Brilliant cinematography and dark realism

Rating: 7/10 (20 April 2019)

Sicario is an enigma: some of the film is near perfect (notably the border crossing scene), striking the right balance of tension and drama, without losing realism. The portrayal of cartel-controlled Mexico is bleak and unforgiving, creating an appropriate sense of paranoia and isolating the American soldiers sent across the border. Unfortunately, between these scenes, there is a lack of meaningful storyline - Emily Blunt's character seems miscast, constantly unaware of the situation. Whilst (to an extent) this makes sense, as the film progresses this begins to drag somewhat.
The real character of interest is undoubtedly the understated mercenary Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro), someone connected to the cartels but with his own personal stake in the matter; his introduction scene (involving some suggested torture) is darkly realistic, and his motives remain a mystery until the very end. This, however, is part of the issue with Sicario - the "take down the drugs trade from the inside" plot device feels unimportant until you realise the underlying goal of the mission, preventing this film from really exceeding expectations. Whilst no doubt interesting, not engaging with the story makes enjoying Sicario more difficult than necessary.