10 best films with Benicio del Toro

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The charismatic Puerto Rican is known for films by Terry Gilliam, Guy Ritchie and Denis Villeneuve.

With a very specific appearance, Benicio del Toro manages to remain incredibly charming. He is best known for his crime films, but he looks great in classic drama too.

He does not change his appearance, like Christian Bale, but he always gets on well in the role. He could be called "Latin American Brad Pitt", but del Toro has long been no less recognizable than his American counterpart.

1. Suspicious persons

• USA, 1995.
• Thriller, detective.
• Duration: 106 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 6.

Five criminals, ordered by a mysterious boss, must rob a ship carrying cocaine. But things are not going according to plan. In the end, the only survivor of them tells the police how it happened that they were forced to work together, and what happened after all.

The film "Suspicious Persons" instantly glorified both director Brian Singer and all the leading actors. And Kevin Spacey even brought a well-deserved Oscar.

As for Benicio del Toro, he played one of the five bandits. And despite the fact that he is in the frame next to much more experienced actors, watching him is no less interesting. His role is slightly less than that of the others, but del Toro's laugh in the identification scene is incredibly infectious.

2. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

• USA, 1998.
• Drama, comedy, adventure.
• Duration: 118 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

Journalist Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr. Gonzo travel to Las Vegas. Duke has to write an article about the famous Mint 400 race. But the drug trip quickly turns into a psychedelic trip. Having failed the collection of materials for the article, the heroes go to the casino.

The next milestone in del Toro's career was the image of Dr. Gonzo in the film adaptation of the famous book by Hunter Thompson. In preparation for their roles, the actors studied the real prototypes from which their characters were written off. Johnny Depp even lived for several months with Thompson himself and exchanged a car with him.

Benicio del Toro did not have such an opportunity: the lawyer Oscar Z. Acosta (the prototype of Gonzo) went missing in the mid-seventies. However, the actor carefully studied his biography and habits and even gained 18 kilograms for the role.

3. Big jackpot

• UK, USA, 2000.
• Comedy, crime.
• Duration: 104 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 3.

Frankie, nicknamed Four Fingers, has to ship a stolen diamond from England to the United States for the jeweler Avi. But he contacts the mafioso Boris Razor, and this becomes the beginning of big problems.

Already in the first scene of the film, you can see Benicio del Toro dressed as an Orthodox Jew. With his hero Frankie, who suffers from a gambling addiction, all the insane action of one of Guy Ritchie's best films begins. True, then the character lies unconscious for most of the plot.

4. Way of the weapon

• USA, 2000.
• Crime, action, drama.
• Duration: 119 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

Criminals Longbo and Parker learned that a surrogate mother, Robin, was carrying a child for a million dollars. They kidnap a woman and demand a large ransom from their father. But he is not going to pay and sends a negotiator and two thugs to the kidnappers.

Suspicious Persons screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie decided to work with Benicio del Toro again on his own directorial project. It would seem that the plot is similar to many other crime dramas. But McQuarrie added a lot of philosophical dialogue to the action, which del Toro and Ryan Phillippe did well.

5. Traffic

• USA, Germany, 2000.
• Crime, thriller, drama.
• Duration: 147 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

The film allows you to look at drug trafficking from three different angles. Chief Justice Robert Wakefield starts a real war against traffickers in illegal substances. And in parallel, storylines about a Mexican policeman and the wife of a major drug lord develop.

In 2000, three excellent films with Benicio del Toro were released at once. All of them are connected with crime stories, but differ in atmosphere and presentation. And the actor himself plays completely different roles. For his portrayal of a policeman in Traffic, he received an Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA and several other important awards.

6.21 grams

• USA, 2003.
• Drama.
• Duration: 124 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

Christine got rid of drug addiction and seemed to find happiness in life. But soon her husband Michael and two children are accidentally run over by former prisoner Jack.

The unlucky driver does not know how to live on with the burden of this guilt, because he decided to devote himself to God. And the heart of the deceased Michael should be transplanted to the seriously ill mathematician Paul, who has feelings for Christine.

This film partly continues the philosophy and logic of the previous work of Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu "Love Bitch", although the plots are not directly related. And here it is already possible to fully appreciate the dramatic talent of del Toro. For his role as Jack, he again received an Oscar nomination. True, this time he lost to Tim Robbins from The Mysterious River.

7. Sin city

• USA, 2005.
• Neo-noir, crime.
• Duration: 124 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 9.

Sin City is full of dark secrets and crimes. Lonely Marv is trying to find the killer of his beloved. Photographer Dwight accidentally breaks the fragile truce between aggressive prostitutes and law enforcement officials. A middle-aged policeman is trying to rid the city of a sinister yellow-skinned maniac.

The author of the Sin City comic, Frank Miller, decided to personally film his work, taking Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino to help. Thanks to them, a whole galaxy of amazing actors gathered on the set. The role of Benicio del Toro is unusual here: his character dies quickly, but his severed head continues to chatter, annoying the main character.

8. What we have lost

• USA, UK, 2007.
• Drama.
• Duration: 118 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

Audrey Burke lives happily with her husband Brian and two children. But one day tragedy happens: Brian is killed. Audrey is visited by her husband's childhood friend - drug addict Jerry. He helps her return to normal life, and at the same time he tries to find himself.

Another successful film in Benicio del Toro's dramatic career. He perfectly got used to the image of a drug addict, for whom the death of a friend became an impetus to get rid of addiction. Nightmares, breakdowns and self-doubts are conveyed vividly and without exaggeration.

9. Che

• USA, 2008.
• Biography, drama, historical.
• Duration: 134 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

This biographical painting in two parts tells about the life of the famous revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara. Argentine by birth, he fought for the freedom of the Cuban people and won the love of his comrades-in-arms and ordinary people.

Steven Soderbergh invited Benicio del Toro to play the role of the legendary historical figure. At the same time, the actor managed to show his hero at different stages of his life and work. And in order to reliably convey the image, del Toro had to lose a lot of weight.

10. Assassin

• USA, 2015.
• Action, drama, crime.
• Duration: 121 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

FBI agent Keith Maser tries to follow the laws in everything and not compromise on principles. But one day she is invited to take part in a special operation on the border with Mexico. And here she is faced with a completely different approach of the special services, because in a fierce struggle they themselves have to go against the law.

In the film, Denis Villeneuve del Toro played the mysterious FBI consultant Alejandro. This role is often called the pinnacle of his acting career, because in this picture it turned out to combine an action-packed thriller with a real dark drama.

In 2018, a sequel was even released, where Alejandro has already become the main character. But along with Villeneuve, who left the project, the integrity of the gloomy image of the hero disappeared.