A Different Look at the War on Drugs

Rating: 7/10 (21 February 2016)

An idealistic FBI agent (Emily Blunt) is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.
Let me start with this: Officials of Ciudad Juárez criticized the depiction of that city, El Paso's cross-border twin, expressing their view that Sicario portrayed their city in a bad light, for instance in its sequences depicting nighttime firefights in the city, and tortured bodies of dead hanging from downtown viaducts.
While the movie is not a true story, it is intended to send a message about a real situation: the violence associated with drugs. And because it intends to get a response, some level of realism ought to be encouraged. I have no idea if the CIA is doing border raids. I have real doubts that American soldiers can go within a mile of the border and kill citizens indiscriminately. If we are supposed to sympathize with Blunt's character, we ought to a) feel the violence by Americans is not justified and b) believe this is something that actually happens.
But, even if it is an exaggeration, it still has a kernel of truth. El Paso is a nice city, but just over the border are slums. And we have to ask why that is. And while the film never touches on immigration directly, there is that topic always lurking in the background: can we blame Mexican citizens for illegally entering America if they are fleeing such violence and crippling levels of poverty? Legal or not, they could be said to have a moral right to defend their children by any means possible. (I am not advocating here or attempting to be political, but merely saying there are multiple issues and angles to consider.) The real breakout actor here was Benicio del Toro. This might have been Blunt's film, but del Toro really carries it in the second half. Rumors are that there will be a sequel that follows his character. Not sure how that is possible, but it could be interesting. He came off as a cross between Dirty Harry and Jason Bourne, one man against all the drug cartels. Could be an interesting story to follow if done right.
The film received three Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Sound Editing. As far as Best Sound Editing goes, I have no way to judge that properly, and cannot give an intelligent assessment one way or the other.
Interestingly, on both Score and Cinematography, its biggest competitor is Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight". And if it were up to me, I would split the difference and give them each an award. While the score for "Sicario" is very distinct and stood out in my head as few others do, it is up against Ennio Morricone. Ho do you compete with a living legend, especially when this is likely his last chance at an Oscar? So I suspect that even if "Sicario" has the better score (which is debatable), "Eight" takes the statue.
And we go the other way on Cinematography. What "Eight" has going for it is the unusual decision to release a film in 70mm. But because so few theaters can even show it, and so few scenes of the movie really need it, it comes off as a gimmick. In contrast, "Sicario" has great aerial shots, night vision shots, thermal shots... a whole range of ways to see the world not often used in one picture. And the man behind the camera is Roger Deakins, possibly the greatest cinematographer alive. So, give him the award.