However, violence is probably the least surprising aspect of Villeneuve’s picture. Things have gotten so bad that cartel violence has become an everyday occurrence.
Yet, the film isn’t focused on the violence but on how it is just the outer layer of a complex, utterly messy situation, rife with corruption and shady doings on both sides of the border. In fact, there is no finite border —the characters in “Sicario” create their own boundaries, their own set of rules. Futility flows through “Sicario” like blood; it makes Steven Soderbergh’s “Traffic” look like “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.”
“Traffic” (which chronicled the conflict from multiple perspectives: the police, the criminals, the addicts, the politicians, etc.) has its fair share of dourness and futility, but it ends on a note of optimism: This isn’t going to be an easy fight, but we’re making progress. In Villeneuve’s picture, there isn’t a single ray of hope. Its message: Everything is really complicated and screwed up, and there isn’t a thing you can do about it.
“Sicario” definitely won’t be for everyone. Yet, for those who like gritty, pessimistic crime cinema, the movie is hugely entertaining and well-made. Villeneuve and screenwriter Taylor Sheridan don’t try to tell a sprawling epic about the drug war using multiple perspectives, like “Traffic” did. Instead, they fit all that chaos and messiness into a tight-knit, character-driven neo noir.
Fresh-faced FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) is recruited by a task force made up of various U.S. and Mexican government operatives like Matt (Josh Brolin) and Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) to take down a major cartel boss.
The thrill and intrigue of “Sicario” comes from the moral complexity of the characters. Everyone has his or her own agenda and self-manufactured definitions of right and wrong; this moral ambiguity makes “Sicario” consistently exciting and unpredictable.
At first glance, Kate doesn’t appear to serve that much of a purpose. For most of the movie, she’s off to the side, while Alejandro, Matt and others do the major police work. She’s a smart and fully competent agent but is often patronized and excluded. Villeneuve could have given Blunt more to do, but Kate provides the film with some stability and moral outrage to balance out the grittiness.
The acting is solid across the board: Blunt is understated and sincere, while Brolin is playful and scenery-chewing.
Amidst all the bleakness, “Sicario” has a dark sense of humor. And then there’s Del Toro, quietly menacing and dangerous, while also managing to give off a calming, non-threatening presence. Alejandro slyly emerges as the most fascinating, morally conflicted character in the movie.
And all of this guided by the graceful, non-melodramatic directorial hand of Villeneuve. He moves the picture along at a steady, unhurried pace, usually stretching sequences out to create maximum tension and paranoia. You never know who might try to kill you, so it’s best to tread lightly.