Great quotes; " They talk like they are conspiring
to conspire… I can feel the lies vibrating from that house." -
DEA Agent Ruiz " You may want to 'pencil in' some more 'face time'
with your daughter." - Mrs. Wakefield
Traffic starts in the Mexican desert, outside
of Tijuana, where Mexican policeman, Javier Rodriguez (Benicio
Del Toro) sits in a car with his partner and friend, Manolo Sanchez.
They are acting on a tip and capture a truckload of cocaine. As
they drive off with their catch the Mexican army and Mexico's
top crime fighter, General Salazar, stop them. He is impressed
and befuddled that lowly state police officer is so well informed,
thus hires Rodriguez and Sanchez to help him take down the Tijuana
cartel. Things soon turn out not to be all they seem, and Rodriguez
finds himself looking to do the right thing, in a situation where
there are no right answers.
Ohio State Supreme Court Judge, Robert Hudson
Wakefield (Michael Douglas), is the newly appointed American anti
drug czar. As he prepares to supervise the country's drug war
in Washington and around the country, his daughter is at home
experimenting with drugs with her equally privileged friends.
Just Wakefield is discovering how difficult his new position will
be; he realizes that he will have to fight the war on drugs in
his own home against his increasing addicted daughter (Erika Christensen).
DEA agents Montel Gordon (Don Cheadle) and Ray
Castro (Luiz Gusman) are working undercover to build the case
against the Obregon drug cartel. They capture midlevel drug trafficer
Eduardo Ruiz (Miguel Ferrer), who agrees to testify against San
Diego drug lord Carlos Ayala. Helena Ayala (Catherine Zeta-Jones),
a spoiled pregnant housewife is shocked when she comes home to
find her husband arrested. She soon learns of the true nature
of her husband's business empire from slimy attorney, Arnie Metzyer
(Dennis Quaid). Threatened by her husband's business associates
and tailed by the DEA, she soon decides that she wants her old
life back will do anything to accomplish that goal.
Traffic is crime/drama filmed documentary style,
and uses a lot of hand-held camera work to tell the story. Lighting
is also central to the story telling with different scenes being
told in different lights. Almost all of the Mexican scenes are
filmed in a washed out yellow tint, which portrays to the audience
the heat and third world ness of Tijuana and Mexico City. Many
of the Washington DC scenes are filmed with a blue tint, which
gives one the feeling of cleanliness and order. The whole film
seems to the layperson to be filmed with only natural lighting
or the lights that one can see which gives the film a sort of
reality TV feel.
Benicio Del Toro won the Oscar for best supporting
actor for this role. He is sexy and charming as the pensive and
conflicted police officer, conveying all of his feelings through
his eyes and very few words. The large of amount of big names
in the cast does not distract from the story and most blend seamlessly
into their parts. The characters of the DEA agents played by don
Cheadle (Ocean's Eleven) and Luiz Guzman (Anger Management) add
a bit of comic relief to the film with their playful banter towards
each other. Another neat thing about this film is the use of real
politicians, such as California senator Barbara Boxer and former
mass. Governor Weld in washington scenes giving Micheal Douglas's
character advice.
Director Steven Soderburgh has directed many other
hit films including Ocean's Eleven, Erin Brockvich, and Out of
Sight. In 2000, both Erin Brockovich and Traffic gave him twin
best director academy award nominations; with Traffic bring him
the win.
Traffic screenwriter Stephen Gaghan won the Oscar
for best-adapted screenplay and editor Stephen Mirrione won best
film editing.
Favorite scenes...
* When Catherine zeta Jone's character learns
that her husband is the head of Drug Empire. She tells Quaid that
she has the right to know if her husband is a legitimate businessman.
The look on Quaid's face as he assures her of her husband's innocence
while putting his finger to his lips and turns up the volume to
the stereo is priceless. The reaction of the DEA agents listening
in the surveillance van is equally funny (the conspiring to conspire
quote)
* When the Wakefield's are awakened in the morning
to find that their daughter has stolen their stuff and Michael
Douglas yanks her boyfriend (Topher Grace) out of school to go
searching for her downtown. The scene where he finally finds her
in a hotel is a touching one.
|