The Infiltrator

The Infiltrator Information

The Infiltrator is a 2016 American biographical crime drama film directed by Brad Furman and written by Ellen Brown Furman. The film is based on the autobiography of the same name by Robert Mazur, a U.S. Customs special agent, who in the 1980s helped bust Pablo Escobar's money-laundering organization by going undercover as a corrupt businessman. The film stars Bryan Cranston, Diane Kruger, Benjamin Bratt, John Leguizamo, Said Taghmaoui, Joseph Gilgun and Amy Ryan.

Filming began on February 23, 2015 in London. The film premiered at the Tampa Theatre on July 6, 2016 and was released in the United States on July 13, 2016.

Plot

During the 1980s, U.S. Customs Service special agent Robert Mazur uses his undercover alias "Bob Musella" to become a pivotal player for drug lords cleaning their dirty cash. Later, he infiltrates the world's largest cartel and helps expose the money-laundering organization of drug lord Pablo Escobar and take down the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, which had secretly taken illegal ownership of First American Bank shares in Washington, D.C. He survives the deception and has a long and productive career.

Cast

Bryan Cranston as Robert Mazur/Bob Musella
John Leguizamo as Emir Abreu
Benjamin Bratt as Roberto Alcaino
Diane Kruger as Kathy Ertz
Yul Vazquez as Javier Ospina
Rubn Ochandiano as Gonzalo Mora Jr.
Juliet Aubrey as Evelyn Mazur
Amy Ryan as Bonni Tischler
Olympia Dukakis as Aunt Vicky
Joe Gilgun as Dominic
Sad Taghmaoui as Amjad Awan
Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Steve Cook
Elena Anaya as Gloria Alcaino
Carsten Hayes as Rudy Armbrecht
Juan Cely as the Informant
Jason Isaacs as Mark Jackowski
Andy Beckwith as Joe
Michael Par as Barry Seal
Mark Holden as Eric Wellman

Production

The project was first announced by The Hollywood Reporter on October 8, 2014, with Brad Furman as director and Bryan Cranston as Robert Mazur. Miriam Segal would produce the film for her Good Films banner along with George Films, while Relativity International was announced to sell the film to foreign distributors at the American Film Market. On February 13, 2015, Diane Kruger was set to star for the unspecified female lead role. Benjamin Bratt was set to star in the film as Roberto Alcaino, the agent's contact who dealt directly with cartel board members, including Escobar. On March 10, 2015, more cast was added to the film, including John Leguizamo, Amy Ryan, Olympia Dukakis, Elena Anaya, and Juliet Aubrey. Broad Green Pictures acquired the US rights to the film on May 21, 2015.

Bryan Cranston and John Leguizamo previously worked together in The Lincoln Lawyer, which Furman directed.

Filming

Filming was previously set to begin in March 2015 in Tampa, Florida, but then moved to London and Paris. According to SSN Insider, filming began on February 23, 2015. On March 11, 2015, the studio confirmed that filming was underway in London, releasing a first-look image from the film. The production would move to Florida at the end of April. Filming began in Tampa on April 22, 2015, on location at Port Tampa Bay. On April 28, 2015, they filmed in Parkland Estates near the former home of Santo Trafficante, an infamous Tampa mob boss.

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, The Infiltrator opened on Wednesday, July 13, 2016, and was projected to gross $5-8 million from 1,600 theaters in its opening five days. The film grossed $773,761 on its first day and $5.3 million in its opening weekend (a five-day total of $6.7 million), finishing eighth at the box office.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 70% based on 171 reviews and an average rating of 6.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Infiltrators compelling fact-based story and tremendously talented cast are often just enough to balance out its derivative narrative and occasionally clunky execution." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 66 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.