How Sicario Fools its Audience

Don't forget, the original screenplay made it clear Alejandro is the main protagonist, including his voiceover, but Del Toro and Villeneuve agreed to strip 90% of his dialogue to make Alejandro more enigmatic. I get the feeling if Taylor Sheridan's original script had been untouched, this movie wouldn't have been the masterpiece it became.

Definitely a low key horror movie. The fact that it's everything seen in the movie happens in real life, it makes it all the more terrifying

Kate's other role in the film was really to be a moral compass, she was there to constantly remind viewers that lot of what the "good" guys were doing was actually morally wrong. She also showed the flaws on how hard it is to achieve anything productive when you faithfully play by all the rules against an adversary who breaks them constantly. But more to the point because she sets the moral scale for the viewers when Alejandro finally does get his revenge on Alarcon, the viewers aren't left cheering or any sort of real catharsis. We literally see Alejandro gun down Alarcon's wife and kids in cold blood right in front of the man and wait just a few seconds long enough for Alarcon to feel the pain and horror of such a sudden violent loss as he had made Alejandro feel in the past, before Alejandro finally shoots him and settles the score. I did appreciate the unflinching brutality of the act of revenge in the film, its painted in a far more grim and numb light then what we often get from revenge stories where the act is portrayed as triumph worthy of applause. The fact that when he had finally achieve his goal, Alejandro just seemed indifferent to it, almost as if the mental and emotional price he had to pay to make to that point was so high he had nothing else to give when it was done. Sicario is an overlooked and sadly misunderstood gem, but I am glad that I'm not the only 1 out there who appreciates it.

An important theme throughout the film is that people are being used to push selfish or personal gains. Kate is LITERALLY being used by the narrative framing to tell Alejandro's story, just like Kate is being used to legalize the raids their doing in Juarez

The musical score is INCREDIBLE. I remember watching this in the cinema and the world that was presented on the screen sounded like it was about to break open and swallow its inhabitants. I own the soundtrack on compact disc. It's a masterpiece.

When I was watching it, it felt like I was being managed like a CIA asset where you only get told the lies that make you do/think what you are expected to do/think. That was the point of telling the story this way. I loved it.

Kate's use as "the audience" is brilliant in a unique way, and I don't think I've ever seen a movie do it this way.

Best quote ever. "ahhh your asking me how a watch works." For now let's just keep an eye on the time. 🥶

Denis Villeneuve is an exceptional filmmaker. Dune, Prisoners, Sicario and Arrival are amongst my favourite movies from the last decade.

One detail that I also love about Sicario is Kate's shirt. In the beginning it's light blue, but as the film goes along it gets paler and paler until the end when it's a washed-out dull white. This mirrors her gradual loss of moral certainty. Brilliantly subtle.

The end scene with Alejandro is the coldest thing I’ve ever seen in an action movie. And I love the teaser they give you about what he went through when he’s on the jet to Juarez with Kate and Matt and he’s asleep, then out of nowhere he jumps up from a bad dream and goes to stab someone but nobody is there. The minute I saw that I knew he was a straight killer.

Sicario: One of the great scripts and castings that I’ve seen. The sense of authenticity is utterly breathtaking. Thanks for paying homage to a truly intelligent script.

One small correction: Kate knows what cartel do. She saw bodies in the beginning of the film, and the explosion. She knows what evil she is fighting, but does not know or understand the goals and methods of Matt and Alejandro

the rug really tied the room together

Kate's perspective was like us watching the movie. Trying to understand what is going and why. The movie spoon feeds you a little bit each time as the movie progresses. This is to keep us intrigued throughout. I can't say if it fools the public since the movie is called Sicario for a reason and the movie does finally focus on Alejandro during the cop drive to the Alarcon hit. I'll just say it is a 2nd party perspective rather than be fooled.

This is like the 5th Sicario film analysis i've watched and every time they bring up something interesting again. Well done.

RIP Johan Johansson, his score for this film is absolutely incredible. Great essay!

Great movie and great performances. When Benicio Del Toro read the script, he demanded LESS dialogue for his character. Because he wanted to be a mysterious, brooding presence in the background of the earlier scenes.

stumbled across this video, and I had never seen Sicario, even though i remembered wanting to see it. After watching the first 30s of the video, I stopped, watched the film, & came back to finish & very glad I didn't spoil anything for myself by watching this prior. Excellent film & very good breakdown.

Don't forget Kate's inspiration was revenge too. Her team took a big hit at the very beginning of the movie during their so called "raid". The backyard explosion was a booby trapped tunnel door. Intertwined and motivated to seek the source. You've picked one of the best movies ever made to show the results of a great screen play. A new mold was cut with this movie in the arena of realness. Jack Reacher series also does a great effort in the area of realness. Real men skilled and aware of their real task in life are the scariest beings on earth. Why? They can emotionally shut down to focus on their focused obligation without the side affect of fear or intimidation. You won't ever change them. You can only kill them, be killed by them or get out of their way altogether.