This was not a fun movie. I’ll admit right from the first ads I saw on tv, I wanted to see this one because I have a crush on both Emily Blunt and Benicio del Toro. And I also love movies with a strong female protagonist see Zero Dark Thirty. I liked that one because I felt like someone had kicked some ass and what they had done mattered.

Not so much in this movie. I love, love, love Emily Blunt from Young Victoria with the gorgeous and super-talented Rupert Friend (Homeland) and then a very similar role with Blunt stealing every scene from Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow. This woman has serious chops. I love her in everything and that pretty much goes for Benicio del Toro way back to Excess Baggage (1997) with Alicia Silverstone all the way to Traffic (2000) which he won Oscar gold for. 

So what’s my problem? Superb acting, stellar cast, and incredible writing. Shouldn’t these all add up to an amazing viewing experience. Yes. And no. This movie resonated with me long after I finished watching it on Sunday afternoon. We are at Tuesday now and I still shake my head.

It’s because this movie cuts too close to the bone. Hits a nerve that maybe I don’t want to feel. It takes you out of “ignorance is bliss” and makes you feel “so that’s how it is.” We’re talking about the Mexican drug cartels, the CIA, the FBI and everyone caught in the crosshairs of the drug wars across either side of the border.

This movie is so good, you’ll wish you hadn’t seen it because it makes you feel hopeless. Like there’s nothing you can do. It’s a spiral and everyone, even the best, the idealistic, the tortured souls are victims of this tornado. High praise is what I want to give this movie. Perhaps the highest praise because I just feel so very sad. I guess that’s what the best acting and writing do. Make you realize all that you don’t know and how little you can do in some situations to change the way things are.