A mesmerizingly filmed, visceral yet cerebral, morally ambiguous, existential art-house action-suspense thriller with a message.

Now, that’s a tall order for any filmmaker, but Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners) comes close. An experienced but naive (it makes sense by the film’s end) female FBI agent (Emily Blunt) joins a cross-agency team headed by an enigmatic spook (Josh Brolin) and gets a eye-opening, close-up look at America’s covert post-“war on drugs” doings. Blunt polishes her action heroine filmography, but it’s Benicio Del Toro, (never scarier) that you’ll remember. The title means “hit man” in Spanish.

Japanese title: Borderline. (121 min)