Colombia , in the 1980s and 1990s, was in dire danger of degenerating into a dysfunctional narco state under the thrall of cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar. Netflix’s riveting 10-part series, Narcos, reconstructs Escobar’s rise to notoriety and his blood-soaked confrontations with the Colombian government.
The show is narrated in understated tones by a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency officer who’s posted to Colombia to kill or capture Escobar, one of the wealthiest criminals in history. At one point, his Medellin cartel was raking in $60 million a day, surpassing General Motors’ daily profits. Escobar’s success was largely due to brute intimidation, unbridled violence and the soft power of bribery.
Written by Chris Brancato, directed by Jose Padilha and filmed on location in Colombia, Narcos rivets viewers due to its non-stop action sequences, comic book villains, outlandish escapades, exotic locales and sultry sex. But its superb cast is the ultimate key to understanding its broad appeal. The actors inhabit the skins and minds of the protagonists with effortless ease.
Wagner Moura, a Brazilian, plays Escobar, who’s portrayed as a clever, ruthless and amoral criminal who will stop at nothing to get his way. Escobar murders competitors and traitors in the blink of an eyelash. He kills policemen in ambushes. He buys and rubs out politicians. He plots to blow up an airliner in mid-air. He matches wits with DEA agents.
Only one scenario frightens him — extradition to the United States. Escobar would rather die in a hail of bullets than rot in an American prison for the rest of his life.
Escobar trusts very few people. The exceptions are his wife, mother and second-in-command, Gustavo (Juan Pablo Raba), who’s his cousin and childhood playmate. Escobar is a cold, canny, calculating, foul-mouthed operator, and while he truly loves his wife and children, he has no compunctions about having a torrid affair with a smart broadcast journalist, Valeria Velez (Stephanie Sigman). He’s immensely greedy but he’s something of a philanthropist, funding the construction of schools, athletic facilities and housing for the poor. Call him Robin Hood, if you wish.
At the end of the day, Escobar is a populist and nationalist who wants to topple the ruling elite to better serve his own interests and that of downtrodden Colombians.
His foe, Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook), is a driven DEA agent who’s dedicated to taking him down. Murphy’s Spanish-speaking partner, Javier (Pedro Pascal), is no less anxious to reel in Escobar. Their Colombian colleague, Carrillo (Maurice Compte), is tough as nails and one of the few honest police officers in the country.
Colombia’s incorruptible and well-meaning president, Cesar Gaviria (Raul Mendez), faces a dilemma. He can either declare war on Escobar or reach a face-saving accommodation, thus sparing the nation further bloodshed and heartache.
Narcos, which sometimes feels like a documentary, blends drama with newsreel footage to achieve a measure of authenticity. And its lilting Latin American music score is addictive.
Renewed for another season earlier this month, Narcos rolls out its cast of compelling characters in 2016.
https://youtu.be/U7elNhHwgBU