​FILMS

sicario

2015 review number 152:

Sicario: (Drama/Crime/Action/Thriller): 81 out of 100: One of my favourite movies of 2013 was Prisoners which was directed by Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve. It was a bleak world inhabited by characters with faults and tortured souls. Sicario is in a similar vein to the aforementioned title with characters that are not perfect, not even the good guys. The story explores and examines the world of drug enforcement agents and their adversaries, the drug dealers.

 

FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) and partner, Reggie (Daniel Kaluuya) are involved in a bust where they discover numerous dead bodies hidden in walls. Feeling that they cannot defeat evil while they are still with the FBI, they are lured by a cross-agency task force led by Matt (Josh Brolin) and Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro). Their prime objective is to step up the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the United States and Mexico and to eliminate the drug kingpins.

 

Blunt demonstrates her versatility here in expressing her dramatic skills and the action prowess that we first witnessed in Edge of Tomorrow. She is the 'innocent' participant and her demeanour is highlighted by the situations she finds herself in, allowing her to connect with the audience. She wants to change the world but is restrained by what is happening around her. The shady agents played by Brolin and Del Toro might have an ulterior motive, it's the way they portray their characters which have viewers in doubt as to the causes they wish to pursue. It's a well-acted film in every aspect including the actors that play the drug dealers. They are not the obvious villains as we also have the privilege of observing them with their families. Some of these scenes are touching. They are just trying to support their families, albeit in an illegal way.

 

The cinematography by Roger Deakins is first class. He makes fantastic use of the landscape with the aerial shots leading the way. The camera glides over these scenic locations to project the images that will have you in awe. The music score by Jóhann Jóhannsson is haunting with its often discordant, droning sounds promoting the tension. The action scenes are well-edited proving that quick cuts don't have to be always employed in the action genre. It's not a generic action movie of the 21st century.

 

This is a slow-burning thriller with the first half especially focussing on the exposition before the tension takes over in the second half where the time seems to go by faster. Even if you dislike the drama genre, the thrills and action sequences are worth the wait.

 

Sicario means hitman in Spanish. A complex, involving story like this one proves that movies about hitmen and drug dealing can be genuinely thrilling and exciting. This is superior to a movie like Hitman: Agent 47 because the characters are more three-dimensional and the narrative is more suspenseful. Denis Villeneuve has added another impressive film to his credentials and it will be interesting to see what he can do with the new Blade Runner sequel which he is currently in the process of directing.

 

Starring Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin

(121 minutes)

Parental advice: Violence, coarse language and adult themes

Additional scene during or after credits: No

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8tlEcnrGnU (Movie trailer)

(Reviewed on Monday 12th October, 2015)

 

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