TRAFFIC review

The film I saw last Thursday at Austin, Texas beginning at 7pm and running for 2 hours and roughly 43 minutes is not the movie you will see this coming holiday season.

The print of TRAFFIC I saw was Soderbergh's first test screening of this film... and while being filled with almost across the board brilliant performances... despite being a wonderful script with wonderful dialogue... despite being one of the top 3 or so films in terms of quality I've seen thus far this year... TRAFFIC wasn't quite what it can be yet.

TRAFFIC is currently missing the... OOMPH that it needs to really damage the psyche of America. Do not get me wrong, there is currently some imagery and poignant moments that leave you with your mouth open and thinking... "Oh God," in that horrified sort of way... but there are some missed opportunities... especially in regards to Catherine Zeta-Jones' character. This is not to say her portrayal of the character is lacking... she plays every scene as she should... it is only that her character is not allowed to have the scene that it needs to be completely burned into our communal cinematic memory. There is an opportunity to really horrify and shock the audience... and that is not to say one should always do that, but in TRAFFIC, Soderbergh has a responsibility to hit us harder than a film of this type has before. Catherine needs her MIDNIGHT EXPRESS moment, she needs to be humiliated and debased on camera. Her character needs it. Now... will we see that scene? I mean... it wasn't in the print I saw... right? Well, this past Friday, I was talking to the head of USA FILMS and from the sound of things... Soderbergh has requested and been granted permission to have a few days of reshoots and pick-ups to harden TRAFFIC a bit more.

Right now... if released today... TRAFFIC would garner some of the most strongly opinionated reviews this year. This is not to say it would earn universal applause... it's not that type of film. You see... TRAFFIC has political hot button issues throughout it. Depending on one's opinion about America's Drug Policies... and Drug Issues themselves... that will color many of the reviews you will see.

This is not a passive filmgoing experience, TRAFFIC forces you to react... provokes you into thought. This is not a slurp your pepsi and crunch your popcorn fare... This is full-fledged cinema. Is it entertaining? Hell yes... You know how you react to GOODFELLAS? How there are moments where you are howling in disturbed laughter... but how for the most part... you are sitting in dead silence watching what is taking place on screen? Well... that's this movie in a heartbeat.

The performer that you will most likely most strongly latch onto is Benicio Del Toro. Benicio between now and the end of the year is going to really really step up in filmgeek culture as being more that the gibberish speaking man from THE USUAL SUSPECTS and Dr Gonzo from FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS.... If those two roles were his only work... we would cheer... But in TRAFFIC, Benicio Del Toro emerges as being one of the absolute most watchable personas on screen today. About 90% of his role takes place in Spanish with subtitles... but in reality... you almost don't have to read... you can see it all in that weathered tired Droopy-dog Bogart eyes of his. Benicio has all the strengths of say Deckard or Sam Spade. He is a detective with his very own special brand of ethics... He is a cop in the most corrupt police force in the world... Mexico border town... Tijuana. He is an absolute human badass... Not that he beats people to death... not that he is the fastest most accurate gunslinger bam bam sorta fella. His character simply knows his geometry. He knows the angles and how they should be played. He knows the value of a condom in the wrapper of a pack of cigarettes... He knows how to play it as a straight up Ace of Spades. His character is wondrous.

The next performer that I want to talk about plays the most fragile damaged spirit onscreen since Chloe Sevigny's role in KIDS... I'm talking about Erika Christensen. She plays Michael Douglas' daughter in the film... and without her performance, Douglas' character would have nothing to react off of. He would be standing there like Terrence Stamp in STAR WARS EPISODE ONE acting to and about ping pong balls. However, Erika turns in a performance that is just simply fantastic. You don't see her going through withdrawls... you don't see her grades slip. She is your intelligent rich as hell freebaser. And you can see how completely blissful her existence is... We can see her simply become a creature of sensations. A being completely enthralled about tingly moments and that feeling of orgasmic bliss. You see... this is the real threat of the hard hard drugs... It's all about the chemical bliss that they give you. It's an adiction to pleasure... and she is completely sated by her tastes. Now... I can't speak for the rest of the year... the films yet to come... I'm willing to bet there are some amazingly haunting scenes in ENEMY AT THE GATES... but as of seeing TRAFFIC, I have seen no stronger haunting moment on screen this year than her line, "Hi daddy." It will destroy any HUMAN being. Fantastic.

I have highlighted the above two performers out of a cast that turns in just amazing performances. You a Luis GUZMAN fan? Well prepare to be very very happy with his work here. How about Don Cheadle? You feel like I do, that he was completely ripped off by his Oscar nomination snub for DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS? me too... Well here, he is again... as always... in top form. How about Miguel Ferrer? You like him? You feel that he hasn't gotten any really really great parts since his character in ROBOCOP? Well, he is FANTASTIC in TRAFFIC. Michael Douglas? Well... there is a reason Michael Douglas has those Oscars he has... He doesn't pick easy roles or easy movies.... His part was to be originally played by Harrison Ford... and ya know what... Harrison just doesn't have the cajones to be in this type of film. Douglas on the other hand... Time and time again he has taken the hard and difficult movies. CHINA SYNDROME, WALL STREET and now this. He's produced films like CHINA SYNDROME and ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST... He is as solid a supporter of smart political tough movies as you'll find... and I wish more leading men in Hollywood had his nerve... His character is to be the self-aware hypocrite. It's not entirely pretty. There are actors that I don't really know... like the kid from 187 that plays a gay assassin for the cartels... or the General in charge of cleaning up the drug cartels of Mexico... There are reliable actors working in top form like Albert Finney and Dennis Quaid and Amy Irving and James Brolin... Hell, even THAT 70'S SHOW kid rules in this thing.

Now the problems with the film that Soderbergh will be addressing through the editing process will be some early dragging at the beginning of the film.... He'll need to toughen the film a bit... making it a stronger more powerful work of art... and do not think that a movie at a cost of $50-60 million can't be art... because Soderbergh is going to be giving it to you this year. (And Zemeckis will too for that matter)

The film is photographed by Steven Soderbergh... and it has that desaturated bleakness that is indicative of the subject matter of the film. It's shot in what mostly feels like hand held camera work. This may disturb some (ROBOGEEK) and may delight others (like me) but you can not refuse to acknowledge that this film is very much Soderbergh's baby. It feels like no other filmmaker's work. The jumpcut editing in dialogue... where the visual image is forced to catch up to the audio... I love... Soderbergh took the time as a filmmaker to explore his own style through a series of below low budget films and that time and effort is really really paying off right now.

For a first print being shown with warts and all... Soderbergh has a film that in it's present form... I feel wouldn't quite be best picture material... but would trample through cinematography, editing, writing, actor, supporting actor, actress and supporting actress awards. What Steven does between now and the targeted release date for TRAFFIC... that will determine whether or not the director and producers will garner nominations for themselves.

TRAFFIC as it stands is one of the most powerful and assured works I've seen in quite some time. It will be debated and argued about and everyone will agree that Soderbergh and the people that made this film have gigantic metal cajones, and they really put them on the line for this film. I can not wait to see a final print, and I hope and pray that the MPAA allows this film to be released with an R... this is an important work which needs to be released uncompromised...

P.S. For the Dick Man down below.... TRAFFIC is about the entire world of drugs within and concerning the United States... It is about drug abuse, treatment, distribution, in fightings, DEA, America's judicial system, the grunts on both sides fighting, the hypocrisy and futility of the Drug Czar and how the war on drugs is everybit as futile as the war in Vietnam. It's about a series of characters throughout the above world and how this war touches and affects each of them. It's about looking the other way and turning the other cheek... about sending drug offenders to jail where they learn new and better connections and methods... And it's not a film where you should know anything other than you must go see it.