There are a number of movies with familiar faces premiering at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival this month, but Denis Villeneuve's “Sicario” might feature the most intriguing trio of them all.
The thriller reportedly centers on Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), a young FBI agent who is recruited into a CIA operation to take down a Mexican drug cartel boss. The mission will find her crossing paths with Matt Graves (Josh Brolin) and Alejandro (Benecio Del Toro) and, according to the film's log line, will rock her “ethical and moral values to the limit.” Jon Bernthal, Victor Garber and Jeffrey Donovan are some of the other notable names in the cast, but judging from the exclusive first look images Lionsgate has provided HitFix this may be Blunt's moment to shine. The Golden Globe winner is coming off impressive turns in “Edge of Tomorrow” and “Into The Woods” (and some might argue “Lip Sync Battle”) as her body of work continues to grow. “Sicario” will be the first film in her career to premiere or screen at Cannes.
Two gentlemen who are no strangers to la Croisette are Brolin and Del Toro. The former screened at Cannes with “Flirting With Disaster,” “You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger” and “No Country For Old Men.” The latter has ventured to Cannes numerous times for films such as “The Usual Suspects,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” “Che” and the unfortunate but now legendary “Jimmy P.”
Villeneuve has wowed audiences at Venice, Telluride and Toronto with “Incendes,” “Prisoners” and “Enemy.” He'll finally get a chance to wow the Cannes faithful with a thriller written by none other than Taylor Sheridan. You may recognize Sheridan from his on screen roles in TV shows such as “Sons of Anarchy” and “Veronica Mars.” Remarkably, “Sicario” is his first produced screenplay and it's debuting in competition at Cannes. That's somewhat amazing.
The other reason to get excited about “Sicario” is something that will be under the radar for most movie fans. Lionsgate has been an international sales player and a staple at Cannes for over a decade, but “Sicario” is the first film they have produced or co-financed to ever premiere in the festival, let alone in competition. That's a big deal for a studio that hasn't had a true awards player since “Precious” which was acquired after debuting to raves at Sundance. “Sicario” is also currently scheduled for a Sept. 18 release (conveniently after Telluride and Toronto). No matter what size company you are, you don't throw a film into the critical fire of Cannes four months before release unless you think you've got something good on your hands.
We'll have a review and more on “Sicario” from Cannes, but in the meantime get a first look at the production in the embedded gallery below.
“Sicario” debuts at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival this month. It opens in limited release on Sept. 18.