Sicario (2015) – Review

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From hauntingย Incendies to traumatizing Prisoners to enigmatic Enemy; Denis Villeneuve’s filmography is equallyย bleak andย strong in atmosphere—with amplifying tension that stimulates eerie, uncomfortable feeling. The trigger is: how his works always find comfort in portraying “gray” matter—away from just being black against white or good versus evil; and Sicario is definitely included in his long list of segmented works.

Sicario, which means “hitman” in Spanish, gives a shot to the dark league of drug trading war in a lawless border of the United States and Mexico. It’s a great allegory how itย is set in a drought border area; ’cause it isn’t merelyย a tale of trespassing geographical borders; it’s also a tale of trespassing the moral borders—where the law enforcers aren’tย different from the outlaws, vice versa—confirming the “gray” side of Sicario.ย 

To put it in a synopsis, Sicario follows an idealistic FBI agent, Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), who getsย assignedย to an elite anti-drug-trade task force in order to aid in the intensifyingย war against drugs. Under the command ofย Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) and an mysterious manย with a questionable past, Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro), the team takes anย “underground” journey to accomplish the mission. The moreย Kate questions the mission,ย the more sheย is drown in an oblivious state of puzzle, whether who they really fight.

Under Villeneuve’s direction, Sicario appears as an intense manhunt thriller that gets audience’s heart pounding in every corner of the story. There are moments where Roger Deakins’ vast cinematography in accordance with Johann Johannson’s dissonant scoring keep your security at the bay.ย With hauteย tension and merciless execution, the on-screen mission alwaysย disheartens the audience as much as it frustrates.

Strong and unpredictable performance by the trio—Blunt, Brolin, and del Toro securesย Sicarioย to never lose its charms under its array of violence. As an idealistic Zero-Dark-Thirty-esque agent, Blunt demonstrates a never-been-seen portrayal—an observer instead of an executioner to this morally ambiguous mission. Brolin is effective from the beginning, but Benicio del Toro gives the real chill—with a questionable motive but terrific outcome.

Judging from all aspects it demonstrates, Sicario is definitely an ambitious feature from Denis Villeneuve to continue his prowess in making people feel insecure. It’s an allegory of border with sufficient amount of ambiguity to make it a serious movie that can’t be missed. However, it’s certainly not a kind of movie for those who look for recreation in cinema; it’s segmented for those who look for real thrills.

Sicario (2015)

Crime, Action, Drama, Thriller Directed by: Denis Villeneuve Written by: Taylor Sheridan Starred by: Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin Runtime: 121 minsย Rated R for strong violence, grisly images, and language

IMDb | Official Site


Dari Incendies yang haunting, Prisoners yang traumatizing, hingga Enemy yang sangat enigmatic; deretan filmografi Denis Villeneuve selalu beratmosfer gelap namun kuat—dengan tensi tinggi yang menstimulasi perasaan tidak nyaman. Kuncinya adalah permainannya di sisi “abu-abu” ceritanya—yang tak pernah sesederhana membedakan yang baik dan yang jahat. Dan Sicario adalah termasuk dalam daftar panjang tersebut.

Arti kata Sicario dalam Bahasa Spanyol adalah hitman alias tukang pukul, namun film ini lebih menekankan pemberantasan pengedaran narkoba di perbatasan A.S. dan Meksiko. Settingnya di perbatasan bukan sekedar gimmick belaka karena yang terjadi dalam film ini, selain orang-orang menerobos batas geografis antar negara, para tokohnya pun menerobos batas moral—antara baik dan buruk.

Penegak hukum tidak jauh berbeda dengan para kriminal, begitu pula sebaliknya; kriminal bisa juga punya hati dan penegak hukum bisa saja tidak mengindahkan perikemanusiaan. Di situlah sisi abu-abu Sicario ditampilkan.

Sinopsis singkatnya, Sicario berfokus pada agen FBI idealis, Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), yang ditugaskan dalam sebuah task-force anti peredaran narkoba. Di bawah komando Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) dan Alejandro (Benicio del Toro) yang masa lalunya samar-samar, tim ini menjalankan misi “underground” yang sama sekali berbeda dari bayangan. Semakin Kate mempertanyakan misinya, semakin ia tenggelam dalam puzzle yang semrawut.

Dalam penyutradaraan Villeneuve, Sicario tampil sebagai thriller yang intense yang siap mengaduk-aduk perasaan di setiap sudutnya. Ada banyak moment di mana sinematografi Roger Deakins menyatu dengan scoring Johann Johannson yang kelam membuat penonton merasa insecure. Dengan tensi tinggi dan eksekusi tanpa ampun, misi dalam Sicario sukses membuat frustasi penontonnya.

Dengan penampilan yang kuat namun tak bisa ditebak dari trio Blunt, Brolin dan del Toro, Sicario tak pernah kehilangan pesonanya di balik sisi violent-nya. Sebagai agen idealis yang mirip dengan Jessica Chastain di Zero Dark Thirty, Blunt menampilkan performa luar biasa sebagai observer dan bukannya pelaku utama misi ambigu ini. Selebihnya, Brolin dan del Toro yang men-tackle sisanya. Brolin sebagai tipikal pemimpin penuh percaya diri dan ambiguitas sementara del Toro yang memberikan chill—dengan motifnya yang samar namun tindakannya yang meledak-ledak.

Sicario jelas adalah film ambisius Denis Villeneuve yang melanjutkan keahliannya dalam membuat orang merasa insecure. Alegori perbatasan dengan takaran ambiguitas tinggi ini adalah film yang tak bisa dilewatkan begitu saja, apalagi dengan penampilan aktornya yang kuat. Namun, Sicario bukanlah film untuk pencari rekreasi di bioskop, ini adalah film untuk pencari thrill yang nyata.


This Sicario review is written by Paskalis Damar. Review film Sicario ini diterjemahkan ke dalam Bahasa Indonesia oleh Paskalis Damar.

9 responses to “Sicario (2015) – Review”

  1. Andrew Avatar
    Andrew

    I’ve very excited to see this. Great review.

    1. Paskalis Damar AK Avatar
      Paskalis Damar AK

      Thanks! I think it definitely can’t be missed whether you eventually like it or not, Andrew ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. Jenna and Allie (@FlickChicksBlog) Avatar
    Jenna and Allie (@FlickChicksBlog)

    Great review. I only heard about Sicario for the first time a couple of weeks ago, but I absolutely cannot wait to see it! Prisoners and Incendies were amazing (in my own opinion!) so I have high hopes!
    – Allie

    1. Paskalis Damar AK Avatar
      Paskalis Damar AK

      Thanks, Allie! I heard it few months ago but I was quite surprised knowing that it’s finally screened here so I took a chance and never regret it. I believe you’ll love it for you also love Incendies and Prisoners, which apparently bear the same “insecurity”

  3. Maudy Puteri Agusdina Avatar
    Maudy Puteri Agusdina

    Sicario bagus bangeeeeet.

    Btw, terima kasih udah blogwalking ke blogku. Mari tukeran link dan berteman ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Paskalis Damar AK Avatar
      Paskalis Damar AK

      True that! Sicario emang thrilling bgt.
      Added ๐Ÿ™‚ Nice to blog-meet you, Maudy!

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