Premise - “After rising through the ranks of her male-dominated profession, idealistic FBI agent Kate Macer receives a top assignment.”
Director - Denis Villeneuve
Writer - Taylor Sheridan
Noteworthy Cast - Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, Daniel Kaluuya, Josh Brolin, and John Bernthal
My thoughts - You can really see certain shots throughout this where Denis is starting to get reps in for what he ultimately perfects in Dune Part 2.
There is so much I adore about him as a filmmaker, but the thing I keep coming back to is his understanding of tone. He never wastes any time making sure the audience is on the same page with him about the tone of the film.
In the Netflix-era of movies, the algorithms point to drawing in your audience in early in the movie or the audience will turn to their phone. For most movies that means some silly set piece to open. I love that Denis is much more interested in making you feel the tone rather than constantly needing to show you.
Just an absolute banger of a film from start to finish.
How did it do at the box office? - Grossed $84.8 million ($46.8 million domestically) on a $30 million budget
Where to watch - Currently streaming on Netflix