Note: The following contains “Sinners” spoilers.
Jack O’Connnell’s role as Remmick, the master vampire villain in Ryan Coogler’s hit action-horror “Sinners,” isn’t just an evil blood-sucker who’s hellbent on destroying the lives of a group of joyful Black residents in a small town in 1932’s Mississippi Delta. His nationality tells a deeper story about the Irish community’s initial experience in the United States and abroad, its complex relationship with foundational Black Americans and how and why he ultimately used his whiteness as a weapon despite knowing what it feels like to be oppressed.
Once again, Coogler has used cinema to create cultural conversations viewers can sink their teeth into. From highlighting mankind’s affinity for sin, showing the importance and cruciality of Black ownership (a nod to his own groundbreaking Warner Bros. deal) or platforming the negative effects of cultural appropriation and more, there was an intention behind every detail of “Sinners”… including Remmick’s Irish background.
It wouldn’t be a Coogler film if he didn’t craft a fictional villain with a genuine but twisted purpose that audiences can relate to (rest in peace, Killmonger). And he delivers just that with Remmick.
As “Sinners” lights up the box office, several folks have wondered just exactly why Remmick is Irish. Well, between a combination of interviews from Coogler and O’Connell, and some social commentary, we’re here to give you an answer.
Why is Remmick Irish?
Let’s just get to the big question, right? But it’s not necessarily a straightforward answer. First, let’s break down some key details about Remmick’s overall background and storyline.
Remmick is hella old. We mean like centuries old. He’s likely a 1,200 to 1,300-year-old vampire immigrant, who we are introduced to while he’s on the run from a group of vampire-slaying Native Americans.
His age means he’s seen and been through a lot of life, including Britain’s oppression of the Irish, which lasted about 700 years — from the Norman invasion in 1169 until the Irish Free State was established in 1922. During that time, the Irish people were discriminated against religiously, exploited economically and endured cultural suppression.
Even after signing the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921, Ireland didn’t become fully independent until 1937.
In “Sinners,” Remmick, while trying to convince Smoke and Stack to join his regime, suggests that he understands the Black American’s plight in the U.S. whilst also asking them to hand over Sammie (Miles Canton) so that he can possess his musical talents for his own benefit (this is, of course, a nod toward assimilation and cultural appropriation). Just as his ancestors were forced out of their cultural origins and liberties by the British, Remmick makes a promise to bring the Black partygoers to freedom if they will assimilate. He tells them he wants to share his message of “fellowship and love.”
He’s not quite comparable to the Ku Klux Klan, and he doesn’t want to be. If anything he saw the terrorist group as the same type of oppressors his people faced, which is why he didn’t hesitate to murder them. However, he failed to decide against inflicting the same pain he endured.
The Irish community’s oppression carried over into their immigration to the U.S., which started in the 17th century and continued on through the 19th century. Many of the poorer Europeans who immigrated the States and other regions, including the Irish, worked as indentured servants, most predominately in the Caribbean and other territories controlled by the British.
But as history shows and as Remmick depicts in the film, whiteness grants power. Some of the Irish community participated in the enslavement of Black people as overseers and in some instances as enslavers. So while Remmick empathizes with the Black community, he lets his sensitivity to marginalization be overshadowed by his personal gain and ultimately to utilize his powers (whiteness) as a weapon.
During the Transatlantic Slave Trade, Europeans forced the Africans they enslaved out their native languages and names, religions and cultural practices, and made them adopt their cultural norms.
Check out social media user Kristen Tepper’s great breakdown of Coogler’s decision.
What does Ryan Coogler have to say about it?
During an interview with IndieWire, Coogler shared that much of his reasons for making Remmick Irish were rooted in his own admiration of the Irish culture and people.
“I’m obsessed with Irish folk music, my kids are obsessed with it. My first name is Irish. I think it’s not known how much crossover there is between African American culture and Irish culture and how much that stuff’s loved in our community,” Coogler said. “It was very important that our master vampire in this movie was unique, and as specific as the situation was. It was important to me that he was old, but also that he came from a time that pre-existed these racial definitions so that he would be extremely odd, and that it would all seem odd to him. But also that he would see it for what it was and offer a sweet deal, if that makes sense. And that the music was just as beautiful.”
What has Jack O’Connell said about the role?
When asked what O’Connell thinks of Remmick’s Irish background, here’s what the actor had to say.
“I think it’s beautifully handled. Obviously, by virtue of me dad [who was from Ballyheigue in County Kerry], the Irish story is something that is, and always has been, interesting to me,” O’Connell said GQ Magazine. “My understanding [is that Ireland’s] biggest export is people. Just to understand the influence that had on the American South at this particular time, and how that found its way into the music there, was something I know that Ryan’s savvy to, and I think part of the reason for Remmick being from Ireland.”
Coogler left us with a cliffhanger-y ending, so who knows what else is in store. “Sinners” is now in theaters.