Sicario drug wars thriller rests on Emily Blunt's shoulders
Crime tale heads into theatrical release with film festival kudos
A crime thriller set in the world of Mexican drug traffickers and populated by shadowy agents would typically cast a male lead, but in Denis Villeneuve's new drama Sicario, actress Emily Blunt is the star in the spotlight.
The gritty tale, showing the intensity for which Quebec filmmaker Villeneuve (Prisoners, Enemy, Incendies, Polytechnique) is known, arrives in cinemas on a wave of buzz after earning kudos on the film festival circuit.
Sicario stars Blunt as a tough FBI agent involved in a secret operation to topple a drug cartel operating on the U.S.-Mexican border with Josh Brolin co-starring as a government operative and Benicio Del Toro appearing as a mysterious consultant.
"I feel in the cinema today, there's not a lot of female parts – good leads – and when I see a good one, I'm trying to protect it," Villeneuve told CBC News.
Click on the video above to watch Blunt, Villeneuve and Brolin talk about Sicario, the need for more female protagonists in action-packed lead roles and viewing her character as an outsider.
The dramatic crime tale, which opens Friday in Toronto and Montreal, then in wide release on Oct. 2, already has a follow-up in the works. Earlier this week, industry publication Variety reported that Lionsgate is developing a sequel that will centre on Del Toro's hitman character.
