SICARIO : Saturday 26th September 2015.

SICARIO - there is a very strong pedigree behind this film, which I saw last night, that should assure it of a high degree of success. Director Denis Villeneuve, Cinematographer Roger Deakins, and stars Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio del Toro, Jon Bernthal and Victor Garber, this film was made for US$30M and was in competition for the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May this year and is out on general release now. 'Sicario' is cartel slang for 'hitman', and in the context of this film surrounds the drug war between the US and its border with Mexico. This, as you know, has been the subject of many a film over the years, but, already this film has garnered much interest and much acclaim for its gritty, raw, emotional and violent portrayal of the impact that the war on drugs has on those associated with it - directly and indirectly.

Our film opens with an FBI crack team descending (by tank) on an unassuming single storey house in the Phoenix, Arizona suburb of Chandler. That team is lead by Kate Mercer (Emily Blunt), and as that crack team burst through the walls of the house those inside are caught unaware and off guard. There is an exchange of gun fire, those inside are quickly dispensed with but not before one of the target lets off a shotgun round narrowly missing Mercer and exploding into the wall behind. She hits the ground, shaken but not stirred, and is OK when her armour wearing colleagues come into check on her.

Her partner Reggie Wayne (Daniel Kaluuya) turns to survey the damage in the room, and thorough the shotgun hole in the wall behind Mercer notices a bloodied face starring out at him behind a veil of plastic. They begin to rip away at the recently clad wall and reveal more bodies standing upright - all dead, all bloodied, all encased in plastic sheeting. Within hours the forensics team arrive and later via a CNN news broadcast it is revealed that the now dubbed 'House of Horrors' contained 46 such carcasses within its walls. At the same time, the other FBI Agents are checking the remaining property and in a shed in the back yard there is a heavily padlocked underground bunker. Attempting to open it, it explodes destroying everything in close proximity, including two Agents. This sets the tone for what is to come - less that five minutes into the film, and the body count is already at 48!

Mercer is a seasoned idealistic by-the-book thumper - someone who has been kicking down doors for years and is recognised for her results, her commitment and her strong work ethic. She is soon enlisted by Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) having been recommended by her boss Dave Jennings (Victor Garber), into an elite government task force to wage a relentless and merciless war on the Mexican drug cartels who operate either side of the border between the two countries. Mercer is told very little except that she is instrumental in their objective and her track record speaks for itself. Along the way they will be guided and supported by a mystery Agent, Alejandro Gillick (Benicio Del Toro), who has history with Graver. After a briefing Mercer is advised she is to board a private jet with Graver to El Paso, and on this plane she meets Gallic for the first time, but he says very little, only adding to the mystery. Being a strictly by-the-book girl she wants answers but becomes increasingly frustrated when none are forthcoming.

The flight takes the three to Juarez over the border into Mexico, and not in fact El Paso, where we learn that a cartel king pin is to be pulled from prison there are moved to the US. In a convoy of five black armoured 4WD's we are taken through the back streets of sprawling city that is  gateway for drug trafficking. There is the sound of distant gun fire and explosions, and the convoy by now with a heavily armed police escort, passes by several dismembered corpses hanging under a railway line - a sign put there by the drug barons to ward off these who would cross them. The tension of this sequence will have you on the edge of your seat as we gain a drivers eye view of the perils of this embattled city, the carnage all around while seemingly ordinary people try to go about their daily lives, and the fact that those in the convoy are being pursued by those who want the prisoner back for themselves and will stop at nothing to succeed. Things come to a head at the border crossing when because of a broken down vehicle, all traffic has come to a grinding halt, and here again, Mercer is caught in the cross fire, wondering whatever happened to due process and procedural protocols.

From here, we start to learn more of Gillick's back story and why he is what, and who, he is. He has his own agenda too against the particular drug lord they are chasing down, but to get to him they must go through various others first, and it is here again that we are thrown further into the intrigue of how this team are allowed to operate the way they do and with no questions asked. The end justifies the means, and in this Graver and Gillick are unrelenting and guarded with what they are prepared to reveal to Mercer and Wayne. As they get deeper and more is uncovered so Mercer begins to question her own values and morals as well as those around her and those in positions of authority. She plays along albeit reluctantly, but is often sidelined by the others who are more attuned to the bigger picture.

One night in a bar Mercer and Wayne hook up with an old friend and colleague of Wayne's, Ted (Jon Bernthal) and the three drink, dance and Ted & Mercer get in on. Back at Mercer's apartment as the two are getting down & dirty Mercer notices an elastic arm band that ties him to the drug cartel and money laundering activities. Before going any further, a fight ensues, and Ted attempts to strangle Mercer, almost succeeding, but not before Gillick comes to her aid. Upon further 'questionning' Ted reveals all to Gillick in order to protect himself and his family.

As the team uncover the whereabouts of a secret underground tunnel linking Juarez with the US, so they get closer to the end game. Heavily armed, night vision goggles poised, they enter under cover of darkness and proceed to take out those therein. The team becomes split with Graver returning, mission accomplished while Mercer heads off confronting Gillick taking possession of a police car that has just unloaded a sizeable stash of cocaine at the hands of a police officer on the take.

Gillick uses the vehicle and the police officer to give chase to Manuel Diaz (Bernardo P. Saracino) a lynch-pin in the drug cartel who is en route to see his boss and cartel leader Fausto Alarcon (Julio Cedillo). The showdown comes at the mansion of Alarcon when Gillick takes out the armed security one by one with calculated surgical precision, and more tension to keep your heart racing.

After all this is done and the dust has settled, Mercer is forced to sign off on the mission that all was conducted above board, by-the-book and in line with expected protocols. She cannot bring herself to do it and refuses, but in the privacy of her own apartment and with a loaded gun pressed up under her chin, she signs, reluctantly and in tears. Gillick walks away with the signed papers, job done. Mercer was but a pawn in this game of chess - a means to an end, that allowed Graver, Gillick and their team to accomplish their mission, above the law, no questions asked.

'Sicario' is a powerful film on many levels. Roger Deakins lensing of the film is as always first rate - from the aerial sweeping vistas of the Mexican border country, to the raw underbelly of Juarez, to the night vision perspectives and the chase sequences - all flows with his meticulous artistry and vision. Blunt goes from strength to strength and shows again she is a female acting force to be reckoned with, Del Toro delivers a fine nuanced performance that will leave you wondering what he'll do next throughout the film and always commanding your attention, and Brolin adds gravitas as the lead guy on the team that no one questions and no one doubts his abilities, his decisions and his ethics.

This is one of the best films of the year so far - dark, brooding, menacing, fast paced and at times nail biting - a must-see.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-