| Review: Traffic | |
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Traffic is an issue film. The issue is drug traffic. Soderbergh doesn't offer any answers. In the film's various plots, you watch as Soderbergh gives you intimate access how drugs affects the lives of many characters: most notably, Javier Rodriguez (Benicio del Toro) as the good cop in Mexico; Helena Ayala (Catherine Zeta-Jones), six months pregnant, mother of a little boy, who has to reassess the rules of game when she finds out her business man hubbie is a big time trafficker; Caroline Wakefield (Erica Christensen), the angry prep school kid who drives it home that even the smartest ki, from the best family can still end up strung out and naked in a crack den, whore to a big African American dealer. The worst of the worst.
The king of the hill, Ohio Supreme Court Justice, America's new drug czar and father of his very own drug addicted, baby-faced teen, John Wakefield (Michael Douglas) steadily loses confidence in his convictions as the film progresses. There is a wonderful moment late in the film when Wakefield breaks down during his address to the nation with a ten point plan on the war on drugs. How, he asks, can you how can you wage a war against your own family?
For two and a half hours, Soderbergh gives you glimpses into the drug war. Sometimes it works. I got appropriately unhappy when the angel faced teen gets heroin shot up her foot. And just in case you want to think, that's not me, Soderberg let's you know that it is. Drugs effect everybody. Look at conservative John Wakefield clinging to his daily Scotch and water to "take the edge off."
And drugs, if you didn't know this, are bad. The war on drugs: it's also bad. The government has it's own agenda. The government makes mistakes. If you catch one drug dealer, there's another, bigger one getting away squeaky clean. It's a rough issue. Thank you for the insight. Thank you very much.
In the most basic sense, movies serve to entertain. But every story line in Traffic comes with a message. Every character is a symbolic figure. I hate walking out of a film feeling like I've been preached at. Traffic is well done, interesting in parts, but all in all, it's simply a polemic and not a great movie.
Traffic
Directed by Steven Soderbergh; written by Stephen Gaghan, based on "Traffik" created by Simon Moore, originally produced by Carnival Films for Channel 4 Television (Britain); director of photography, Peter Andrews; edited by Stephen Mirrione; music by Cliff Martinez; production designer, Philip Messina; produced by Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz and Laura Bickford; released by USA Films. Running time: 147 minutes. This film is rated R.
