DEADLY CARGO (ZEROZEROZERO)

 

For those desperately missing their bilingual fix of 'Narcos: Mexico', welcome to the multilingual world of 'ZeroZeroZero'.

From the fevered minds of 'Gomorrah' creator Stefano Sollima, Leonardo Fasoli and Mauricio Katz, the eight part miniseries has three interesecting stories in Mexico, the US and Italy and manages to take in Senegal and Morocco as well.

Its international cast switch from Spanish, English, Calabrian and Italian to Wolof, French and Arabic, as the series follows a consignment of cocaine from Monterrey to Gioia Tauro in Calabria while power struggles erupt in the crime gangs on both sides of the transaction.

At the start of the miniseries, we discover Gabriel Byrne's New Orleans based shipping magnate Edward Lynwood is a key link in the gangs' international drug smuggling chain, meeting Narcos in Monterrey alongside his daughter Andrea Riseborough's Emma.

Emma's lip reading brother, Dane DeHaan's Chris has Huntington's Disease and while he is keen to get involved, Edward would rather keep him away from the family's illegal activities.

The Narcos who are behind the cocaine  consignment which will be smuggled in tons of jalapeno peppers are under the scrutiny of an elite Mexican Army unit led by Harold Torres' Evangelical Christian commander Manuel Contreras.

When we initially see the special forces, they are carrying out a surveillance operation on the factory where the peppers are removed from their tins and the consignment of drugs is being prepared.

The unit pursues a member of the Leyra drug gang from the factory to a crowded market and seize him in a fierce gun battle which claims the life of a schoolgirl caught in the crossfire.

Later, Contreras and his team ambush the Leyras at a meeting they are attending in a posh Monterrey restaurant with Emma and Edward Lynwood.

Manuel, however, has designs on using his military muscle for nefarious purposes - hoping to cash in on the drugs trade.

He, therefore, approaches the Leyras about his unit crossing over to the wrong side of the law and potentially working for them.

Meanwhile in Calabria, Giuseppe De Domenico's Stefano La Piana is planning to betray his grandfather, Adriano Chiaramida's Don Minu, who heads up the 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate.

Don Minu has well established links with the Lynwoods and has arranged for the cocaine shipment from Mexico.

The old man, who has been living underground after a Mafia war, tells a meeting of the rival gangs he wants to make peace with them, revive the syndicate and he has placed the order of cocaine.

He needs them, however, to contribute to the cost of importing the drugs in the knowledge that they will generate significant profits and strengthen the 'Ndrangheta once again.

However Stefano is harbouring a desire to avenge Don Miru's slaying of his father and instead secretly plots to sabotage the shipment and have his grandfather killed.

When Don Miru sends one of his trusted lieutenants, Constantino Comito's Luciano to collect the money from the rival gangs, Stefano and his friend, Walter Cordopatri's Nicola abduct and kill him and feed his corpse to the pigs, burning all the money he has collected in the process.

Don Miru is also forced to flee his mountainside bunker in the middle of the night when he wakes up to find a special operations force has located his whereabouts.

He breaks his hand in the process of the escape through a secret passageway.

However he is also alive to the stench of betrayal in his ranks and the danger of a deadly feud erupting between the crime syndicate's gangs.

Sollima, Fasoli and Katz's mesmerising miniseries is riddled with corruption and betrayal, with the Lynwoods' shipment going awry on its passage from Mexico despite being under the guiding hand of Tcheky Karyo's sailor François Salvage.

This results in them having to undergo a dangerous trek from Dakar to Casablanca that will take the Lynwoods through ISIS controlled territory in the Sahara.

But it is to Sollima, Fasoli and Katz's immense credit that as they juggle their narrative balls, nothing is dropped.

The trio manage to keep a firm grip on their three stranded narrative and deliver an undeniably classy thriller.

Viewers will be reminded of the multi layered narrative of Simon Moore's superb 1989 Channel 4 international drugs trade miniseries 'Traffik' and Steven Soderbergh's equally impressive 2000 movie adaptation it, 'Traffic'.

With Sollima directing episodes alongside Danish director Janus Metz Pederson, and Argentinian Pablo Trapero, 'ZeroZeroZero' is a wonderfully cinematic miniseries - combining pulsating action and tense set pieces with breathing cinematography from the Paolo Carnera, Romain Lacourbas and Vittorio Omodei Zorini.

The miniseries boasts a clever soundtrack from the Scottish rock band Mogwai.

There's also some shrewd editing by Herve Schneid and Alejandro Brodersohn.

'ZeroZeroZero' also impressively knits its savage and compelling tale together with the help of some barnstorming performances.

Torres is particularly impressive as the bundle of contradictions that is Manuel Contreras - a brutal operator who chillingly plots his way up the Mexican crime ladder while indulging his fixation with Evangelical Christianitu.

In one stunning sequence, he kills a colleague in the Special Forces unit and two other men in a nightclub with a sermon blasting in his earphones.

The bodies are bundled into a van and hung off a bridge, purporting to warn this is what happens when you work with Narcos but actually sending a message to the Leyras that Contreras and his crew mean business.

Occasionally consumed by guilt, Manuel ends up trying to make amends for his callous actions by insinuating himself into the life of his victim's pregnant wife, Claudia Pineda's Chiquitita and giving her the proceeds of his crimes.

If Torres impresses, the same can be said for Riseborough who goes toe to toe with Byrne, Karyo and others as the tough but shrewd Emma.

As the series wears on, she emerges from the shadow cast by her father as the Lynwoods are put through the mill.

In what should be a star making performance, DeHaan is excellent as her sickly brother Chris who wants to play his part in the family business and also live a normal life while staving off the ravages of his disease.

His chemistry with Riseborough is undeniable and they convince from the off as an incredibly tight sister and brother.

Byrne is at his imperious best as the family's patriarch, while the always entertaining Karyo is as reliable as ever as the enigmatic François. 

De Domenico and Chiaramida shine as the ambitious grandson and the wily old Mafia boss, while Francesco Colella impresses as a thuggish rival gang member Curtiga.

Pineda and Nika Perrone as Stefano's wife Lucia are effective in their supporting roles, as are Diego Catano, Norman Degaldillo, Erick Israel Consuelo, Jose Salof and Jesus Lozano as members of Contreras' unit.

With such a vast array of characters, viewers may find the opening episode a bit overwhelming 

There is a lot to absorb but 'ZeroZeroZero' quickly rewards those viewers who aren't easily intimidated and stick with it. 

Sollima, Fasoli and Katz have concocted a stylish, challenging and rich continent hopping drama with spectacular set pieces, stunning imagery and excellent acting.

It is one of those dramas that lingers in your mind days after you have sen them - always the mark of a great series.

In fact, it should be declared a crime to miss it.

('ZeroZeroZero' was broadcast on Sky Atlantic in the UK and Ireland from February 14-March 6, 2021 and is available for streaming on Sky+, NowTV and in the United States on Amazon Prime)

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