'The Sisters Brothers' is one of those films that just sort of exists, without really trying to do or say anything of note. There's no real through-line to the narrative; it just follows seemingly unrelated events that the brothers experience, with the only real link being that they follow on from each other. The lack of a 'proper story' means that it's never really all that engaging or interesting. That being said it's far from boring, with some of the sequences being quite entertaining. Phoenix and Reilly are excellent throughout, too, and the assured direction means that it's a confidently crafted piece, so there's always a base level of investment there. The protagonists initially seem to be well-grounded, realistic characters, and their similarities and differences lead to a convincing brotherly duo. It's unfortunate, then, that despite their strong formation they aren't necessarily 'good characters'. Throughout the film they don't really change, and this lack of arcs makes the whole affair seem kind of pointless in the end. It could have, and probably should have, been a character study; most pictures of this ilk - those not following a traditional 'three-act' narrative, that is - tend to focus on delving deep into developing core characters, so it's a shame that this picture doesn't even manage that. Like I said though, it never manages to be boring - even if you can feel the length at times - and the direction and performances (Gyllenhaal and Ahmed are good, too, despite being severely underused) are always engaging. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it has all the right pieces, but it unfortunately just doesn't know what to do with them. 6/10
