Sicario

Man, Mexico is a scary and violent place.

Sicario, half set in the United States and half across the Mexican border, is a gritty (emphasis on gritty) look at the illegal drug trade and nonsensical violence going on between the two countries. Looking through the eyes of the shady CIA team deep behind the scenes, we’re taken on a thrilling ride as they try to unleash chaos at every turn in order to achieve their end goal: take down the Kingpin of this operation with extreme prejudice. The team, headed by Matt Graver (Josh Brolin), takes every measure necessary to achieve their goal, which includes drafting a budding FBI agent named Kate Macer (Emly Blunt) into the fray as well as a mysterious and brutal operative by the name of Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro).

Then the shit hits the fan.

First things first, this movie is beautiful, though obviously not in the traditional sense. Beautifully shot, beautifully acted, Sicario is, for most of its runtime, an amazing achievement in tone and intensity and a real trip to the lowest depths of what humanity is capable of while at the same time showcasing the people who are just barely above that line trying to fight fire with fire. While sometimes a bit too dour for its own good, director Denis Villeneuve does a great job setting the story up right from the get-go with a chilling and disturbing opening scene that feels right at home with his other work on the film Prisoners.

The cinematography, deftly handled by Roger Deakin, is something that truly needs to be seen to believe. The way each shot is handled and lit just makes everything seem so on point that it almost felt like the camera was a character itself, especially in regards to the sweeping exterior shots of Mexico. Villeneuve holds on these shots much longer than usual to not only show where the action is taking place, but, coupled with the amazingly moody score by Johann Johannsson, to get us to understand the danger this place holds, a technique that he uses to great effect for the entire film. There’s one shot towards the end of the movie in particular that sets a few silhouetted characters against a dying sunset that is just too perfect to describe. This is truly a great looking film on all accounts.

The violence is over the top but never veers too far into being gratuitous as Villeneuve walks that fine line between “Hollywood” action and grounded “real life” grittiness. The action is so quick and precise and brutal that it kept me in on my toes and my jaw on the floor every time.

As I said before, the acting is well done all around, barely a single line being uttered by an actor that did not feel spot on with the story being told. Emily Blunt does a great job being our introductory eyes and ears of the film while Josh Brolin does good work putting an amusing wink and a nod in every line he says. Benicio Del Toro is great as the brooding and shadowy figure at the center of the film while secondary characters like Kate’s partner played by Daniel Kaluuya, hold their own.

Now at this point I bet you’re wondering why I’ve been gushing about this film so much but still didn’t give it a better score and while I did love the more technical filmmaking parts of the film i.e. the cinematography, score, acting and directing, I can’t say the same about the story and character arcs in general.

Overall the story does its job, setting up an interesting idea but never doing much else with it. It’s kind of a run-of-the-mill drug cartel type movie that really doesn’t do anything out of the ordinary save for one mid-point twist and a great ending that lives up to the translation of the word Sicario. Usually the story is what breaks a movie but since the acting and directing is so strong, it’s acceptable but at the same time is what keeps the movie from becoming truly unforgettable.

Another glaring mistake in my mind is Kate’s character arc. She comes into the story not knowing much and being a bit green around the ears, and that’s well and fine for a character that’s acting as the audience gateway into this world, but by the end of the movie, she has made next to no advancements in moving away from that same character she was in the beginning and it’s kind of a bummer mostly because Blunt is so good in the role that I wished something more happened with her.

In that same vein, there is a Mexican police officer that we continually cut to that kind of annoyed me because it was obvious the filmmakers were basically telling us “Hey! Don’t forget about this guy cuz…well you’ll just have to wait and see!” So much time passes in between seeing him that it felt like a necessary evil to get the character moved into position to help the endgame of the story. Add the fact that they were harping hard on the emotion with this guy and his family that I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at his miniscule, but ultimately important role in the film. I get why they did what they did with him, but I can’t help but feel there was a better way to integrate him and his dilemma into the story.

Mark my words, Denis Villeneuve is a fine director that I have no doubt we’ll be seeing him win an Oscar down the line and while this might not be the movie that does it, it’s only a matter of time.