TRAFFIC

2000

Because of all of the critical acclaim that's been heaped on this film, I would advise you to check it out for yourself. However, I found it to be one of the major disappointments of the film year. Credit has got to be given to director Steven Soderbergh for tackling such a wide target as the entire drug scene in America, but unfortunately, his shots fall short of the mark. Because of the many parallel stories being told (a la Robert Altman,) the film often seems to be fragmented and/or poorly edited. The acting ranges from very good to very bad. Catherine Zeta-Jones does the best that she can with the absurd role of a rich LaJolla society matron turned drug lord!!! Michael Douglas just walks through his role, and lots of other stars and politicians (from Albert Finney to ex-Governor William Weld) put in cameos as window-dresssing. The cinematography (orange lenses for the Mexican scenes/drug busts and blue for the Washington and "rich folks" scenes) is silly, and coupled with the hand-held camera shots, becomes distracting. Benecio DelToro has been getting raves for his role of the drug-enforcing border cop. I thought that he was "Johnny-one-note,"... everything pitched at one level. But, all in all, it's a noble effort to try to encompass this entire drug-war in one film. Maybe it should have been done as a 10-hour series on PBS.

3 Stars

NJB

Director Steven Soderbergh gives you a potpourri of anti-drug sentiment in his latest film, which attempts to paint a picture of the entire drug problem in the United States with one broad stroke. The different levels are quite interesting, from the newly-appointed US chief of drug enforcement Michael Douglas, to American DEA officer Don Cheadle, to Mexican state policeman Benecio Del Toro, to unknowing wife of a druglord Catherine Zeta-Jones and finally to the 16 year old honor student daughter of Douglas who becomes a coke addict. Soderbergh tries to differentiate the various plot lines by changing camera techniques and color filters and this works in transitioning between stories. Where this film went wrong was that it is hard to tell if it's making a serious statement or not. The line between fact and fiction seemed to be too blurred and you can't make a serious statement when you're going a little out on a limb like I think they did here- and obviously just for the audience appeal.

3.5 Stars

CDF