5.2 – Review and discuss own choice of British film productions and world film productions

Review of British or World film features (ideally in cinema).


Sicario - 2015 (dir: Denis Villeneuve) 

After emerging from the Cannes Film Festival amidst critical lauds, Sicario became one of my most anticipated films for the remainder of the year. An intriguing story rooted in real life struggles, backed up by a terrific cast and creative team made it look to be a sure-fire winner. After I saw it, I was delighted to find out that Sicario is indeed the winner I hoped it was. It’s a gorgeously shot and terrifically tense thriller, featuring breathtaking turns from Emily Blunt and Benicio del Toro which elevate the decent if not unremarkable script and story.

In the seemingly never-ending and escalating Mexican drug war, Blunt’s Kate Macer is an idealistic FBI agent who is recruited by a government task force to help take down a leading dealer in Mexico. Director, Denis Villeneuve establishes that this war is at a point where right and wrong is hard to distinguish, something that Kate struggles to align with her morals as she grows increasingly alienated to the people she should trust, whilst still being wholly dedicated to taking down this threat. Blunt captures this frustration, doubt and determination amazingly, delivering a knockout performance as the film’s POV character. Threatening to steal her spotlight is Benicio del Toro’s Alejandro, a shadowy figure on the squad, whose overwhelming intensity yet world-weary voice give a lot of complexity to what on paper could be a fairly cartoonish character. It’s sublime work that deserves recognition come Oscar season.

Kate’s uncertainty at the morality of the people she’s fighting with play a major role in the film’s first two acts, while elements of a ‘revenge’ movie are sprinkled throughout in the motivations of several characters. The former themes prove to be far more interesting; showing the corruption and twisted ethics the government appears to hold in order to try bringing down their targets. Nothing in this fight is black and white. But in making a statement on the futility of Kate’s idealism by making her increasingly irrelevant to the events at play, the plot is weakened as the climax seems more like a straight revenge flick that takes away some of the complexity developed throughout. Furthermore, a subplot attempting to add depth to the guys on the other side of the battle is fairly predictable and doesn’t really match up with what surrounds it. However, the ending is a real punch to the guts that turns it back around and places the struggle back on Kate, who comes to a heart-wrenching and difficult realisation on the corruption that takes place in order to take down enemy threats in the world.

These plot weaknesses are more than made up for in production, where Villeneuve’s direction, combined with Roger Deakins’ cinematography and Jóhann Jóhannsson’s score, creates two hours of heart-pounding film. Even in scenes where nothing significant appears to be happening, there is an overwhelming sense of dread that fills the screen and never leaves. You can imagine the insane tautness built in the film’s terrifically crafted action sequences – particularly one set in a traffic jam at the USA-Mexico border crossing. I could barely look. In spite of any plot deficiencies, the film moves at a great pace, always building up tension through Deakins’ striking images and Villeneuve’s direction and not letting you take a breath until the credits roll.

Overall, Sicario is a thriller that triumphs exquisitely in its craftsmanship, elevating some of the weaker elements in the story department. The whole cast is great – I didn’t even mention Josh Brolin’s strong unsettling turn as Matt, the operation’s leader – and I don’t even want to try and do justice to how gorgeous Deakins’ work on this film is. Villeneuve never lets up on the film’s dark tone and creates an emotionally draining experience that is nonetheless a really excellent piece of filmmaking.