Dir. Soderbergh navigates multiple plots in 'Traffic'

By Christopher Cousino

Daily Arts Writer

In his latest film "Traffic," director Steven Soderbergh makes a bold, brash mark in the film industry - hands down, he's slowly become one of the best working directors there is today. Since his breakthrough debut, "Sex, Lies and Videotape," which sparked the entire indie film explosion, Soderbergh has honed his craft in visuals and style, making some of the most vivid character dramas, filled with daringly cool filmmaking and outright originality.

In a Woody Allen-like way, he churns out a solid film a year (1998's "Out of Sight," 1999's "The Limey," 2000's "Erin Brockovich"). And here, he hands us the landmark "Traffic," a complex epic with multiple plotlines set in seven different cities, about the drug trafficking in America and U.S. war on drugs.

Using various visual techniques (different lighting, grainy film stock, blow out footage) to distinguish between each separate storyline, Soderbergh takes a big risk of making a film too gimmicky and succeeds brilliantly. Through the drastic shifts from cool blue Columbus to bright San Ysidro to grainy, piss-yellow Tijuana, Soderbergh creates an undeniable intensity in "Traffic."

Shot, at times, using handheld cameras, "Traffic" feels alive as it unfolds before our eyes. And Soderbergh is just the director for this task - he's courageous enough to open a large scale film with stars such as Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones entirely in Spanish.

Beginning his film in the dusty desert of Mexico, policeman entrepenuer Javier Rodriguez Rodriguez (Benicio Del Toro) apprehends a narcotics cargo from several farmers, only to be intercepted by provincial General Salazar. Across the border, DEA agents Montel Gordon and Ray Castro (Don Cheadle and Luis Guzman) try to bag the testimony of informant Eduardo Ruiz (Miguel Ferrer), who is connected to a major drug cartel leader Carlos Ayala.

Ohio court justice Robert Wakefield (Douglas) gets appointed the position of the new drug czar to the president of the U.S. while, unbeknownst to him, his daughter spirals farther into a serious drug problem. Similarly, Ayala's wife Helena (Zeta-Jones) panics when the DEA storms her house and takes her husband off to jail.

These are the characters and the stories that fuel the two hour and 19 minute epic. Across the board the acting is stellar - from Douglas, who follows the performance of his career in "Wonder Boys" with an equally strong, tender portrayal of the confused, strained Wakefield to Zeta-Jones, whose character arc is a hell of a bravura turn for an actress best known for "The Mask of Zorro."

Soderbergh gets the best performances out of his actors by giving them freedom to move with the camera as he whirls around and around, letting the camera run a second to long to catch a naturally beautiful moment on screen.

Like most of Soderbergh's film, the use of jump cutting is an obvious technique and he's today's master at using it at the right moments and weaving it in so subtly it ushers in the desired jolting effect.

What makes "Traffic" so special, however, is it's overall handling of the drug trafficking issue and the war on drugs. The film clearly shows that there is no one way to solve it as Wakefield simply states "How do you wage war on your own family?" Without being overt or in-your-face, Soderbergh explores everything from government corruption, NAFTA, issues of race, border control, personal drug habits, rehab and ultimately, the DEA and the seemingly futile fight against drugs.

"Traffic" is a film about what's going on in America today. And with Soderbergh behind the camera's lens, it's as poetic as watching little kids play a game of pick-up ball.

Courtesy of USA Films

Catherine Zeta-Jones stars in Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic."