Depressing but Excellent

Rating: 8/10 (14 October 2015)

Wow. This is one of the most intense and at the same time depressing movies I've seen in a long time. Don't get me wrong, it's a great film, but the way it portrays the drug trade in the United States and Mexico is disheartening. Some of the deaths and tortures that we see in this film are brutal but I guess it helps to get the point across. Drug traffickers will do just about anything to get their product out there and to make some money off of others' suffering. Let's talk about the story a little.
Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) is an FBI agent with a pretty good record of responding to drug related crimes in the Southwestern United States. She and her partner Reggie (Daniel Kaluuya) are trying their best to keep the drugs from coming in but they realize they're losing. After a particularly terrorizing case, Kate is convinced to join a special task force designed to hit the drug traffickers in a more direct fashion. This new task force is headed by a man named Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) and his mysterious partner Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro). Kate soon learns that Graver and Alejandro are willing to use illegal procedures to get what they want and Alejandro himself isn't being totally honest about who he is.
Once again, we get another movie full of excellent talent. Emily Blunt is easily one of my favorite actresses working today. She's tough most of the time but we see her when she's vulnerable also. We see that she's trying her best to do the right thing but she's afraid to cross that line that Graver and his men stepped over long ago. I've said it before but I'm a huge fan of Josh Brolin. He always seems so comfortable in all of his roles and it makes his characters feel like actual people. And of course, Benicio Del Toro. What really needs to be said about this man? He's excellent in everything he does. I feel like he's either playing a very serious character or a goofy one and this character is definitely the first. He's straight up terrifying at times because of what he's willing to do but when we learn his reasons it's difficult not to empathize with him.
Mexico really doesn't look great in this film but that's the whole point. This country has become so corrupt that corpses and gunfire are common place and the poverty is visible in nearly every aspect of the cities these poor people have to live in. Everything in the environment and the way the characters act just screams of hopelessness. One of the major themes of the movie is the seemingly insurmountable odds facing the FBI and others fighting against the drug trade. This is why the task force headed by Graver do what they do but is it too late to change anything? Another one of the major themes of the film is the differing ideologies between Kate and Graver. Kate believes that everything should be done by the book while Graver is willing to cross the line into illegality (and seems to enjoy it) as long as the ends justify the means. In theory, both views have their pros and cons but Kate's view is easily the inferior in this film. She constantly complains about everything Graver and Alejandro do and doesn't seem to bring much to the table herself. She's obviously very idealistic and intelligent but Graver's methods constantly produce results while she keeps on getting herself into trouble. I found myself agreeing and siding with Graver but it would have been nice to see if Kate's own views were justified in any way. She actually came off as annoying at times since she couldn't seem to make any real change on her own but she's willing to complain about what every one else is doing.
The character of Alejandro is interesting since he's such a major character but the main plot doesn't seen to require him until the end. Most of what he does is doable by Graver but he keeps showing up and helping Kate out of some sticky situations. When we eventually find out what he's doing there the movie takes an even darker tone, if that's even possible. I don't want to spoil too much but he's a very tragic backstory. It's easy to empathize with him even if it's hard to condone some of his actions.
I have to say that I really enjoyed this film. The acting is great, the story is interesting, and the action is exciting if not brutal at times. It's not exactly a unique premise but it's done really well in this movie. It would have been nice if Kate's arguments actually made more sense but Graver was easily justified in his more direct approach. It's too bad he's so sadistic at times but he did get results. It's an interesting movie and I would definitely recommend giving it a watch.