by Alexis Faulkner
Sicario is a disturbingly realistic depiction of a
complicated CIA mission involving a Mexican drug cartel and a few FBI agents from
Arizona. Emily Blunt stars as Kate, Mercer, a strikingly tough, intelligent and
tactically talented leader of a kidnap-rescue FBI task force who struggles with
the morality of the CIA’s actions and her own involvement in their plans. The
movie is well cast; the varied intensity of the actors adds to the realistic
portrayal of law enforcement. Benicio del Toro is both menacing and stoic as the
titular character, a hit man with transient loyalties and no particular
adherence to any moral code or legal jurisdiction. The leader of CIA special
task force, played by Josh Brolin, contrasts del Toro sharply with his smug,
gum-chewing, flip-flop wearing, almost overdone air of nonchalance. Blunt is
particularly strong as she gives a character with few lines plenty of depth. Her
mix of confidence and confusion shows just how disorienting it is to live in a
world filled with violent criminals like Manuel Diaz, played by Bernardo
Saracino, and mysterious enforcers like Alejandro (del Toro).
Dialogue is sparse throughout the movie; the director
focuses on movement and imagery, and we can be thankful for this, as some of lines
are cheesy and lack the subtly present in the other elements of the film.
Before Kate knows much about their mission, Alejandro says to Kate, “Nothing
will make sense to your American ears, and you will doubt everything that we
do, but in the end you will understand.” Perhaps if there were more dialogue
between characters, this line wouldn’t stand out. However, because Alejandro
says very little in the movie, it sounds overly dramatic and cartoonish. This
detracts from the film’s overall realism, however, Alejandro warns the audience,
along with Kate, of the grisly action ahead.
My favorite aspect of the movie is the way the director
builds suspense by allowing the audience to see only what Kate sees. She
doesn’t discover the purpose of her involvement in a mysterious mission until
well after she participates in the violence it precipitates. Minimal dialogue
paired with constant visual action keeps the audience guessing as to where the
mission will take the team next and what the consequences will be. The
cinematography is striking and captures much of the brutal landscape from first
person perspective: shots from a car crossing the border back into Texas from
Mexico, shots of the cities most recent victims of violence hanging from the
highway in Juarez as seem from a car, shots of the surrounding desert in Mexico
and Texas. Director of photography Roger Deakins contrasts these immersive
angles with direct aerial shots of vehicles moving back and forth across the
border. In a most
transcendent scene, the audience is seemingly sent into battle themselves when
Deakins uses a night vision effect, and we see through the eyes of the agents
searching the desert and heading into an underground tunnel. This mix of
film techniques gives us a credible look into life in Juárez and adds to the
intensity of the film.
Overall,
the movie survives not on story but on feeling— the plot is interesting enough
to keep us guessing, but even after the hero has his final moment, there is no sense
of absolute resolution. This makes the movie’s realism more impactful. The
characters can move on to their next objective, but the audience is left to
wonder just how long drug related violence on the Mexico-Texas border will
continue.
Alexis Faulkner is Executive Editor-in-Chief of Uncanny Valley Magazine and in-house film critic.
