The two movies, Sicario and Traffic, are similar and have exciting storylines. In Sicario, we get Emily Blunt’s character’s story as the main protagonist instead of Traffic’s, plot with multiple parallel storylines and characters. Emily Blunt’s character Kate in Sicario wants to get the drug cartel who was responsible for the safehouse and joins a special task force to stop the flow of drugs coming into the country, or so she thinks. We see in both movies that the “war on drugs” is not a war that anyone is going to win anytime soon. Benicio Del Toro is in both Traffic and Sicario, playing completely different characters.
In the movie Traffic, the audiences witness the destruction from the war on drugs on American families like Michael Douglas’s character. The scene between Robert and Barbara in the car is very dark; almost entirely black at some points and the tension between them is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Their marriage is going through some dark times like the color of the scene between them in the car. Barbara is at her ropes end with their daughter, Caroline. “She is depicted as morally weak and misguide for wanting to allow her daughter, already an addict, to explore and figure things out for herself, but there is no such mess liberalism for Mr. Wakefield.” (Fojas, 134) Robert smartly replies that Caroline would know about addictions and then Caroline states that he is the one who can’t make it to dinner without three scotches. The extremely dark car makes a perfect connection for the viewer about this dark time in the couple’s marriage. In Sicario, we see more of the up-close personal war on drugs with Kate learning the truth about her new partners. Josh Brolin’s character has his way of doing things, including using Kate as bait for the cartel. After picking up Robert from the airport, the family sits down for dinner. The only color you see during the entire scene is different shades of blue. Robert talks about his new job, but the family doesn’t seem interested, they are probably tired of hearing about his work. Caroline states how fucking unbelievable it is that her father is the new anti-drug czar. Caroline continues to ramble on (she is probably high) while her parents listen in disbelief. The family relationship has indeed grown cold. The blue shades of the scene assist the viewers to realize the distance between the family members. The parallel storylines in Traffic make the whole plot entertaining. I like screen filter changes in Traffic; Sicario doesn’t have anything comparable to dark tones and bright colors of Helena’s life in Traffic. Sicario does have exciting camera angles and slow-motion features to show the violence of the war on drugs. Helena is the wife of Carl Ayala; we see her having lunch with some other desperate housewives while chatting about her son David, being pregnant, and their lunch choices. All the colors of the country club are very bright, vibrant colors. Everything around the women seems to be full of life, the grass is exceptionally green, the flowers are beautiful reds, and even the women’s clothes are bright colors. These colors are very different from the dusty and dull shades of Mexico or the deep and dark blues used for the Wakefield family. In Sicario, we don’t see another storyline about how the war on drugs is affecting the wife of a drug dealer. Sicario focuses on Kate’s journey; her fight to try and do what is right. In Traffic, instead, we see Caroline and her friends getting high and the effect of the war on drugs on privileged teenagers. Sicario doesn’t need colliding plotlines, and I’m sure the writers knew their film would be compared to Traffic. Caroline and her friends seem to be your average over-privileged white kids with too much time and money on their hands, so they decide to use massive amounts of drugs and drink. The room where the scene takes place is very dark with lots of deep blues; lamps and lighters provide the only light. Caroline and her friends are babbling about the government, being conformist, and sex while doing lines of coke, freebasing crack, drinking, and smoking pot. One of Caroline’s friends declares to the group how high he is, but no one notices he is about to OD. After one of the teen ODs, Caroline and her friends argue about deciding to dump his seizing body off at the front door of the hospital. The colors and shades used to tell his part of the story to foreshadow the teens’ dark future ahead of them, by the decisions they are making during this point in their lives. Another storyline in Traffic is Del Toro’s character, who is also in Sicario. In Sicario, Del Toro plays Alejandro, who is a pretty messed up agent. In Traffic, Del Toro plays Javier, who gives the DEA the information they need to bust the cartel. The characters Del Toro plays are very different in comparison. As Alejandro, Del Toro is lawless and has no conscience. Javier does what he knows is right inside his heart and helps America fight the war on drugs. I think the only way Javier and Alejandro are alike is they are both Jaded from having been used or betrayed. Javier is a pawn by General Salazar, and Alejandro is the one who uses Kate as a pawn in his games. Both movies are exciting and eye-opening to the never-ending war on drugs. I like how Benicio Del Toro’s character is different in both films. Javier is a good guy, and I love the story of him asking for a baseball field for the kids in his neighborhood. In Sicario, Kate was more like Javier’s character in Traffic. Both characters are trying to center their conscience and do what they think is right.
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AuthorI am a four-year Starbucks partner, and I love making up stories, and making people laugh. I am currently looking for new employment opportunities. I have recently completed my bachelor's degree, and I am ready to start a new chapter in my journey. I have been a creative story writer since I was little. 'I'm an aspiring screenwriter, and I love making up characters and stories. I've taken Storytelling classes, digital media classes, film classes, animation, and multiple screenwriting courses. I speak a little German, and I love learning new languages. Thanks for your time and consideration. ArchivesCategories |