If you’re a Bryan Cranston fan, you’ll love THE INFILTRATOR (2016).
THE INFILTRATOR tells the true story of how U.S. Customs Agent Robert Mazur (Bryan Cranston) took on the drug cartel led by Pablo Escobar and won. It’s 1986, the heart of the “War on Drugs” as waged by then President Ronald Reagan, and Mazur comes up with the idea to take down the drug lords not by going after the drugs but by following the money.
And so Mazur and his partner Emir (John Leguizamo) set up an elaborate money laundering scheme where Mazur impersonates a Mafia money guy in order to infiltrate the drug business. They work their way to the higher-ups, which in this case means a man named Robert Alcaino (Benjamin Bratt) and of course the ultimate prize of Pablo Escobar.
Along the way they meet with their share of undesirables, and the stakes grow increasingly high, as Mazur and his “wife” Kathy (Diane Kruger) infiltrate Alcaino’s home and family. One false slip of the tongue and they’re dead.
THE INFILTRATOR is a well-made and highly entertaining movie.
While there’s lots to like about this one, the best thing is the acting, led by Bryan Cranston. While it may not be as crafted an effort as the one Cranston gave in TRUMBO (2015), nor as powerful as his five season stint on BREAKING BAD (2008-2013), it’s still a thoroughly captivating and entertaining performance. Cranston gives Mazur an admirable confidence without sacrificing his vulnerablities and fears that go with the territory.
Cranston has that presence where he can hold your attention the entire time he’s on screen. While there were many things I enjoyed about THE INFILTRATOR, the main reason I enjoyed it was because of Bryan Cranston.
The rest of the acting is also very good. John Leguizamo is a natural as Mazur’s wisecracking unpredictable partner Emir. It’s always fun to see Leguizamo when he’s not voicing Sid in the ICE AGE movies.
The women here also fare very well. I really enjoyed Diane Kruger as fellow agent Kathy Ertz who joins the undercover ruse as Mazur’s wife. She becomes a prominent player in the second half of the film, and she’s excellent.
Juliet Aubrey is also very good as Mazur’s real wife Evelyn. She takes what could have been a cliched role- the worried wife- and makes her a three-dimensional and very sympathetic character.
Benjamin Bratt makes the most of his brief screen time as drug cartel leader Roberto Alcaino. While there’s little doubt that Alcaino is a dangerous man, Bratt surprises in how sympathetic and likeable he makes Alcaino, making Mazur and Kathy more uncomfortable the more they get to know him, because they grow to like him.
Elena Anaya is equally as good as Alcaino’s wife Gloria. Like Alcaino, she welcomes Mazur and Kathy into her family, adding to the difficulty of their continuing the sting.
The film is loaded with all sorts of unsavory characters, and as a result there are a bunch of noteworthy supporting performances here. Among them are Yul Vazquez as bisexual drug man Javier Ospina who can’t seem to take his hands off anyone in the movie, especially the men. It’s a weird and mesmerizing performance by Vasquez as there’s something almost vampire-like about Ospina. And in a neat movie homage, at one point in the film Ospina mentions THE GODFATHER movies, and later, when he learns the truth about Mazur, he tells him, “You broke my heart,” which is the famous line uttered by Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) to his brother Fredo when he learns his brother betrayed him in THE GODFATHER PART II (1974). It’s not clear that Mazur gets the reference, but the audience does, making the moment frightening and menacing.
Speaking of vampires, Joseph Gilgun plays a lively character named Dominic, a convict who Mazur springs from jail so he can act as his personal protector. Dominic is there to watch Mazur’s back, and he does. Gilgun curently plays a vampire on the frenetic TV show PREACHER (2016), a nutty character named Cassidy, and Gilgun is just as wild here in THE INFILTRATOR.
And Olympia Dukakis is wonderful in two key scenes as Mazur’s Aunt Vicky, the latter where she also gets to take part in the sting operation.
Director Brad Furman previously made RUNNER RUNNER (2013), a thriller starring Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake, and THE LINCOLN LAWYER (2011), a drama starring Matthew McConaughey, both okay movies. I enjoyed THE LINCOLN LAWYER better than RUNNER RUNNER which struggled to remain believable. THE INFILTRATOR is probably his best movie yet, a stronger film than these other two.
It’s an interesting screenplay by Ellen Sue Brown, based on the book by Robert Mazur. In addition to the obvious drug war plot, the story also makes a point of painting a sympathetic portrait of drug villains Roberto and Gloria Alcaino. They speak of family and loyalty, and they welcome Mazur and Kathy into their home. At one point, Roberto asks Mazur who the biggest money launderer in the United States is, and he tells Mazur it’s the U.S. government, which while publically waging the war on drugs, privately welcomes drug money into its banks.
The film also makes a point of including bank executives as the villains here. We see top bank officials listen to Mazur tell them point blank that his money comes from cocaine dealers, and yet they don’t bat an eye. They simply welcome the money. So, there is definitely an anti-business/banking element to this story, a la THE BIG SHORT (2015).
While the plot is not overly complicated- U.S. Customs official sets up sting to take down drug cartel- there are a ton of characters in this film, coming and going at any given time, and so one really has to pay attention or else risk being lost.
The actual pace is somewhat slow. Do not see THE INFILTRATOR expecting an action movie. It’s not. It’s a drama and a thriller. It’s also a movie where the dialogue drives the tension, and most of the suspense comes from this dialogue, as you keep expecting Mazur and his fellow agents to say the wrong thing and then pay the price.
The film takes place in 1986 but curiously the hairstyles, clothes, and look of the whole thing reminded me of a decade earlier, 1976! The grainy print gives the film an authentic feel, but of the 1970s not the 1980s. I felt like I was watching SERPICO (1973) rather than MIAMI VICE.
But these are small matters.
I really enjoyed THE INFILTRATOR. It’s a nail-biting suspense drama and showcase for the acting talents of Bryan Cranston and a stellar supporting cast.
I was on the edge of my seat throughout.
—END—
This Is My Creation: The Blog of Michael Arruda 