Golden Globe® winner Emily Blunt, who gave impressive characterization of her roles in memorable hit movies such as “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Edge of Tomorrow,” “Into The Woods” and “Looper” takes on another strong female character in “Sicario” opposite Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin about an agent hired to bust drug cartels in Mexico.
While “Sicario” first opened on a limited release showing in only six theaters, it sure made a strong impact in box-office records due to its rave reviews when it earned almost US$ 67,000 per theatre, earning over US$400,000 making it the highest grossing title on a limited release achieved by an independent film for the year. With its follow up wide release on its second weekend, “Sicario” continued to seize this year’s indie-film arena, with US$26.7million in earnings to-date (and counting), it is now US’ second in the top five independent releases of 2015.
“Sicario” which means hitman in Mexico, brings Emily Blunt’s character, Kate Macer, an idealistic FBI agent, in the lawless border area stretching between the U.S. and Mexico who is enlisted by an elite government task force official, Matt Graver, played by Josh Brolin (an Academy Award® nominee) to aid in the escalating war against drugs. Led by Alejandro, an enigmatic consultant with a questionable past, played by Academy Award® winner Benicio Del Toro, the team sets out on a clandestine journey forcing Kate to question everything that she believes in order to survive. Even as Kate tries to convince herself she’s on a hunt for justice, she is thrust into the dark heart of a secret battleground that has swept up ruthless cartels, kill-crazy assassins, clandestine American spies and thousands of innocents.
The jagged line of the U.S. and Mexican border is now awash in some of the most pressing questions of our times drugs, terror, illegal immigration, corruption and an escalating swath of dark crime that has left people on both sides frightened and vigilant. “Sicario” explores the journey of an intelligence operation that pushes the rules to engage with those who don’t play by any.
“Kate is tempted by this world,” says Emily Blunt, who breaks the mold with her portrait of a fierce female character whose life is in jeopardy throughout every second of the film. “She realizes she was barely scratching the surface doing things by the book and now she wants to believe she can do something that will make a real difference. Yet the very idea of no longer following the rules turns Kate’s whole world upside down. Nothing makes sense anymore.”
“Sicario is partly about a phantasm: the old idea that North America will be able to solve the most violent problems of the world in a very efficient and invisible way. That was once a comforting thought – but the world seems to have become more and more complicated.” says director Dennis Villeneuve, a four time winner of the Canadian Screen Awards for Best Director. Villeneuve is currently in pre-production on two additional projects “Story of Your Life”, starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker and the Untitled Blade Runner Project, starring Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling.
He goes on: “We have a need for super heroes. However, in today’s reality, heroes don’t usually have clean hands. Heroes are in contact with the most difficult moral choices, the choices we must make when confronted by evil. Sicario’s moral choices fascinate me. “
“Sicario” opens October 28 in cinemas nationwide from Pioneer Films.