If one were to look at the title of director Steven Soderbergh's latest film, "Traffic," and see the galaxy of stars appearing in it but otherwise know next to nothing about it, they might get the wrong impression regarding its subject matter.
Due to its one-word label, some might think it's an action-thriller like "Speed" or perhaps an Irwin Allen-inspired disaster flick located amidst the L.A. freeway system. Then again, a traffic jam started star Michael Douglas' film, "Falling Down," and with his real life wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, pregnant both in reality and the film when it was shot, it could also be a comedy of errors of him trying to get her to the hospital via gridlocked streets.
Soderbergh has a different sort of traffic in mind, however, with this follow-up to "Erin Brockovich" that concerns the various aspects, implications and consequences of drug trafficking. Based on Simon Moore's miniseries, "Traffik," that aired on Britain's Channel 4 Television and tracked a drug route from Pakistan through Europe to the U.K., the film is a multilayered and impressive, dramatic epic that won four Academy Awards (Best Director, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor and Editing).
Clocking in at nearly two and a half hours, the story - adapted by Stephen Gaghan ("Rules of Engagement") - consists of three thematically connected but otherwise mostly independent storylines related to drugs and/or drug use. While some may be disappointed that Soderbergh ("The Limey," "Out of Sight") doesn't tie them together into a tidy and pat ending that's often typical of Hollywood, others will enjoy the director's bucking of the system.
Either way, it's a testament to the filmmakers that they not only manage to keep what could have been an unwieldy experience both tight and interesting - the three storylines include around ten major characters and reportedly more than 110 speaking parts - but also make the overall film a riveting experience with an ever-growing sense of momentum despite jumping back and forth among the stories.
Shooting the three storylines in a "you are there/evening news" handheld fashion (coupled with news-like onscreen location titles), Soderbergh (who also served as the cinematographer under the alias "Peter Andrews") gives the film a raw and edgy feel but doesn't go so far into the Dogma 95 conventions so as to make the effect distracting. The same holds true for his decision to shoot those distinctive storylines in visually disparate color palettes, such as those in Mexico having the look of over-saturated sepia while the ones dealing with Michael Douglas' character are bathed in a cool blue tint.
Soderbergh obviously had his reasons for doing so, with the simplest probably being to make it easier for viewers to distinguish the stories and the more complex involving contrasting cultural and class symbolism. Fortunately, such effects probably won't bother many viewers, and if they do, the story is so engrossing that they'll soon forget about them.
While nothing in the film is particularly new in concept or execution - we've seen these types of characters and stories before - the way in which the film unfolds and particularly the outstanding performances from the large ensemble cast make it seem fresh and original. Among those delivering the latter is the always reliable Michael Douglas ("Wonder Boys," "A Perfect Murder") as the drug czar who finds that the battlefield line over drugs has crossed over into his backyard, while relative newcomer Erika Christensen ("Leave it to Beaver") is quite good and, more importantly, perfectly credible as his addicted teenage daughter.
Although Catherine Zeta-Jones ("Entrapment," "The Mask of Zorro") doesn't appear in any scenes with hubby Douglas, she delivers a strong performance as a wife pushed to desperate measures to protect her family. Don Cheadle ("The Family Man," "Mission to Mars") and Luis Guzman ("The Limey," "Boogie Nights") are present as undercover DEA agents trailing her and inject some much needed, but only occasional comic relief into the proceedings.
The best performance by far, however, comes from Benicio Del Toro ("The Way of the Gun," "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas") as a Mexican cop who finds himself caught up in a system that's more corrupt than he is. While performers have their various strengths in practicing their craft, Del Toro's is his ability to convey so much through so little such as certain expressions and the way he holds his body. It's a subtle gift, but it suits and benefits both him and the film and earned him an Oscar win.
Supporting performances from the likes of Dennis Quaid ("Frequency," "Any Given Sunday"), Miguel Ferrer ("Robocop," "Revenge"), Tomas Milian ("The Yards," "Havana"), Amy Irving ("Bossa Nova," "Yentl") and others are all solid and none of the performers miss a beat in their roles.
While Soderbergh may stretch reality a few times for dramatic effect, he fortunately doesn't allow the film to get too preachy in its message. Instead, he mostly allows the viewer to come to their own conclusions about what they're seeing. In this instance, that's a completely absorbing and overall well-made piece of filmmaking.
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