Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve provides a bleak world view in "Sicario," which means hit man in Spanish. There's not much difference between the good guys and the bad and while he definitely posits to the audience, 'Does the ends justify the means,' his story seems to answer the question in the affirmative. FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) believes in the concepts of justice and jurisdiction. She and her partner, Reggie (Daniel Kaluuya), are among the dwindling number of true believers, a fact that becomes evident when they join a cross-agency task force led by the shady Matt (Josh Brolin) and the even more shady Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro). These two earn Kate's trust by claiming that their goal is to stop a terrorist whose bombs are killing her people. This isn't a lie, but what they don't tell her is that their methods will challenge her morals to the core. From Matt and Alejandro's perspective, there's no such thing as an 'innocent' bystander, only collateral damage.
Emily Blunt has appeared in all genres of movies, including the 2014 Tom Cruise thriller Edge of Tomorrow and she has been effective in all. Never has she been asked to take a character as far into darkness as she is with Kate. It's an arresting performance as she becomes the audience's surrogate in this ethical minefield. The character is a little naive and she learns some hard lessons. Brolin plays a role he's played before, a seemingly easy-going nice guy with a ice in his veins. Del Toro s frightening as the steely-eyed Alejandro who has an agenda that might not jive with the others. "Sicario" deserves Oscar recognition, but it's not an easy film to watch. It should be on the must-see list for anyone who appreciates films that dare to explore the moral gray areas.
1 comment:
We both loved this movie. I agree that it was not always easy to watch, but it was worth it. Excellent! Josh Brolin is certainly keeping busy these days! Benicio del Toro is one of my favorite actors. What was that movie where he won a truck, hit a father and two daughrters with Sean Penn? That's when he became a favorite actor of mine.
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