Another masterpiece by Canada's greatest filmmaker, Denis Villeneuve!

Rating: 10/10 (1 March 2016)

Arguably the best film of 2015 is Canadian Denis Villeneuve's electrifying and morally-ambiguous portrait of the war against drugs on the border between the US and Mexico, "Sicario", a telling of the rite-of-passage of an idealistic and inexperienced FBI agent, superbly played by Emily Blunt, recruited to join a covert government team to bring down one of Mexico's most dangerous drug barons. She's accompanied by the team's leader, expertly played by Josh Brolin, a tough practical guy who believes the end justifies the means, and has no qualms about ignoring any laws that stand in his way. Also with them is a Mexican assassin played by Benicio Del Toro who has his own agenda. ("Sicario" derives from the Latin word, "Sicarius", meaning 'dagger man'; also 'hit man' in Spanish.) Villeneuve's past work comprises some of the finest films made the last few years (e.g., "Incendies", "Prisoners", and "Enemy") and "Sicario" is a tour-de-force of brilliant technique used to develop character as well as to encourage viewers into questioning their own moral choices in following proper laws or circumventing them for expediency. One critic called this film 'a punch to the gut' and it most certainly achieves that while never losing its grip on the audience, its action heightened by Roger Deakins' evocative cinematography utilizing the finest aerial tracking shots I have ever seen, along with crackerjack editing, and a pulse-pounding electronic music score by Icelandic composer, Jóhann Jóhannsson. Described by its director as "a dark poem," it is a tough, virtually perfect thriller that will stimulate your brain while gluing you to your seat.
As far as its music score which skillfully blends acoustic and electronic sounds with harmonic and dissonant minimalist music, Jóhannsson shows himself to be one of the truly great original film composers today. He has been scoring films in his native Iceland for over 15 years until writing a brilliantly evocative soundtrack music for Denis Villeneuve's 2013 "Prisoners", and now, also for Villeneuve, "Sicario". While making the film, the director told Jóhannsson to "create sounds that you wouldn't only hear but that you could also feel," and the composer managed that by using simple ambient sounds to music that rhythmically employed lots of percussion and unusual guitar and cello tones creatively, often so subtle as to seem subliminal. The end effect is disturbing and haunting, allowing the music to complement Villeneuve's visuals and the film's editing patterns perfectly.
In summary, the hypnotic and visceral "Sicario" is a suspense thriller that you cannot afford to miss.