, his own struggles, and a different way of thinking than his brother. While his backstory may have similarities to Smoke’s, what we’re shown through the events of the film paints him as his own person in more ways than one. What choices brought on his demise and the demise of everyone around him?

As always, if you haven’t gotten a chance to watch Sinners, feel free to skip this post and I’ll see you later. If you have seen it or do not care about spoilers, feel free to continue on.

Over two months ago I posted my analysis on Sammy and noted that Stack’s character seemed to represent Sloth, one of the Seven Deadly Sins. There may have been multiple scenes within the film that show him pulling his weight in terms of helping get Club Juke up and running, but there are small moments where we see that his way of thinking is much more relaxed than Smoke’s. The viewer also gets glimpses into the twins’ history, and from this, one can infer that Stack typically follows Smoke’s lead and depends on him for protection.

I tried not to compare the twins while working on Smoke’s analysis, but I find it difficult to think of Stack without thinking of Smoke because of a few lines at their final meeting;

Smoke: "Sorry I couldn't keep you safe."

Stack: "Don't be sorry, you always did."

While they are separate characters and seem like they should have lived out their lives in that way, Smoke always did his best to ensure that his brother was safe. Even when the two split up in order to recruit people to help them with Club Juke, Smoke was often asked where his brother was, while Stack didn’t seem to receive those questions. In my opinion, due to Smoke’s need to protect, it seems as if he had Stack under a seemingly watchful eye Stack didn’t often keep an eye out on potential danger around him (as proved by Smoke's claim ""This fool doesn't know how to watch his own back").

From the beginning, Stack can be seen as the relaxed twin. He’s a jokester, constantly smiling, and lightening the mood when needed. One of my favorite scenes of the film is when Hogwood asks if they’re twins and Stack responds with “Nah, we cousins”. It’s interesting to then later watch him as he recruits friends for the opening of Club Juke because he seems to rely on humor and charm as he convinces people to join them. He knows his friends well enough to know what would get them on board, but he doesn’t seem as serious when making negotiations. He smiles in the face of challenge and smiles wider when his goal is obtained. Stack is a much more easygoing person, understanding the needs of others and uses his charm to appeal to their whims for his own benefit.

As mentioned in Smoke’s analysis, the two split up at a certain point to ensure the timely opening of Club Juke. It doesn’t seem to happen often (we really don't know) and so this scene of them discussing the split, having a meaningful embrace, and letting each other know they love each other is impactful. The first time I watched this it came off as a normal interaction for the two, but as the film goes on and viewers are given the opportunity to watch again and again, this parting seems more and more integral to their story.

The two are seemingly together always, and their split at this scene is ultimately foreshadowing their demise. Each character meets an end in this film, but what intrigued me was the manner in which Stack’s recruited friends died. Yes, Smoke lost Annie, Grace and Bo, but their deaths felt vastly different than that of Mary, Cornbread, and Slim’s. While Mary thought she was able to use her "whiteness" to help the Twins obtain financial gain, she was still acting somewhat selflessly, with the hope that she could help them. Cornbread was in a vulnerable situation, yet still ensured the “safety” (more like the illusion of safety if it was left up to Remmick) of Club Juke by appointing someone else to watch its entrance. Slim’s redemption was his sacrifice, with the hope that he could help save everyone else as they tried to escape. Smoke’s recruits, Grace and Bo, had acted selfishly as they tried to abandon their “friends” in their time of need. Annie is an exception due to her willingness to try and help inform everyone else of what they were dealing with and how to overcome it.

Stack interestingly took Annie’s side when talking about ways for patrons to pay for food and drinks at Club Juke. I was under the impression that besides Mary, Stack wanted the same things that his brother wanted. Stack’s thoughtfulness in this case is different from how he could be perceived through his backstory and his actions throughout the film. It’s a moment of selflessness in order to garner trust from a community that they claim to be catering to. Stack’s inevitable separation from his brother initially causes him to do everything that he can to reverse that little bit of redemption, but in the end, he doesn’t kill or turn Smoke (not that he could) and he leaves Sammy alone, instead opting to watch his little cousin from a distance as his career takes off. Stack’s ability to be amongst his last surviving family member is commendable as well. He holds dear the promise that he made to his brother to leave Sammy alone, even though the events of that fateful night implied his willingness to "kill" everyone he loved so that they could live together for eternity.

Stack’s love interest in this film is Mary, which turns out to be his downfall. From the time they first meet until Mary shows up at Club Juke, Stack is fighting her to stay away from him. His true reason for turning her away is ironically because he wants to protect her. But, because of his unwillingness to let her go (which is valid), he is the one who is in need of being protected. Mary’s desperation to stay in Stack’s life and help with business at Club Juke ends up causing the downfall of everyone there that night. She is the first to try and talk to Remmick after speaking with Stack about the financial problems he and his brother are having. She tries to appeal to the “other” (literally and figuratively) by using her charm to get their money, and instead she is turned. Mary seduces Stack as phase one of her attack before going in for the "kill" that truly catapults Club Juke into chaos.

Mary being “influenced” by Remmick and his henchmen causes her to “influence” Stack, and from there the dominoes fall. Instead of Stack once again turning down her advances, he is drawn to her, unable to escape her. Stack is whisked away, and unfortunately this is where he meets his demise. Smoke takes his eyes off of Stack as he attends to a fight, and his earlier statement about Stack not being able to watch his own back inevitably rings true. Unfortunately, trying something new was not in the cards for the twins.

The two spent most of their lives surviving. It began with their father, an abusive man who would beat them until one day Smoke had had enough and killed him before escaping with Stack. They may have had a better upbringing with Mary and her mother, but it wouldn't be long before the two would serve in World War 1 together. The trauma of life with their father, growing up as black boys in a racist time, and joining the war in their adulthood would have caused them to be hardened from a young age. Their life in Mississippi had to also have been rough as they built their reputation as a couple of the most feared people outside of members of the KKK.

After their time spent serving, the twins moved to Chicago, continuing their tough lifestyle by working for mobs and finally obtaining their wealth by robbing from the very mobs they worked for. The twins moved back to Mississippi after this venture and planned to open Club Juke with the help of their newly acquired funds, a willing seller (or hunter, as we find out later), and a group of old friends. They seemed as if they wanted to try to turn their lives around, to have everything, but as Sammy's father mentioned "You keep dancing with the devil, and one day it's gonna follow you home." This wasn't just a warning for Sammy, but also doubled as foreshadowing for the viewer in terms of what the twins had been up to. Their lives weren't lived honestly and they got mixed up in a life of crime after they left Mississippi. When they made their return, a "devil" was literally drawn to their newly established place of business. Club Juke was also meant to be their "home" had they had the opportunity to flourish without Remmick's interference or the later interference of the KKK quite literally coming to hunt them.

Returning to the climax of the film, Stack finds his "family" among the vampires, siding with the monsters who had helped turn friends and patrons alike. He opted to also turn Annie (Smoke’s love-interest and mother of his child) in order to break Smoke down in order to join the other side. Unfortunately for Stack, fate had other plans thanks to Annie's knowledge of the monsters and her ability to protect Smoke. Stack had bested Smoke in their final fight, but was unable to turn him because of Annie's gift to Smoke.

In the end it didn’t seem like Stack was meant to have everything in life, especially when it thinking about the film's time period. Club Juke, riches, the fear of anyone they came into contact with, and having Mary in his life seems unattainable. It would have come crashing down whether it had been by Remmick's hand or that of the KKK. Is there a way that any of this could have been avoided? What're your thoughts?

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Thank you so much if you've made it to the end. I would also like to thank you so much for your patience. I may come back to revisit the twins as a unit at some point because I feel like so much more could be said about them. There are many layers to the film and I appreciate that this translates into each of the characters as well.

I will see you all tomorrow with another post, highlighting some horror-cons that will be taking place in October.

Until then, have a wonderful rest of your day everyone!

🔪Versa