Traffic

Steven Soderbergh, after his stellar year, may finally gain mainstream acceptance. Erin Brockovich, starring Julia Roberts, was an excellent film that was viewed by many people. All these people saw a young, energetic director with material that suited him. With this, a better and more ambitious film, hopefully more people will bear witness to the art of Soderbergh's craft. He's a young, stylish director, with an eye for mood and energy. His films vary widely in their themes. Traffic just might be his best film yet.

The film is certainly his most ambitious. Soderbergh works the film around three major pieces: an Ohio State Judge Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas) destined to become the next Drug Czar of the United States; quiet, calm Mexican police officer Javier Rodriguez (Benicio Del Toro), who is confused as to which side he's really working on; and clueless housewife Helena Ayala (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who suddenly becomes entangled in the business of her arrested husband. Each part is marked by decidedly different appearances. Robert's part is photographed with a distinct blue tinge, Javier's segment is an oversaturated yellow, and Helena's is the more normal, conventional grade of film. The technique is mainly used to designate locations, as the trend changes when our new Drug Czar enters Mexico City and we're greeted with the yellowed, grainy photography. Adding to the effect of the coloration is the use of hand-held's for virtually the entire running time. Using the rocky motion of the cameraman to bring us into the action, Soderbergh brings an unexpected immediacy to the proceedings. It's a wonderfully photographed film, which Soderbergh did himself under the pseudonym Peter Andrews.

One of Soderbergh's other gifts is to gather solid performances from each member of the script. Catherine Zeta-Jones, while sometimes pretty spotty in her performances, is solid throughout. Douglas, of course, is great as our official in charge, and Erika Christensen is also good as his daughter Caroline. Don Cheadle and Luis Guzmán are entertaining and convincing as the pair of investigators sitting outside Helena's front porch listening to her conversations. It is Benicio Del Toro, however, who steals the show. His performance is remarkable in its restraint and calm demeanor. He seems to be an individual who is in charge of keeping the walls from collapsing in on him and those that he knows. The ensemble as a whole does excellent work, giving life to a stellar, difficult script.

The script successfully weaves around each character, sometimes them walking by each other coincidentally, other times observing the discussion of another. Never is there a time where you spot another main character and want to say "Look!" and point in their direction. It's an admirable feat, considering how it is rarely done in films of its kind. Stephen Gaghan wrote the script, basing its subject around an English television special named Traffik. Our film concerns itself with the futile American drug war. Is our tax money well spent? Traffic vehemently states that it isn't. It paints a bleak picture of the future of our fight against the drug lords with seemingly endless financial means. At one affecting point in the film the financial picture is laid out. The U.S. spends 45 billion dollars a year. The drug lords? Not even close. They outspend the American government's actions by a wide margin. Could this somewhat morbid outlook on the future change? Possibly, but it won't be easy.

Thankfully, the film never concerns itself with developing solutions to the problems. This is not a film director or screenwriter's job. What these filmmakers do, however, is raise awareness to a very important battle. The drug war isn't something that will just go away, children won't just stop experimenting. Our drug-addicted citizens will not magically become healthy again. The problem is here, and we need to address it. Hiding it under the table doesn't do any good.

On a scale of 1 to 10 flaky dolls : 9