If “The Martian” offers audiences a glimpse of humanity at
its best, “Sicario” resides firmly at the opposite end of the spectrum. Its
story, about the drug war being waged at the US-Mexican border, offers a rather
despairing reminder that wading into morally and ethically murky waters often
leaves everyone covered in muck.
We follow
tough, by-the-book FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily
Blunt), who specializes in kidnapping and hostage situations. Inspired by a
grisly discovery during a raid on a drug kingpin’s Arizona safe house, Kate
volunteers to join an elite task force that will attempt to capture the people
responsible. Led by Department of Defense contractor Matt (Josh Brolin) and his
stone-faced associate, Alejandro (a magnetic Beniciodel Toro), the unit’s mission is to “shake the tree and
create chaos” in the hopes of drawing out the big players. Originally claiming
to be headed to El Paso, they end up crossing the border into Juรกrez, Mexico, where US forces supposedly have no
jurisdiction.
Kate is the
movie’s conscience, though it quickly becomes clear that there’s no place for
idealists in the war on drugs. Her efforts to do the right thing are repeatedly
stymied, and we witness her idealism get beaten down as her adherence to the
law lands her in over her head. She (and by extension the audience) are kept in
the dark about the true nature of Matt and Alejandro’s work, and we feel Kate’s
growing frustration as she’s increasingly relegated to the sidelines. Blunt is,
as always, wonderful. Kate is a tough character to play: she’s vulnerable but
never weak; naive, but not stupid.
Like
Villeneuve’s “Prisoners,” the film was shot by master cinematographer
Roger Deakins and as with everything Deakins points his camera at, it looks great. Meanwhile, JรณhannJรณhannsson’s pulsing score
adds an unnerving undercurrent to the action. Aside from a subplot involving a
Mexican police officer, which is manipulative and wholly unnecessary, the
script by Taylor Sheridan is solid. It walks a fine line between making the
general method behind the action clear while the specifics remain
(deliberately) impenetrable. “Sicario” is nothing if not intense, and
Villeneuve builds that tension throughout the film until it reaches almost
unbearable levels. He takes what might otherwise have been a conventional drug
thriller, and turns it into a moral and ethical horror film.
This article appears in Oct 7-13, 2015.
