A film about cops and robbers, but which is which?

Sicario (15A)

This coruscating tale of an uncompromising drug war between a drug cartel and the forces of law and order – often the distinctions are blurred – on the border between America and Mexico bears a striking parallel to another “manhunt” film, Zero Dark Thirty – especially in one of its latter scenes where it uses a day-for-night filter. 

The fact that Emily Blunt gets top billing in it is good news for women as she hardly seems to have more than 30 lines to say in the whole film. The power of her performance comes largely from her facial expressions, ranging from bewilderment to horror as the full extent of the murderous cartel regime comes into stark relief. 

An idealistic FBI agent, she’s co-opted into the search for the “Mr Big” of the drugs trade by a government task force official played by Josh Brolin. Also overseeing things is a mysterious consultant, Benicio del Toro. Blunt is kept in the dark as to precisely what her function is.  

Director Denis Villeneuve draws fine performances from most of the cast, though it’s a pity Brolin keeps thinking he’s Jeff Bridges. Del Toro carries a hard-bitten look throughout. He’s obviously suffered in the past. When we finally learn exactly how, it opens the door for the blistering final scenes. This is a film you have to see but it’s not for the faint of heart. Pervaded by a brooding intensity, it appears slow-moving in the early stages, which makes the powder keg of the finale doubly effective. You might find yourself averting your eyes for some of the scenes of violence. 

Are these justifiable? I think so, if only because the bloodshed on view is replicated so often in news broadcasts one sees about this troubled quarter of the world in which so many lives are decimated by the narcotics scourge. Can the police beat the barons without resorting to their own barbaric behaviour? This is the central question Sicario (a term that means “hitman” in Mexico) poses. Blunt begins with a rigorous code of ethics in these matters but by the film’s end this, like her self-confidence, becomes almost totally shredded. An emotionally draining film, Sicario is essential viewing for anyone who cares about the drugs scourge – or realism on the screen.    

Excellent ****

Sicario goes on release on October 9.