Director Denis Villeneuve has delivered another gorgeous film with "Sicario." The film centers on Emily Blunt’s character, Kate, an FBI agent who is asked to volunteer for a relatively unknown mission that takes her farther than she ever imagined.
The film begins with Kate and her FBI team responding to a hostage situation in the middle of Arizona that results in the discovery of numerous decomposing bodies hidden within the dry wall of the house. A search of an outside shed sets off a bomb that blows many of the agents into pieces. Kate is then sent to speak to her superiors and meets Josh Brolin’s character, Matt, who immediately puts off an air of secrecy. Kate is handed her first assignment, a lie disguised as a simple trip.
We jump quickly to a plane ride where Benicio Del Toro’s character, Alejandro, is introduced and it’s revealed that they are headed to Mexico. Upon arrival, Kate is thrown into a meeting with what seems like another special task force. She isn’t really given any information, but is forced to come along for the ride.
The next scene is pulsating as the team speeds through the streets of Juarez, Mexico and the audience is given a quick update on the current conditions of the city. To say I was jarred by the naked men hanging from telephone wires in the middle of the street is an understatement. I’m not sure as to the exact location they filmed this scene in, but it was extremely realistic. Posters of missing people and military vehicles with machine guns attached are Kate’s first glimpse into the other side.
The crew retrieves a man who is said to be well connected to the cartel and they make a mad dash out of Mexico to the border where things become a little more focused for Kate. On their way back into the US they are confronted by two vehicles filled with Mexican cartel members and are forced to make snap judgments in order to transport their prisoner. What’s odd is that after they’ve shot down the cartel members, it’s mentioned that the killing won’t even make the local newspaper.
Thus creating even more of a mystery around the legality of their actions, at this point Kate wants out. The film then launches into a subsequent interrogation and a sting operation at a bank. Kate finds herself unable to refuse the many shady dealings that Alejandro and Matt are involved in which jeopardize her own safety at times. Jon Bernthal makes a cameo as a potential lover for Kate, but that quickly turns on its head when it is revealed that he is in fact her hit man.
Much is revealed at the end which turns into a beautifully quiet frenzy. The team has a hit on a major cartel member, but there is an even deeper subplot that is revealed. I’m not one to give away major spoilers, so here’s hoping you’ll go out this weekend and watch it.
Overall the film has an amazing script written by Taylor Sheridan, who some might know as playing Officer Hale on Sons of Anarchy. It seemed as if everything was perfectly timed, I didn’t feel as if the film was missing something or that it waned in certain spots. Most importantly though, this film had a satisfying ending, it really is one of the few films this year that gives that specific feeling.
