Sicario
Denis Villeneuve had already proven his directing prowess upon release of his 2015 film “Sicario”, yet was able to elevate his already impressive filmography with this neo-western suspense thriller. A complete film containing a linear story with compelling characters and top class cinematography and sound design is still referenced today as a blueprint on tension building.
The film begins quickly taking us inside an FBI unit where we see the type extreme brutality we are seeing with cartels across the border. Instead of heaps of expositional dialogue we are shown by our characters reactions everything we need to know about how they feel. While many cast members are used we mainly follow 4 characters. Two of them work for the FBI and two of them work the CIA, each provide clear and different motives. Although some of these characters are quite morally ambiguous, we have no choice but to understand their actions and reactions the more we find out.
As stated previously, the strong and differentiating performances from Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio del Toro and Daniel Kaluuya are all outstanding in their own right. The film chooses to be grounded in realism where the material could have easily been turned into a bombastic action movie void of all personality. Instead we received an unflinching depiction of a modern day battle where the lines of right and wrong are muddled to the fullest extent.
The Cinematographer Roger Deakins is in his usual peak form. Breathtaking shots in almost every scene with visual striking colors. The use of massive drone and overhead shots give a sense of scale and make our characters minimal. This makes their efforts seem futile in the scheme of things. With their being many long stretches with no dialogue it’s the shots and score that keep the viewer hooked. Jóhann Jóhannson provides a score that extenuates the film which is already cloaked in suspense. Song like “The Beast” and “Night Vision” leave lasting impressions of dread throughout the length of the film.
Ultimately the choice to forego big action set pieces or a forced story results in a tremendous display of storytelling. Denis Villeneuve adds to his already impressive and diverse resume with a riveting display of border corruption that does not glorify the long standing fight on drugs and the cartel. Instead the film displays how this life takes its toll and requires you to lose a part of yourself. The film ends beautifully showing the damage this cycle causes with no real displays of improvement.
Denis Villeneuve Ranked