Film No. 55 (2016) The Infiltrator September 11th.

Film No. 55 (2016) September 11th.  1.30 PM NOVA  Cinemas, Carlton, Melbourne.

"I think we've been doing this backwards, we've been following the drugs to get the bad guys. What if we chase the money?" (Mazur (Brian Cranston) proposes a change of tac in the U.S.'s war on drugs).

The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry described the role of Robert Mazur, as a drug enforcement undercover agent, to have had the single biggest influence on denting the control of the Colombian drug trade in the mid to late eighties. Fine praise for a man trying to live a normal family life and then rubbing shoulders with the filthy rich as a high profile money launderer hell bent on cornering the likes of Pablo Escobar. The Infiltrator is the film of the book of the same name written by Mazur.


Who better to play Mazur than Brian Cranston. While Cranston, physically, is poles apart in statue to his real life counterpart there is a security about knowing we are in safe hands. Cranston's Breaking Bad persona (Walt) brings that security "gift wrapped" he doesn't need to re-establish legitimacy to roles like this. It's Walter White playing a good guy who influences U.S. drug enforcement history.


Basically we watch the retelling of how Mazur pulled off one of the biggest undercover operations of all time and lived to tell the tale. When we are talking big we are talking of Mazur infiltrating the Pablo Escobar cartel without quite getting to Escobar. Most of The Infiltrator depicts Mazur befriending Roberto Alcaino, one of Escobar's high level operatives. The relationship is the glue which melds a believable tangle of human intrigue which leads to a make believe wedding which punctuates how brilliantly Mazur hoodwinked the "baddies". 


We've become so used to Cranston playing strong male roles with usually a steadfast moral compass it's hard to contemplate Mazur being played by anyone else. But while the film is suspense-fully entertaining I wonder if a Liev Schreiber or even his half-brother Pablo could have given Mazur an edgier quality. Diane Erlz as Mazur's make-believe fiancé Kathy is outstanding, she matches Cranston's persona scene for scene. If you loved Donnie Brasco then don't miss The Infiltrator. 8GUMS.