The MacMahonian tries, to the extent that it tries anything, to give adequate coverage to the nearly extinct mid-budget production (btw humbly recommending reading Roger Corman´s remarks on this matter in his recent interview to Film Comment): it plays into the quaint notion that there just might still be a B movie culture out there for future historians to unearth, so The MacMahonian seeks to give them a hand with the shovel.
The Infiltrator is the 4th feature film directed by Brad Furmann, discreet author of uneven but personal crime thrillers, including The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) and Runner Runner (2013).
It tells the story of U.S. Customs Service special agent Robert Mazur (Bryan Cranston) who infiltrated the world's largest drug cartel in the 80s and was instrumental in bringing down drug lord Pablo Escobar.
The Infiltrator is based on a true story but what it evokes the most are Scorsesean themes of duplicity and betrayal. Not nearly to the baroque Shakespearean standards of the divine New Yorker, The Infiltrator keeps dramatic tension effectively but the manichaeistic script sadly misses playing to anywhere near potential the divided loyalties of Mazur (although Cranston's performance resulted in him deservingly being hyped as the next Jean Gabin, or someone to similar effect) in his relationship with Escobar´s alter ego Roberto Alcaino (Benjamin Bratt, playing himself to adequate effect).
Effective and understated, The Infiltrator satisfies to the extent it shows without showing off, if finally falling distinctly short of potential.