Sicario (2015)
Denis Villeneuve directing: Nobody today directs movies that "put me there" quite like Villeneuve. The arthouse popcorn flick master.
Taylor Sheridan writing: Has a way of writing that borrows tropes but then SUBVERTS EXPECTATIONS in a way that makes the stories better.
SIR Roger Deakins cinematograph-izing: Every frame a painting that tells a story. Incredible talent, and justifiably knighted for his services to film.
Johann Johannsson scoring: So good that, while watching, I was never consciously aware of the score--as it should be in this movie's case. It wasn't until later I realized how much he added to the whole.
All actors acting: All characters feel fully-formed, even if they only have a few seconds of screentime. Great actors in trustworthy hands. Not a single performance broke the spell for me.
Main takeaway on re-watch: This movie is a Rorschach test. It doesn't judge any of the characters; it presents them and their world as they are.
Here's my ink blot interpretation: When Emily Blunt asks how the cartel operates, Benicio del Toro's character says, "You're asking me how a watch works. For now we'll just keep an eye on the time." She'll get to see its inner workings soon enough. The line gets the Joker "We live in a society" meme across in an elegant and profound (to me) way. You will become brutal and ruthless because the system demands it of you. The only option left for Blunt's character to remain "good" is to remove herself from it:
"You should move to a small town, where the rule of law still exists. You will not survive here. You are not a wolf. And this is the land of wolves now."
10 out of 10
