Traffic
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
(Sex, Lies & Videotape,
Out of Sight,
Erin Brockovich).
Starring Michael Douglas (lots of stuff), Benicio Del
Toro (The Usual Suspects),
Catherine Zeta-Jones
(Zorro,
Entrapment).
Was this supposed to be the film where Michael met Catherine? If it was, it must have been at the wrap-up party. Their two characters never meet; they could conceivably be in two separate films. Steven Soderbergh’s long-winded analysis of the drug trade into the USA has two completely separate plots, presumably covering the ‘demand’ and the ‘supply’ side of the drug trade. But unlike something like The English Patient where the two streams are eventually interwoven into one, Soderbergh’s streams continue along on their separate paths, never to meet except in passing.
On the ‘demand’ side, Michael Douglas plays Robert Wakefield, newly appointed anti-drug czar in the US. Douglas’ character is used as a vehicle for teaching the audience large amounts of stats about the drug trade as he moves from place to place being briefed on aspects of his new position.
This film’s ancestry as a Channel 4 documentary is painfully obvious as each new scene is introduced with an overlay, like “El Paso Correction Center, El Paso, Texas”, followed immediately by the dialogue, “Welcome to El Paso” and an outside shot of the Center with the name on the wall! There are more subtle ways to introduce facts to the audience. The second reason for Wakefield’s existence is that (surprise!) his daughter Caroline (Erika Christensen) is becoming a heroin addict, with the help of her friend Seth.
Topher Grace as Seth (along with Del Toro) has one of the few interesting characters in the film. Christensen acts well but sadly for her is only handed a cliché one-dimensional character by the writers. Through Caroline and Seth we get the writers’ opinion on the causes of the trade (bored, rich kids apparently), and are handed the moralistic message, “do drugs and you too could descend from model student to screwing a dealer for hits”. This plot-line has the bonus that it actually reaches a conclusion. Of course, it’s the typical Hollywood one.
On the ‘supply’ side, we have the slightly bent but with-a-heart-of-gold cop Javier Rodriguez, played by Del Toro, who gives a good multi-faceted performance (so completely removed from the poncy Fenster from The Usual Suspects as to be unrecognisable). Javier treads the seedy and corrupt world of Mexican drug enforcement, where the cops are in league with the drug cartels and you have to decide whose side you are on. Javier is torn between love of justice, love of friends, money, and respect for authority.
Javier’s story would have made a good film on its own. Sadly, I can’t say the same about Zeta-Jones’ character, Helena. The heavily-pregnant Jones plays the (initially naïve) wife of a rich drug dealer. When he is arrested, she finds her world falling apart. The subplot allows some old-fashioned cops-and-robbers stuff, with shoot-outs, car bombs, snipers, witness protection deals, sleazy lawyers etc. However, Jones’ character is really a small part that takes up a lot of screen time. One wonders if the part was beefed up due to the bankability of the actress. Helena undergoes a complete alignment change during the course of the film, but this is not explored in any depth. One might conclude that some women will do anything to keep their family together, but this is complete speculation given the shallow treatment of the character: there is no slow step-by-step change (cf. Caroline), no agonising, reasons or discussion. The entire character could happily have been left on the cutting room floor.
Then, with only one of the sub-plots resolved, the film ends. (And in the most saccharine-American way possible.) I felt like there wasn’t a beginning, middle and an end to this film: just a middle, middle, and middle. Apparently US movie-goers either loved Traffic or walked out. Traffic is not a bad film (I give it 6/10), but I just don’t know what the fuss is about.
Meanwhile, the war on drugs continues…
Peter Cassidy
