In 1985 Tampa, customs agent Robert Mazur (Cranston) was sent undercover by his tenacious boss (Ryan) with a new objective: to follow the money instead of the drugs. Working with partner Emir (Leguizamo), he launches a massive laundering system, climbing up the chain of command. When he claims to be engaged, an agent (Kruger) is assigned to play his fiancee, and she goes with him to meet Carlos Escobar's righthand man Roberto (Bratt) and his wife Gloria (Anaya). Then after befriending these people, Robert and Emir have to arrest them all.

It's refreshing that both the direction and writing resist the pressure to force events into the usual drug-thriller formula. This allows scenes to play out at their own pace, and each is like a short film as it layers in tension and intrigue before some sort of clash. On the other hand, this prevents the overall movie from building up any momentum. The story unfolds more like a real investigation: plodding along from one discovery to the next.

The actors fiercely dig into their roles. Cranston is both tightly wound and in too deep, trying to keep his family out of jeopardy at any cost while refusing to give up on the case. His chemistry with Leguizamo is prickly and complex, as is his more earthy interaction with Kruger. There isn't a weak link in the cast, including terrific side roles for the scene-stealing Dukakis and Vazquez, plus a string of starry supporting players.

With such an closed-in approach to the story, the Furmans only obliquely comment on the way the War on Drugs has played out in American society. Instead, the deeper themes here have to do with family and loyalty, as Robert and his colleagues struggle to maintain their perspective while living the fast life. Frankly, this neither as as relevant or as resonant as the bigger issue of how fighting drugs bolstered banks and big businesses at the expense of the lower classes, who now languish in prison for other peoples' crimes.

themes, language, violence, sexuality

10.Aug.16