Review of Sicario (2015) by Tyler S — 29 Nov 2016

The "War on Drugs," or even illegal drugs themselves, is a tricky cinematic subject; the material is rife with potential for action-based set pieces, but filmmakers need to be careful with their overall "message." All it takes is a few wrong notes in either one direction or another and the movie could end up being either too preachy or too bleak. Steven Soderbergh's masterful ensemble 2000 film "Traffic" is a brilliant example of how to do it properly, and now you can add Denis Villeneuve's "Sicario," one of the best films of 2015, to the short list as well. The two would actually make for a great double-feature, as they both take the drug trade seriously while simultaneously recognizing that this whole effort may be a futile endeavor on the part of our country.

Emily Blunt stars as a hardened FBI agent firmly entrenched in the War on Drugs. As the film begins, she and her partner (Daniel Kaluuya) lead a raid on a drug den later revealed to be operated by a dangerous cartel based out of Mexico. Although the bust is made, it comes at a cost, and ultimately the agents know this won't have any lasting effects on the ongoing War. A minor drug bust matters very little to a cartel that has millions of dollars at its disposal. To that end, Blunt is recruited into a specialized government anti-drug special task force, led by Josh Brolin, where she is told that maybe now she'll be able to make a difference. Aiding this team is a mysterious consultant (Benicio Del Toro) who possesses both deadly skills and an intimate knowledge of the cartel they're targeting.

It doesn't sound like anything special, but Villeneuve and screenwriter Taylor Sheridan have crafted a film that moves with razor-like precision; nothing feels glamorous or "Hollywood-ized," and it works brilliantly as an exercise in prolonged tension. This is not strictly limited to set pieces (although the film does have its share of those, like a suspenseful motorcade drive across the U.S.-Mexican border and a daring, nightvision-utilizing trek through an underground tunnel). Much of the time the tension stems from characters-and the audience-not being sure of the motivations of other characters. Brolin and Del Toro are so secretive that we begin to wonder just what their end-game is, and, perhaps more importantly, why they've brought on Blunt in the first place.

I also liked that the film seems to be aware that, just like real life (and, as mentioned above, just like "Traffic"), there is no easy--or, more disturbingly, permanent--solution to the whole thing. We can tell that Blunt is good at what she does, and she's not a naïve greenhorn to the drug-tackling business. Yet the film implies that, despite that, she may be a bit too idealistic, something that Brolin and particularly Del Toro recognize almost immediately. "Sicario" is full of painful lessons, but one of the hardest is that, in order to make any kind of progress in this dirty business, one may have to be willing to compromise, particularly when it comes to one's values.

This aspect of the film is likely to anger some viewers, but I sense a hard-edged truth there that I found both interesting and unsettling. This actually makes the film a bit different than "Traffic," as although that movie also dealt with difficult truths, it also provided a larger degree of hope, and the compromises the characters had to make didn't feel as drastic. "Sicario" takes a worldview that is considerably more despondent. That doesn't make it better or worse; it's just another side of the same coin.

Anchoring the film are the fine performances by the three leads. Emily Blunt has become one of my favorite actresses. She's shown before that she can handle steely, action-oriented roles (see also the superb "Edge of Tomorrow"), but her part here goes deeper than that. She's clearly capable in the action scenes, but she projects a sort of melancholy world-weariness in the quieter ones, and this where her work stands out the most. Her banter with Daniel Kaluuya, who's also quite good in a smaller role, feels warm and genuine.

This is one of Josh Brolin's finest performances, infusing his character with a sort of flippant casualness that flies in the face of all the mayhem he's embroiled in. As for Benicio Del Toro, the common link between "Sicario" and "Traffic," his work is likely to go more unnoticed since his role isn't as "showy" as some of the others, but his stoic presence wonderfully conveys a sense of authority and experience as well as a dash of menace, which is crucial to both the character and the proceedings.

This is a great film, the kind you immediately want to watch again after it's over. If you haven't already seen it, check it out.