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Grade • A-
DVD • The riveting and pitch-dark thriller "Sicario" asks a single, troubling question: In the face of implacable evil, can a good cop stay true to her moral compass?
That's what Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), an FBI agent in Phoenix who is offered a chance to join a task force going after Mexican drug cartels, faces. She soon finds the team's leader, Matt Graver (Josh Brolin), is probably CIA, but the real wild card is his right-hand man, Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro).
Macer must confront whether the goal of taking down the cartels is enough to justify Graver's extra-legal tactics, which include letting Alejandro pursue a personal vendetta.
Director Denis Villeneuve ("Prisoners") sets a brooding tone, thanks to Roger Deakins' gritty cinematography — in which the only source of light and hope is Blunt's compelling performance as an FBI agent determined to find justice through a thicket of ethical dilemmas.