Movie Review: Traffic (2000)

Reviewing the movie Traffic is sort of like writing one of those very short, few-sentence reviews that you read in a weekday newspaper. I don't want to throw everything I liked about this movie at you (because it would be a long list) but then again I also want to present why Traffic is a great film. Without further ado here is my review of Steven Soderbergh's Traffic. Traffic is a 2000 film directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars Michael Douglas, Don Cheadle, Benico Del Toro, Dennis Quaid, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The movie follows several different stories about drugs, their effects on addicts, the drug trade, and how a judge (Michael Douglas) deals with his drug addicted daughter, all while trying to create a safer community that has a lacking of narcotics. Traffic in short is probably one of the greatest on screen depictions of drugs and drug use ever done. It's so real, powerful, and has so much to it that one cannot possibly just see Traffic and walk away. As I watched this movie I felt as if I were in the middle of the events depicted on screen. This movie comes alive not just due to it's raw subject matter, but to it's performances. Every actor and actress on screen did a great job with this film. Douglas is perfect as a judge and a father torn between both sides and discovering what justice is. My favorite performance (which I wasn't expecting) was from Topher Grace. Grace is by no means bad at acting, but his performance in this film is so great that he feels real. All of these characters (despite how caught up in the narcotics world they get) feel extremely real and like they're actual people. That's what I loved about this movie, it feels real. Many movies use drugs and have the participants do drugs on screen. That's all interesting, but this movie gets how to properly inject drugs into the story line. It's not a case of a bunch of folks sitting around a table and snorting coke. The movie goes so much farther than that as we get that drugs spiral people out of control and ruin their lives. Traffic understands that drugs aren't just a plot device in a film, they can actually have a substantial, meaningful role. The cinematography also changes throughout the film as we switch to each characters story. It's grainy, dirty, with a dream like feel and it creates such a mesmerizing experience. Does the movie have it's own deal of flaws? Yes! Traffic does two things that got to me. First off, the movie ends way too abruptly. It just cuts to credits (in the middle of a scene might I add too) and you leave feeling as if you should have gotten more. Not saying the film does not provide within it's two and a half hr duration, but it feels as though a certain knot wasn't tied. My second flaw is that the movie should have had (in my opinion) more scenes which emphasize tension. There's a great scene between two characters (a drug dealer and a cop) as they discuss how the dealer illegally is burning CDS. The conversation gets so intense and leads to so much, but it's one of maybe 2, 3, or four scenes that showcase that kind of awkward, close tension that I would have wanted to see more from. Despite those issues, the film Traffic was really fascinating. Overall, Traffic is a great movie that does feel a little uneven at times, but that doesn't prevent viewers from enjoying great performances, great inject of drugs into the material, as well as great look and feel. Three stars