Sicario, one of the most memorable films of the year, stars the always wonderful Emily Blunt as Kate Macer, a headstrong FBI agent who crosses into Mexico to assist a mysterious task force in bringing down a high-priority drug cartel leader. Towards the end of the movie, though, it turns out that everything is not as it seems: Kate, who was supposedly asked to join the team because of her excellent track record, is revealed to be there purely to give the CIA the legal ability to operate within US borders. Put simply, she was being used all along. Like, the whole time. The marketing for Sicario played a huge part in keeping this twist under wraps, as everyone who presumably went into the movie expected Macer to be the "hero" of the film. And yet Sicario doesn't let that happen - the movie is far too smart for that. Instead, she's tricked, abused and lied to for the entire runtime; she doesn't even wind up being part of the climatic scene that sees hitman Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) taking on the cartel baron. The expectations one might have had for Sicario, coupled with the way the movie avoids giving Macer anything "heroic" to do, presents you with the feeling that you've been wholly duped when the credits start to role. What else would you want from a true twist, hm?
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
