Sicario

Score:  **** out of ***** (A-)

Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Starring Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin
Running time:  121 minutes
Rated R

Long Story Short:  Sicario is director Denis Villeneuve's second major release in the U.S., and like Prisoners he delivers an outstanding thriller.  His cast is again stellar, led by a tough Emily Blunt, scary Benicio del Toro, and scheming Josh Brolin.  Villeneuve's excellent tone-setting - from script, to shooting to score - is top-notch, though the second half of the film doesn't entirely fulfill the promise of the first.  Still, it's a must-see.


As the film opens, Kate (Blunt), an FBI special field agent, leads a team in storming a suburban Phoenix house.  She faces little resistance, but uncovers the house's horrific secret within its walls.  The house was being used by a Mexican drug cartel, and Matt (Brolin), a DoD adviser, recruits Kate to aid in a counterattack.  Given only vague details of the mission, Kate nevertheless accepts, and meets Matt's partner, Alejandro (del Toro) en route.  The team flies to the border, and links up with a team of ex-military special forces warriors; they cross into Mexico and take custody of a high-ranking member of the cartel.  The team has a close call at the border, and Kate is furious with Matt for his secrecy and flagrant use of violence.  He gives her nothing, but she continues on, intent on figuring out what Matt is really up to.

Kate, Matt and Alejandro dig deeper into the cartel, and the level of danger rises as they do so.  Kate pulls her FBI partner, Reggie, in for support, but it is a dark world they have entered - and they have no idea what to expect around each treacherous corner.

Sicario has a fairly small but very strong core group for a cast.  Emily Blunt is the lead as FBI agent Kate, and she gives a great performance.  She is strong and courageous, in a very realistic way and at a realistic level; she also capably conveys Kate's frustration, vulnerability, and sometimes fear.  The only problem with Kate is not hers; at times, the writers let her down with a few awkward outbursts.  Benicio del Toro is just as good, beginning the film as a quite, weary but clearly competent sidekick - and transforming into one of the scariest villains since Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men.  His performance is not at all showy, but as the movie goes along, even the simplest glance can send chills running down your spine.  The third main character is Josh Brolin's Matt, a seemingly nonchalant defense advisor.  I don't think it qualifies as a spoiler when I say that his character is not what he seems, even as he smoothly and easily maneuvers events to their inevitable end.  Small parts include Kate's partner Reggie (Daniel Kaluuya), the sole source of refuge for the heroine; Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead) playing yet another asshole - he's pretty good at it; and Maximiliano Hernandez as a representative of the morally murky and dangerous border area.

Sicario is a very good thriller engrossed in an intriguing, contemporary plot - though it isn't without its faults.  The strength of the film lies in the setting of the tone, just as in Villeneuve's Prisoners (more on this later).  A combination of elements keeps you on the edge of your seat and hackles up throughout the two hour running time.  The script provides just enough verbal and visual clues to let you know what is going on at the moment, but keeps the bigger picture mysterious.  The cinematography is excellent, from the angles or perspectives of shots to forboding, more obvious scene setting.  And Sicario also benefits from an outstanding score, turning even simple scenes into vividly menacing ones with an emphasis on heavy, bass electronics mixed with more standard orchestral stuff.  The opening scene featuring Kate in her "day job" is chilling and pretty much perfect, and it provides for the first push of an excellent first half, if not more, as you simultaneously soak up everything on screen and are desperate to find out what happens next.

Unfortunately, the film loses a bit of momentum as the second half proceeds.  Largely this is driven by the script, which settles down to merely "average", and a somewhat disappointing climax.  Already mentioned are Kate's odd/foolish outbursts, which spring up in this part of the film; and the promise of a grand, diabolical scheme didn't materialize quite to my expectations.  For all the first half's complexity, it boils down to a straightforward ultimate plan.  Still, the scenes themselves - from a night-time raid in a tunnel to a tense confrontation between Kate and Alejandro - crackle with energy and tension.  The last, brief scene pulls back and puts it all into perspective quite well.

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I may be going too hard on Sicario, even at an A-.  This is the first film I've reviewed in two months, making it my longest hiatus in probably at least five years.  Well, whether it's an A or A-, one thing I know for sure is that Denis Villeneuve is now on my list of filmmakers I will go to the theater to see automatically (joining Spielberg and Christopher Nolan; there are a few others getting there, too, like Matthew Vaughn).  Villeneuve's Prisoners was even better than Sicario, and its lack of a Best Picture nomination was a crime to film.  Both show that he is a master of atmosphere and tension, helped by cinematographer Roger Deakins, effective scores, scripts, and so on.  Just really, really high quality entertainment - admittedly, not exactly upbeat stuff, though.  Villeneuve is quite similar to Nolan in that his vision, style and scene-to-scene filmmaking are impeccable, but both could still use a little work on the big picture to make some true masterpieces (well, Nolan's at least gotten there once, with The Dark Knight).  Anyway, I highly recommend Sicario - watching on the big screen will maximize the terrific suspense, but see it regardless.





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