Coming out of Cannes, Denis Villeneuve’s latest film, Sicario, received very positive reviews, with many singling out Emily Blunt’s performance as a possible awards contender. Since breaking out with the Oscar-nominated Incendies in 2010, Villeneuve has established himself as a consistently compelling director of thrillers, and many think Sicario could be his first major mainstream hit (Prisoners was a modest success in 2013). Be proud, Canada, Villeneuve is a MAJOR talent, and unlike David Cronenberg, his films don’t alienate audiences. Ahead of its September release, Sicario has its first trailer and holy hell does it looks awesome. I am super into everything this trailer is showing me, most especially Emily Blunt as a boss FBI agent.
This is, of course, the role that producers wanted rewritten for a man, and watching the trailer, I can see why. Sicario has all the trappings of your average gangland crime drama, and it’s easy to picture Bradley Cooper or Jake Gyllenhaal in that role. But then, it’s also easy to see why Villeneuve and screenwriter Taylor Sheridan would fight to not only keep the role female, but to keep Blunt, specifically. There is something about the contrast of Blunt and Brolin and Del Toro—it’s more immediately intriguing. And as an actor, Blunt has such capability to be both strong and vulnerable simultaneously, which makes her ideal as the conflicted center of a morally ambiguous story. Looper and The Edge of Tomorrow both used that ability to great effect, and it looks to be in full force in Sicario. I just want to skip the next two months and watch Sicario immediately.
Attached - Emily Blunt at the 9th Annual American Institute For Stuttering Benefit Gala earlier this month.
