I thought I had written about this one, but in review I must've posted somewhere else.
I had to wait for the DVD to see it as my group of movie ladies voted for "The Intern" instead.... They always go for the feel-good stuff, and just as well because I don't think many of them would've liked this movie or would've had the stomach for it. "Sicario" is dirty and gritty and leaves you wanting a stiff drink and a long soapy disinfecting shower after viewing. Emily Blunt is really extraordinary in her PTSD-beyond-care performance. There was Oscar buzz for Benecio del Toro, but I didn't see a whole range of emotion in his acting. Josh Brolin was rather smug and smarmy throughout, but it suited his character well...although no big surprise about the who's-who ending.
The film is suppposedly set in Juarez and El Paso, but in reality was filmed in TX and NM... (I read the Director's Notes because part was filmed in my hometown locale, the Village of Corrales, and I just couldn't place which place it could be...certainly not the Motel 1! It ended up being the cartel kingpin's estate) I found it interesting that they spent only about 2 hours filming in Juarez, mainly because it was that dangerous.
I agree it was a good movie (and even the soundtrack was ingenious in its dissonance), but definitely not for the faint of heart. This is a gird-your-loins-for-the-battering-ride film, no doubt about it.