Sicario/4 Palm Trees
By Eduardo Victoria/[email protected]

Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario doesn’t allow us to be a bystander – if you come at it thinking you can just sit back and enjoy, you’re wrong – it’ll chew you up and spit you out. At the very least, it’s a compelling crime drama with unrelenting tension; what separates it from most films of its ilk however, is the way that Villeneuve and scriptwriter Taylor Sheridan deliver a nuanced take on the hopelessly twisty Mexican drug wars. Like real life, there’s no easy solution to this rampant problem, nor does the film truly provide one.

After a botched raid involving rotting, mutilated corpses and a battering ram, FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) comes into contact with a DOD consultant named Matt (Josh Brolin). If Kate will volunteer, he promises to give her a real shot at combatting the Mexican drug wars, which are spilling into her jurisdiction. After hesitantly accepting, Kate is thrust into an exceedingly complex web of deception and brutality, with no clear sign of understanding or even a way out. Clinging to her idealism and true desire to set things right, the by-the-book Kate must learn to survive in a land of wolves.

The view of the story’s central conflict makes Villeneuve’s film fascinating, presenting it as a breathtaking cinematic descent into hell. The deeper we go, the more nightmarish it gets, but never for the sake of shock, instead illustrating the war on drugs as a savage mobius strip that thrives on ordered chaos, supply and demand.

In the hands of any other writer or director, a film like this would go from one action set piece to another. Instead, there’s a weight to everything, with humanity in the balance and poetic contrasts that are dark, yet too urgent to ignore.

In addition to the story’s focused themes, the film still manages to deliver two of the most intense sequences of the year. Without spoiling things, one involves an extended excursion across the border and into Juarez, while another involves thermal photography against the pitch black darkness of night. Villeneuve’s direction is as taught and tight as it gets, utilizing stunning photography from Roger Deakins to get both our minds and hearts racing as his characters face insurmountable odds psychologically as well as physically.

There are three incredible performances at its core. Emily Blunt as the idealistic Kate Macer plays a modern heroine who must confront her integrity and the impossible reality of her situation. She’s in a tough spot, and Blunt allows the character to be more than just our audience surrogate, but also a relatable cipher that calls us out and makes us complicit in her journey.

She’s far from a cartoony archetype thanks to Blunt’s simultaneous strength and fragility, but also a fierce character clinging on to what she believes is right. Benicio Del Toro gets the second most play in the film as the mysterious, shady Alejandro. This is one of his best performances ever, and he is the personification of what the entire film is about, challenging our allegiances through an ambiguous, primal mix of opposing character traits. Josh Brolin’s Matt, provides a lot of the film’s levity, but it comes with an undeniable dark side. There’s a sinister slant that contrasts with his nonchalance about the entire ordeal that’s a bit creepy and keeps things always on edge.

Simply put, Sicario isn’t just one of the most intense experiences of the entire year, it’s also of one the year’s best, period. Villeneuve’s thriller is on a league of its own, proving that action films can go deeper than empty thrills to explore the consequence and the ideas behind the chaos. My best advice to you: see this and don’t forget to breathe; focused and fully formed on every level, it’s an unforgettable revelation of the human darkness that lies at the fringe of everything we hold dear.

Playing Century Downtown  Rated R

Small Engine Repair works at Flying H
by Jim Spencer and Shirley Lorraine

On a New Hampshire evening three former high school buddies, now in their mid-30s, reunite for an evening of alcohol, testosterone, tall tales, pot and erotic braggadocio.

The three – Packie, Swaino and Frank – arrive separately at Frank’s Small Engine Repair shop. Actually, Frank has invited each guy without revealing the other would be there. His ostensible goal is to smooth a rift between the others that started years ago. However, when a younger, fourth guest arrives it turns out there is a darker hidden purpose for the get-together.

This is the setting for Small Engine Repair, the dramady currently being presented by Ventura’s Flying H Theatre Group.

Playwright John Pollono has given each character a history of underachievement. Packie is unemployed and lives in his grandmother’s basement. Warehouse worker Swaino is obsessed with spreading his legend (in his own mind) as a super stud. Frank is a high school drop who started repairing small appliances when he became a father at age 17. Their back stories provide the comedy, raw dialogue, taunting and male rivalry on display in this 70-minute revenge comedy.

Enter Chad, played by Joshua Kahn. He is an entitlement-minded, over-privileged, college preppy who is a local supplier of ecstasy and pot. The social gap between the trio and the newcomer soon expands into a chasm that leads to a series of plot twists involving the internet and technology, as well as attitudes and hazards fostered by social networking.

The play features solid acting by Brian Robert Harris as Frank, Michael Wayne Beck as Packie and Eric Mello as Swaino, each of whom creates a well-defined character and gives a tightly balanced ensemble performance. Although, when they deliver dialogue in rapid fire fashion it is difficult to hear and catch it all.

The set of the fix-it shop designed by Flying H Theatre Group Artistic Director Taylor Kasch is superbly appointed with tools, stored detritus and things that will be needed someday. His personal garage has probably not been so empty in years because all his man cave stuff is on the set.

The direction by Kathleen Bosworth is equally artistic. The pacing, utilization of the actors, and other touches reflect a studied sophistication.

The script, first performed in 2011, is by a newer playwright. It has a few technical rough edges. For example, the playwright repeatedly uses the same device for the same purpose. Three times a character abruptly announces, “I have to pee,” and leaves the stage just so the action can continue as a two-person scene. Additionally, we found the ending to be less than equal to its build up. Nevertheless, the play is current, significant and for adults only, don’t worry that doesn’t mean that there are going to be scenes from a TubeV porn movie it just means that it contains some content that is best suited to adults and not for little ears.

Small Engine Repair plays Fridays/Saturdays/Sundays, October 9-18, and Thursdays/Fridays/Saturdays, October 22-31. Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m. All other performances are at 8 p.m. Flying H Group Theatre Company, 6368 Bristol Rd. (between Johnson Dr. and Victoria Ave.) in the Montalvo area of Ventura. All seats $15. Cash or check only at the door. Reservations recommended 901-0005. Advance tickets on-line at http://engine.brownpapertickets.com.