Traffic (2000)

"Traffic" is intricately plotted with three finely interwoven parallel stories that provide different views of the ongoing drug war in the United States and Mexico. As such, one's required to pay attention with the shifting focus on the principal players in each saga. Probably the most horrific aspect of the picture has to do with Caroline Wakefield (Erika Christensen), daughter of the President's newly appointed national drug czar (Michael Douglas), descending to the depths of her crack addiction that includes episodes of prostitution to get her fix. If it were possible, I would have reached into the screen and smacked her boyfriend Seth (Topher Grace) for his inconsequential reaction to Caroline's misery, he simply stood by and watched as she was abused by predatory drug dealers.Following the action of Mexican drug agents Javier Rodriguez (Benicio del Toro) and partner Manolo Sanchez (Jacob Vargas), along with their American DEA counterparts Montel Gordon (Don Cheadle) and Ray Castro (Luis Guzman), is a little more challenging, as their connection to the Mexican drug cartels is apparent, though their paths never cross even though they target common adversaries. The frustration involved in pursuing, finding and bringing the major players in the drug wars to justice is perhaps the main point of the story, as the film's conclusion doesn't leave anyone feeling convinced it will ever be won. Anyone expecting closure on the part of the principals is bound to be left disappointed, as each of the characters is left to deal with their personal tragedies on their own. In fact, the ones who look like the winners here are Carlos Ayala (Steven Bauer) and wife Helena (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who successfully wend their way through criminal court proceedings and survive to become even more wealthy, hand in hand with the Obregon drug cartel.

This film was a series of various stories happening at the same time but i feel like it doesn't hold up all the way to the end. It switches for story to story depending on the location and events but confuses the audience on whats exactly happening. If the stories tansitioned to one another a little bit more smoothly i feel like it could've held up exceptionally well and caught the audience to the end. Michael Douglas resigns because he comes across an epiphany that makes him realize that the war on drugs is happening outside of the US when it should be resolved and fixed within the country. Michael Douglas sees this war happening within his own family and realizes Americans suffering form drugs should be helped rather than killing the supplier because there will always be a demand for the product. The colour change helped the movie by helping you know which story is playing on screen, but on occasion it seemed very over exposed. Whenever the story in Mexico would play you could tell that the picture was a little over exposed and is a little irritating to the eye. I believe that the colour change could've benefited the movie but it was sort of gimmicky to me because it just wasnt executed properly. It was just way too noticable and odd.

Even though Traffic has an all-star cast, the famously raw direction of Steven Soderbergh, and won four Academy Awards, I can't in good conscience recommend that you watch this movie. It's incredibly disturbing, and the main message of the film can be understood without having to sit through two and half hours of upsetting material: Drugs are bad, damaging, and prevalent. There you have it! Save yourself, memorize that message, and just pretend you've seen Traffic when anyone asks you.Traffic is about drug trafficking, and it shows the journey of drugs coming up across the border from Mexico, how they're transferred from drug dealers to drug users, and eventually how they end up in the hands of our most vulnerable: children. In the Mexican scenes, Benicio Del Toro-who won Best Supporting Actor-Jacob Vargas, and Tomas Milian star. When the DEA agents are trying to arrest American drug lords, Don Cheadle, Luis Guzman, Miguel Ferrer, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Dennis Quaid, Steven Bauer, and Benjamin Bratt star. And in the scenes that tragically show bored teenagers developing drug addictions, Michael Douglas, James Brolin, Albert Finney, Amy Irving, Erika Christensen, and Topher Grace star.You can see why it's tempting to watch this film, since so many actors and actresses were recruited to take part, but unless you really enjoy watching gritty, upsetting movies that show the filthy underbelly of the country, you will be seriously scarred by watching it. If you are a parent, whether or not your child has developed a substance abuse problem or is as innocent as an angel, you will find this film extremely difficult to watch. Michael Douglas gives a wonderful performance, one that every parent and husband in the audience will identify with. Ironically, while there was quite a bit of hype of the real-life husband and wife pair starring in the same film, Michael and Catherine aren't in any scenes together, since they're separated by different storylines.I can't stop you from watching Traffic, but I can caution you as much as I can. The only reason I watched it was because I'd been cast as the lead role in the play Addict, whose title is probably self-explanatory. At the time, I had so little knowledge of drugs, I didn't even understand the lines my character was scripted to deliver. My brother insisted I watch Traffic with him as homework for the play. Given my druthers, I never would have watched it, and I sincerely wish I'd never been forced to sit through it in the first place.

Drugs are everywhere, their presence has been steadily increasing (if it hasn't already maxed out) through the years. But, people who want to lament over today's drug problem lose sight of the fact that drugs have been prevalent since before modern times. People want drugs, not everyone mind you, but a lot of people do. They want illegal drugs, prescription drugs and drugs that aren't thought of as drugs, such as alcohol and cigarettes. Illegal drugs, for the sake of the movie I'll restrict myself to hard stuff like cocaine or heroin, are a big business, perhaps the biggest business in the world. The second biggest business may be the war on drugs, but the difference is one enterprise routinely prospers while the other runs in the red all the time.I'm not going to get into my own personal drug politics, but I am someone who has spent most of his life around drugs and has seen how they affect everyone they touch. Traffic isn't a message movie in the sense that it tries to say this is good and this is bad. It is a message movie on two fronts, first is the message that drugs affect everyone they touch. Second is the message that the war on drugs is being lost and may be more harmful than it is helpful. I happen to agree with both points, so in that regard Traffic is already off to a good start with me. But, it shouldn't come down to personal politics, the two main points touched on in Traffic should be common sense, but they aren't. It's easy to see how drugs affect everyone they touch, users, dealers and those who fight against drugs are all impacted by the mere presence of drugs. The war on drugs is an abysmal failure, that much is obvious by spending a few hours in any local high school. Traffic superbly tells its tale so as not to shove these points down the viewers throats, but rather to give the viewer a glimpse at what is happening and to allow the viewer to come to their own conclusions.Traffic excels in the banality of the drug world and in essence the world in general. The miscommunication shown between different groups of government, the plight of Catherine Zeta-Jones' character, how the smallest of details can affect gaggles of people. At the same time it excels in showing how the most banal of things in our world are escalated tenfold in the world of drugs.I was amazed in Traffic with the relative ease of the story and Soderbergh's direction. Up until Traffic I was not a member of the Soderbergh fan club, but with Traffic I can see little touches that do make him a modern filmmaker to watch out for. His use of colour was not something I was prepared for, but it was exquisite to take in. Each region being filmed in a different hue not only allowed the viewer to know what place they were at in a hectic and fast moving story, but it added texture to each locale. Mexico looked grimier, Ohio looked more serene, and so on. Without these markers I don't know if the story would have flowed quite so easily, nor do I think it would have without Soderbergh's inventive shot selection and pacing choices.The acting in Traffic was great across the board, with nary a performance that didn't grab my attention. Michael Douglas & Benicio del Toro are the obvious point of discussion because their performances do anchor the film. But, I was most impressed with Don Cheadle and even more so with Luis Guzmán. There was genuine humour in Traffic, and most of it was supplied by Cheadle and Guzmán, but they were also poignant and honest characters.It's always a joy to discover an overlooked gem. The masses may not have overlooked Traffic, but I did and I am glad to have finally discovered it. Traffic was a well put together story with interesting characters, a compelling narrative, messages I found intriguing and honest, as well as moving at a fast pace while maintaining a unique look and feel. If you haven't yet seen Traffic, try not to miss out on this gem like I did.