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HOLLYWOOD HUES WHAT is it like to be part of the drug trade , that ruthless caravan that moves along steam-rolling thousands in its wake? The players, whether they be Mexicans or Americans, are mere cogs in a wheel that can be eliminated at any moment. And what about the human drama and tragedy of the families that are part of the drug menace. All this and more is brilliantly captured by Steven Soderbergh (remember Sex, Lies & Videotape?) in a compelling human drama called Traffic. No wonder, Soderbergh won the Best Director Oscar earlier this year.
But Traffic inspired by the Channel 4 serial of the same name, is not an action film Like Godfather II it weaves its way around the subject. There are many players whose lives are inextricably linked with this deadly business, some willing, others not quite so, but forced either by circumstance or by greed. Like espionage and counter-espionage agents they are forced to do the tight-rope walk, a balancing act or quite plainly a matter of survival. But one slip and it is their last in this deadly, unrelenting world of power and money. Anti-drug czar Robert
Wakefield (Michael Douglas) is the US President’s appointee who
seems quite enthusiastic about his new job till he finds out that his
own daughter Caroline (Erika Christensen) is being gradually sucked
into the world of drugs. His wife Barbara (Amy Irving) knows about it
but withholds the information from him until it reaches a crisis
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When American drug baron Carlos Ayala (Steven Bauer) is suddenly arrested his wife Helena (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is quite distraught because she is oblivious to his activities. Even then her survival skills are pretty well honed. Her attorney Arnie Metzger (Dennis Quaid) may not be of much help but she soon learns the ropes and through her one gets an insight into the intricate network that is in operation. Stephen Gaghan’s screenplay is wordy but brilliant as it dissects the intricate ball game. From the first arrest along the border to the other little incidents the viewer is at once given the flavour of the drug business. And director Soderbergh handles his diverse players like puppets on a string. It is a dialogue heavy movie, but absorbing nonetheless. There are flashes of dramatic relief but it is the utter disregard for human life that comes across strongly. The emotional aspect too is shattering. "Leave me alone, give me some money," is what Caroline tells her mother. She is much harsher with her father when he catches her red-handed. Moving along on a number of fronts, Traffic enters every nook and cranny of the dastardly drug world in which there are few winners, where human beings are squashed like flies and where the youth flirts with death. It is a powerful human drama with the drug monster holding centre stage and its many foot soldiers just bit players. And when they question why, they’re in for trouble. The casting of the players is brilliant even if they are not asked to do much. May be Michael Douglas has the most meaty role and he is well supported by young Erika Christensen as Caroline. Catherine Zeta-Jones has her brief emotional moments and Dennis Quaid is very low key, but it is newcomer Benicio del Toro who is quite brilliant and not surprisingly he picked the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for it. Tomas Milan and Don Cheadle provide other cameos in this taut, thought-provoking human drama. Not to be missed. Coincidentally, I saw Swordfish,
starring John Travolta, a few days earlier and it is the exact opposite
of Traffic, all action but little to think about, a typical
Hollywood masala film. But it also has its clientele |
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