One of the most acclaimed films of the year 2000, Traffic nearly lives up to its hype due to its compelling characters. Well written and directed, with solid continuity, Traffic is fascinating despite a few dubious plot resolutions.

Director Steven Soderbergh, who doubled as cinematographer under the pseudonym Peter Andrews, made a nervy decision to use different film tints for the various subplots. The scenes in Mexico are yellow, while lovely Erika Christensen is often filmed in blue.

While unusual, such tinting actually revisits the roots of filmmaking. Silent movies from the 1920s often used different hues to distinguish between day, night, and indoor scenes.

Similarly, the occasionally tight editing is an effective way to consolidate storytelling. It is not novel, however, as it was used more extensively in Snatch, released a few months before. The famous final shots in Greed (1924), which changed the user's perspective by switching to progressively longer shots, also used this technique.

Traffic has a pseudo-documentary feel that is enhanced by the virtual lack of score and comic relief. Also contributing is the occasional use of a hand-held camera camera, especially in the Mexican locations. While the film does not break new ground in cinematography, it does make its subplots more interesting by imaginatively using traditional techniques.

Traffic also excels at maneuvering its four major subplots, which are sometimes only loosely connected. Despite a large supporting cast, it is never difficult to keep track of either the characters or their relationships.

One could argue that this is because they can be lumped into 'good' or 'bad' characters. Helena Ayala (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Caroline Wakefield (Erika Christensen) are exceptions, as their characters change as the film progresses.

These changes are not necessarily convincing, however. Helena is at first a pampered and innocent country club wife, whose chief interest is converting her son David (Alec Roberts) into the next Tiger Woods. Within a few increasingly improbable scenes, however, she becomes a partner in crime with her murderous drug lord husband. Despite being bugged and followed by the D.E.A.

The character turn of Caroline is also dubious. She rapidly degenerates into a zombie-like addict and prostitute. Yet once she is reunited with her father, all is well again. A more open-ended denouement would have been more satisfactory.

A few other plot resolutions mildly annoyed me. Obnoxious drug snitch Eduardo Ruiz (Miguel Ferrer) is poisoned on the day that he is to testify. Earlier, agents Montel Gordon (Don Cheadle) and Ray Castro (Luis Guzman) refused to drink lemonade served by Helena, because they knew it could be spiked. But they will allow a stranger to knock on the hotel door and deliver food to a man testifying later the same day? It would be far safer to have an agent make a fast food run.

Perhaps most silly of all is the dramatic resignation of Judge Wakefield (Michael Douglas) as the drug czar, which occurs in the middle of his first public address. In a strong position to help codify and enforce drug policy, he prefers to walk away rather than at least make an attempt to provide better treatment options for addicts. Admittedly, Douglas does a fine job of delivering his distracted speech, but the moment is overtly cinematic.

The only subplot, then, that moves without an obvious impediment is that of Javier Rodriguez Rodriguez (Benicio Del Toro). Javier is the Serpico of the Mexican police, cool and completely incorruptible. But while Serpico reacted to payoffs with waves of whining, Javier sees irony instead. Life is hard, and people will do what they have to get through it, even if it is wrong.

The year 2000 was a great one for director Soderbergh. The Limey (1999) continued to generate favorable mention, and both Erin Brockovich and Traffic were nominated for multiple Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. Traffic was also nominated for its editing (Stephen Mirrione) and the adapted screenplay (Stephen Gaghan). The film was based on, of all things, a "Masterpiece Theater" miniseries, written by Simon Moore.

Traffic managed to sweep all of the categories it was nominated in, except for Best Picture which went to the box office goliath Gladiator. While Soderbergh did not win that prize, he did make the two best films nominated that year, as Erin Brockovich is an even better movie. (60/100)

k@filmsgraded.com, filmsgraded.com


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older