A Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (8 August 2018)

Sicario has the bones of a good crime thriller, but in the hands of a director as talented as Villeneuve, Sicario becomes a meditation about America's role in the drug war and a contemplation on what fighting monsters does to the human psyche.
Roger Deakins lives up to the standard he has set for himself, framing the environment our protagonist finds herself in as foreign and frightening, yet somehow still reminded us of home stateside. A tense stand-off near the border is a particular standout.
Emily Blunt gives perhaps the performance of her stellar and perpetually underrated career as Kate, a conduit for the audience in the story but also the manifestion of dignity and ethical conviction in a world that doesn't leave room for much of either. Josh Brolin is having a blast playing the swarmy and self assured Matt, while Benecio del Toro imbues Alejandro with a mysterious and tough exterior that shrouds personal tradegy.
The script is one that withholds any clear moral standing for the audience, and the viewer is left in a constant state of bewilderment as to who can be trusted and if everyone's stated intentions are true. By the end, you'll be without answers, only left to reckon with what you've seen on the screen, and what it means for your country and it's efforts in a destructive and perhaps futile drug war.
Sicario combines great acting, confident direction, impressive camera work, a remarkable soundtrack, and a expertly woven script to make a film for the ages.