I never used to get it about Benicio Del Toro. You know my type. Charlie Hunnam, Liam Hemsworth…
But then I saw Sicario. After Spotlight, it’s my favourite film of TIFF. Like Spotlight, it’s not an easy story. This is two hours of stress and anxiety. But worth it. So worth it. And God, Benicio is sexy in it. Sexy in a way I never expected. Because violence has never been attractive to me. I hated the Jax Teller character. I don’t get off on Tom Hardy when he’s playing a brute. I prefer it when he’s wearing old man cardigans and being seduced. But something weird and primitive happened to me while watching Benicio Del Toro gangster the sh-t out of this movie that I almost feel guilty about. Is it wrong? It is wrong to desire a hitman who has actively eliminated his conscience?
While Benicio told Esquire that this role was his Hamlet, at TIFF he was all light, no darkness. Great at the party, great at the junket, no brooding, no snarling, like the guy you want to be around all night because you know he’s going to have the best time. He can get intense for the moment, for the scene, but he doesn’t have to carry that intensity with him wherever he goes. So, yeah, now? Benicio Del Toro? Jesus, of course. I totally would.
Here he is last night at the NY premiere of Sicario, opening this weekend. Go see it.
