The film follows three plot threads, bouncing between the three with no obvious connection at the outset. A combat proven FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), a Mexican State Policeman and family man Silvio (Maximiliano Hernandez) and a mysterious CIA contractor Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro). Each thread provides contrasting roles, each interacting with the ongoing event of the US-Mexico border area drug wars, with significant buildup towards the end where the plot lines finally come to head.
Most of the characters throughout the film undergo degrading transformations and ever increasing compromises. Emily Blunt’s performance is the most sympathetic as Kate’s character is rock solid in “by the book”, well planned, near-righteous operations, but is wholly unprepared for the clandestine, muddy-grey, personal battles of espionage and assassination. All of the A -listers here bring their A game. Del Toro especially fills the screen and gives a downright menacing performance, and pairs perfectly with the more seemingly warm, all American CIA Officer Matt Graver (Josh Brolin). Without spoiling the endgames, suffice to say the film does well to always keep you guessing the motives and the moment when those motives, as direct as they may be, would be exposed.
What may surprise and delight TV drama fans would be how this cast is basically a who’s who of Tv Spy drama supporting characters all filling in their type casts. Alias fans will recognize Jennifer Gardner’s onscreen father Victor Garber, who here gives a weathered performance and scene stealing Jeffrey Donovan of Burn Notice fame makes an appearance as a almost nihilist, know-it-all type spook Steve Forsing. Donovan is always fun to watch on screen and is perhaps Hollywood’s most criminally under-used actor. Another actor here with one of the films most chilling scene is Jon Bernthal of The Walking Dead fame who here, also has a similar turn of character to his Walking Dead’s “Shane”.
Canadian director Denis Villeneuve helms the film. The action beats are on point with little fluff, but plenty gasping moments of thrill. There much to satiate the “FPS” culture here. Fully filmed raids, tight corners and no shortage of close calls. Outside of action, there are no shortage of tableaux shots that range from simply haunting to outright disturbing. The film pulls no punches on setting and sentiment. It carries that brutality throughout its length, yet pulls back from revealing total brutality at the last moment. Relying more on the horrified reaction of witnesses rather than display straight forward violence. The full effect of ruthlessness is there despite the last minute choice by the film to protect the audience. Little mercy to be had here in the “Land of wolves”.
The resting scenes are a refreshing change here as many of them linger a few beats past the recent norm. In much in the same way the film lingers a few beats longer in the mind than perhaps it should. My theory would be the fact that only one of the threads of the film is truly resolved in any way, leaving absolute destruction to the central characters of the other two threads. An exclamation point perhaps on the fact that the broader picture outside relating to the film’s subject matter is far from resolved. The accepted war still wages and the film is sure to hammer the point that all of the characters intimately involved become victims. It is grim material, promised and delivered. With the year closing out, it is definitely not a stretch to place Sicario as thriller of the year.
4 out of 5 stars
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