January 12th,
2001 - -
Hear
Bill Nichols' review in Real Audio
TRAFFIC
is a film with the smell of Oscar all over it. It comes as a bookend
to Steven Soderberg’s previous film, ERIN BROKOVICH. That one revolved
around a star, Julia Roberts, and her sense of social justice. This
one revolves around three interlocking stories, a host of characters and
their immersion in very different aspects of the international traffic
in drugs. Unlike the drugs, justice is in short supply.
Much
has been made about TRAFFIC as a fresh, honest, non-preachy look at the
drug problem. Although true, this is best taken as a blunt reminder
of how so much of what hear and see about the “drug problem” is bunk, or
worse. The entire metaphor of a “war” on drugs is a gross exaggeration
and distortion. It disregards human problems and needs for military campaign
rhetoric. The “war” metaphor, like the “just say no” advice of former
President Reagan, quickly degenerates into political posturing for the
sound bite era as we discover how little connection these metaphors and
maxims have to the realities of those who produce, distribute, or consume
the drugs. Soderberg makes this clear in the first hour of his film
with three interlocking stories that introduce us to 1) the “war” in Mexico
and the porous line between those charged with stopping the traffic and
those determined to expand it, 2) the users and the political stewards
of the “war” through the Wakefield family of Ohio: dad is nominated to
be the new drug czar in Washington, while daughter is risking her life
in a haze of anger-fueled crack cocaine and heroin addiction, and finally,
3) the big suppliers whom we meet through Carl Ayala, a San Diego “businessman”
and his wife, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. Carl gets busted and
Helena, his wife, has to decide whether her moral outrage outweighs her
passionate love for the good life he has made possible for her. What makes
this multiple-character, parallel-plot work so well is that no one is quite
what we expect them to be. Michael Douglas, as the new drug czar,
embodies this vividly through his discovery that you cannot wage war on
your own family. His own daughter makes sure he learns that lesson
well. But equally compelling is the stunning performance by Benicio
del Toro, who plays Javier Roderiquez, a Mexican cop who cuts his way through
several levels of hypocrisy and double-crosses, looking as if he is ready
to sell out at any minute and yet never even dreaming of doing so.
His is an extraordinary performance that deserves an Oscar of its own.
Soderberg
has earned comparison with Robert Altman for the use of overlapping dialogue
and multiple plot lines, but Altman typically views a more neatly stratified
slice of life, freed of the singular, consuming bond that brings all the
characters in Soderberg’s together. A more apt parallel would be
to John Sayles who has pioneered the use of ensemble acting and parallel
plots to examine social issues with complexity and depth in EIGHT MEN OUT,
CITY OF HOPE and LONE STAR, among others. Like Sayles, Soderberg
presents a vivid sense of how class, race, nationality and even gender
play out within his chosen arena. TRAFFIC is not to be missed; it not only
serves as a proof of the failure of the “war on drugs” metaphor, and mentality,
it is a remarkably compelling film. Looking at movies that look at
the world, for KUSP and the film gang, this is Bill Nichols.
-
Hear
Bill Nichols' review in Real Audio
TRAFFIC
is a film with the smell of Oscar all over it. It comes as a bookend
to Steven Soderberg’s previous film, ERIN BROKOVICH. That one revolved
around a star, Julia Roberts, and her sense of social justice. This
one revolves around three interlocking stories, a host of characters and
their immersion in very different aspects of the international traffic
in drugs. Unlike the drugs, justice is in short supply.
Much
has been made about TRAFFIC as a fresh, honest, non-preachy look at the
drug problem. Although true, this is best taken as a blunt reminder
of how so much of what hear and see about the “drug problem” is bunk, or
worse. The entire metaphor of a “war” on drugs is a gross exaggeration
and distortion. It disregards human problems and needs for military campaign
rhetoric. The “war” metaphor, like the “just say no” advice of former
President Reagan, quickly degenerates into political posturing for the
sound bite era as we discover how little connection these metaphors and
maxims have to the realities of those who produce, distribute, or consume
the drugs. Soderberg makes this clear in the first hour of his film
with three interlocking stories that introduce us to 1) the “war” in Mexico
and the porous line between those charged with stopping the traffic and
those determined to expand it, 2) the users and the political stewards
of the “war” through the Wakefield family of Ohio: dad is nominated to
be the new drug czar in Washington, while daughter is risking her life
in a haze of anger-fueled crack cocaine and heroin addiction, and finally,
3) the big suppliers whom we meet through Carl Ayala, a San Diego “businessman”
and his wife, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. Carl gets busted and
Helena, his wife, has to decide whether her moral outrage outweighs her
passionate love for the good life he has made possible for her. What makes
this multiple-character, parallel-plot work so well is that no one is quite
what we expect them to be. Michael Douglas, as the new drug czar,
embodies this vividly through his discovery that you cannot wage war on
your own family. His own daughter makes sure he learns that lesson
well. But equally compelling is the stunning performance by Benicio
del Toro, who plays Javier Roderiquez, a Mexican cop who cuts his way through
several levels of hypocrisy and double-crosses, looking as if he is ready
to sell out at any minute and yet never even dreaming of doing so.
His is an extraordinary performance that deserves an Oscar of its own.
Soderberg
has earned comparison with Robert Altman for the use of overlapping dialogue
and multiple plot lines, but Altman typically views a more neatly stratified
slice of life, freed of the singular, consuming bond that brings all the
characters in Soderberg’s together. A more apt parallel would be
to John Sayles who has pioneered the use of ensemble acting and parallel
plots to examine social issues with complexity and depth in EIGHT MEN OUT,
CITY OF HOPE and LONE STAR, among others. Like Sayles, Soderberg
presents a vivid sense of how class, race, nationality and even gender
play out within his chosen arena. TRAFFIC is not to be missed; it not only
serves as a proof of the failure of the “war on drugs” metaphor, and mentality,
it is a remarkably compelling film. Looking at movies that look at
the world, for KUSP and the film gang, this is Bill Nichols.