From director Denis Villeneuve comes “Sicario,” the new crime thriller film centered around an FBI task force enlisted to take down one of Mexico’s most bloodthirsty drug cartels. The title, translating as “hitman” from Spanish, appropriately captures the intense uneasiness and brutal nature of the chase across the border into Juarez, Mexico.
“Sicario” follows SWAT agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt, “Into The Woods”), rooted in firm morals with a thirst for justice. After a kidnapping raid gone wrong in Arizona, she volunteers for a new mission tasked with finding the men responsible. Working under Department of Defense adviser Matt Graver (Josh Brolin, “Everest”), idealistic Macer quickly realizes everything is not as it seems.
Alongside Graver’s partner, the mysterious Columbian native Alejandro Gillick (Benicio del Toro, “A Perfect Day”), Macer finds herself blindly following orders. As the stakes and safety of the mission-bound agents come into question, she begins to second-guess the ethics and legality of their work.
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Del Toro shines in his supporting role among the star-studded cast. He perfectly evokes a sense of unease from the audience, as his motives and true background are unclear and concerning.
While the viewers of the film are struggling to trust him, his character’s cool demeanor and calm persona in the face of chaos is particularly mesmerizing. In his heightened performance, del Toro indirectly plants the question in one’s head — when will he break?
This ends up being incredibly appropriate, as his crumbling character becomes one of the film’s most unsettling elements. Combined with the horrifying visuals of the cartels’ handiwork — namely panorama shots of suspended mutilated bodies — it’s not surprising “Sicario” produces the sensation of nausea. Yet, viewers truly cannot look away.
While “Sicario” possesses its fair share of compellingly unpleasant imagery, cinematographer Roger Deakins did not dare to leave out some truly stunning visuals. From birds-eye views of the Juarez landscape to the hypnotizing lines of FBI cars traveling in synchronicity, Deakins appropriately balanced magnificent imagery with the gruesome. Ultimately, these contrasting shots worked together to achieve an alluring compilation for the film’s transition sequences.
Despite a brief love scene that came to a crashing end after Macer’s one night stand turns into creeping sabotage, there are no romantic subplots. This is a satisfying element to the film, as the focus is on Macer’s navigation through a world surrounded by men with values and motives so different from her own.
The film does not fall under the umbrella of typical FBI versus drug cartel story lines. Its resolution steered away from the patriotically victorious outcome many expect from the film’s exposition. Instead, the conclusion of “Sicario” was ridden with a disturbing unease, the consequences of a quest ultimately for vengeance, not justice. Straying away from a typical and anticipated ending contributed to the film’s enthralling nature.
Throughout its course, “Sicario” leaves viewers clenching the armrests of their seats, unable to look away. The fascinating and cohesive storyline packaged with brilliant cinematographic techniques makes “Sicario” an appropriate film to reign in Oscar season.
