'The Infiltrator' - The Academy Season Starts Now!

While we are still months away from the Academy Award season, the race for Best Actor is on and Bryan Cranston as the real life US Customs agent Robert 'Bob' Mazur is a few steps ahead of the pack. 'The Infiltrator' is an independent film begging to be seen and by all rights, must be seen.

Written by Ellen Brown Furman and directed by her son, Brad Furman, 'The Infiltrator' is based on Mazur's memoir in which he recounts his efforts to bring down the drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. Cranston as Bob Mazur is stunning, one of his best performances and one of the nest performances this year so far.  While there have been other (and perhaps better) stories like this, 'Traffic', 'Rush' and the Netflix series 'Narcos' stand out, none can match the performance of Cranston.

That being said, one stunning performance is difficult to carry an entire movie. Brad Furman's insistence of using tight closeups for nearly every shot  makes it difficult to really get into all of the characters. While I understand he was going for a mood, the fantastic score by Chris ajian and the subtle, darker tones by cinematographer Joshua Reis would have carried the performances a lot farther.

The story line is taut and suspenseful, your heart will not stop pounding during the entire 127 minutes. The strong cast helps the story along as well. John Leguizamo as partner Emir Abreu is convincing as well as multi dimensional.  Leguizamo is one of the finest character actors in movies today that is just begging for a lead role.  Diane Kruger is the beautiful, rookie agent Kathy Ertz and while she looks nothing like her real life counterpart, Kruger is an exceptional actress. 

Mazur is a devoted husband and father who is involved in minor drug busts in Miami, Florida. In the opening scene, Mazur is working an undercover drug bust in a bowling alley when the wire he is wearing begins to short and burn his chest. This injury in the line of duty gives Mazur the freedom to retire with full benefits, but instead, Mazur wants to continue on. Only this time, he just doesn't want these small minor busts; he wants to 'Follow the money...' and go after the people at the top.

Setting himself and partner up as a money launderer, Mazur works his way up the Escobar food chain. Every scene that Cranston is in is chilling and often terrifying. He gives his all to the role and the outcome shows this. For his performance alone, this is a film worth seeing in the theaters. My one hope is that the members of the academy will remember Cranston's A+ performance in this solidly B+ film!