LionsgateIF there's one thing that we can learn from Denis Villeneuve's Sicario it's that not only has the lawless world of the Western stayed with us, but that it's transformed into a beast of epic proportions far more deadly than ever before. Here, the murky conflict between Mexican drug cartels and law enforcement agencies plays out on an epic, metaphysical scale. Emily Blunt plays FBI Agent Kate Macer, drafted into a special squad handling the cartels after her involvement in a raid on a house in Arizona; a moment revealing the horrific extent the criminals will go to protect their lucrative business. Whereas Breaking Bad took the Mexican drug trade as a reference point for edge of the seat entertainment, Sicario goes for the jugular and sets the tone as deadly serious from the beginning. The moral ambiguities in Sicario and lack of any hint as to a way out of the impasse serves to highlight just how bad things are south of the border; a place rendered alien and uncompromising thanks to Oscar-worthy cinematography from the ever excellent Roger Deakins. This is essential viewing for fans of brutally honest film-making.
