Sicario review

The opening text of Sicario reveals that the word refers to ancient Jewish zealots and is also the Spanish for ‘assassin.’ Why this is relevant is only made painfully clear towards the film’s end.

The plot of director Denis Villeneuve’s fifth feature sees FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) drafted into a special task force to help take down a Mexican drug cartel. This task force is headed up by the shady pairing of defence adviser Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) and Alejandro Gillick (Benicio del Toro). As the campaign against the cartel intensifies, Macer finds her ideals challenged by the brutal and unorthodox methods of those around her.

Sicario works as both a thriller and a commentary on the drug war consuming Mexico. In its depiction of the actions of the cartels and of the law enforcement agencies trying to combat them, the film pulls no punches. In one scene, Kate is driven past a bridge from which the dismembered bodies of the cartel’s victims hang. Although she is shocked, the agent with her can only speak admiringly of the cartel’s terror tactics and call them ‘brilliant.’

The idea that Kate is entering a different world with a very different set of rules to those she is used to is continually emphasised with Alejandro telling her: ‘This is the land of wolves now.’

Villeneuve also makes use of an interesting device by presenting us with a separate storyline running in parallel to the main one. In this, we see a Mexican police officer called Silvio as he recovers from his night shifts and interacts with his family. The true significance of this storyline is not clear until the film’s end yet it adds a different and very human perspective to the central narrative.

Another thing that makes Sicario effective is the strength of its performances: Emily Blunt is convincing and likeable as the protagonist, Josh Brolin is appropriately aloof and obnoxious, and Benicio Del Toro weaves a portrait of a restrained but rage-filled man whose true motivations remain a mystery until the film’s dénouement. Indeed, it is Del Toro who stands out the most and in his performance as Alejandro we certainly have a worthy contender for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars.

Thought provoking, unrelenting, and brutal: Sicario may just be one of the most interesting films released this year.

Star Rating: 5/5