Traffic (2000)

Director: Steven Soderbergh
Screenplay: Stephen Gaghan (based on Traffik by Alastair Reid)
Cast: Michael Douglas, Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, Catherine Zeta-Jones 
Music: Cliff Martinez
Time: 147 minutes
Bottom-line: Traffic provides entertainment thanks to its powerful narrative structure and some good bits of acting

Steven Soderbergh won the Academy Award for Best Director for this 2000 thriller film, Traffic. With a huge cast and multiple interwoven storylines, the film is about drug trade (illegal of course!) from the viewpoint of different people. Michael Douglas, Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro and Catherine Zeta-Jones play the lead roles, with Dennis Quaid, Erika Christensen and Luis Guzmán in the supporting roles. Three storylines, two hours of thrill, one film: Traffic.

Douglas as Robert Wakefield

Mexico: Police officer Javier Rodriguez (Del Toro) and his partner Manolo Sanchez are hired by General Salazar to help him wipe out the Tijuana Cartel. Javier agrees to work for Salazar, but soon it becomes clear that Salazar himself is not clean, and Javier is indirectly working for a criminal...

Washington/Ohio: Robert Wakefield, an Ohio judge, is appointed to head the President's Office of National Drug Control Policy, taking on the title drug czar. However, as his own home, his daughter Caroline, (Christiansen) is becoming increasingly addicted to cocaine.

San Diego: Two DEA officers, Ray (Guzman) and Gordon (Cheadle) arrest Eduardo Ruiz, a high-stakes drug dealer. Wanting immunity, he gives up his boss, Carlos Ayala, one of the biggest drug distributers. His pregnant wife, Helena (Zeta-Jones), faces death threats. She decides to hire an assassin to kill Ruiz, thereby ending the case against her husband. As the story progresses, we see that all the characters get engaged in a game – a game, where nobody gets away clean. 

Del Toro as Javier Rodriguez 

While many critics praised the acting of everyone, my opinion differs in some ways. First, I liked Douglas’ acting, for more than the character of a judge, he played the role of a father very well. Benicio Del Toro was good, but not so good that he deserved the Oscar for his role... Gladiator was also released the same year, and Joaquin Phoenix, who played Commodus, did a much better job than Del Toro in this film. Dennis Quaid’s role seems a mystery to me – I still don’t find any significance of it (though technically he is a lead actor in the film). The three actors in the San Diego storyline: Don Cheadle, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzman have given very good performances. An unnoticed performance may be that of Erika Christiansen, who plays Robert’s drug-addicted daughter. Though she may not be as well-known as the lead actors, her performance was quite excellent.

Cheadle as Gordon, with Guzman as Ray (behind)

Now to the aspect that makes the film unique, the narrative structure. There is no proper order – the tracks interchange every now and then, but Soderbergh has done it in such a way that it is not too confusing to follow all the three storylines. Unlike my (and I am guessing many others’ as well) expectations, the tracks don’t converge to a thrilling finale or something... most of the time they are independent of the others, and in fact, no character from one story meets any character from another (except one scene where Javier, Salazar and Robert meet). However, all the incidents are significant in some way or the other, and together produce a good film.

Catherine Zeta-Jones as Helena

Another interesting thing I found about the story is the realism. The script is cleverly written, for it is a story from the viewpoint of people one would usually associate with drugs: a politician, a cop, and a user. There are no sudden heroics, no unnecessary stunts, but just a straightforward story. that is the reason the film is able to leave an impact on you.

The photography was also good. I liked the way Soderbergh distinguished the storylines using camera work. The Mexico track has a particular bright yellowish shade to it, and the Wakefield storyline had another shade. With masterful direction from Soderbergh, good performances from an ensemble cast, and an excellent screenplay, Traffic isn’t exactly a pure thriller, but it is, for sure, a terrific entertainer. It may not be the director’s best film, but it might be the best film to be made on the topic of drug trade and trafficking.

My Rating: 3.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 92%