Traffic Movie Review 2000

Based on the 1990 British miniseries "Traffik," Soderbergh's film has three loosely intertwined stories about the drug trade: Supreme Court Justice Douglas is appointed as head of the National Drug Task Force but learns his own daughter is a heroin addict; San Diego socialite wife Zeta-Jones learns the drug trade when her drug lord hubby gets busted; and Mexican border cop Del Toro works on his power base. Soderbergh takes on a large, complex subject with a large, complex film populated by a large, uniformly excellent cast. The outcomes of the various storylines may not end happily or neatly (just like in real life), but the characters and ideas explored along the way are compelling.

Distribution

Criterion Collection, 210 E. 52nd St., 578 Broadway, New York, NY 10022, Phone: (212)212756-8822, Toll-free: 800-446-2001, URL: http://www.criterionco.com, Remarks: Does not sell directly to consumers

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 147 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Drug Use & Abuse, Capitol Capers, DEA, Undercover Cops, Military: Foreign, Mexico, Top Grossing Films of 2001, San Diego

Screenplay

Stephen Gaghan

Cast

Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Quaid, Benjamin Bratt, Albert Finney, Amy Irving, Don Cheadle, Luis Guzman, Steven Bauer, James Brolin, Erika Christensen, Clifton (Gonzalez) Collins, Miguel Ferrer, Tomas Milian, D.W. Moffett, Marisol Padilla Sanchez, Peter Riegert, Jacob Vargas, Rena Sofer, Stacey Travis, Salma Hayek, Topher Grace, Beau Holden, Enrique Murciano

Cinematography

Steven Soderbergh

Director

Steven Soderbergh

Music

Cliff Martinez

Other

Stephen Mirrione

Awards

Oscars 2000: Adapt. Screenplay, Director (Soderbergh), Film Editing, Support. Actor (Del Toro); British Acad. 2000: Adapt. Screenplay, Support. Actor (Del Toro); Golden Globes 2001: Screenplay, Support. Actor (Del Toro); L.A. Film Critics 2000: Director (Soderbergh); Natl. Bd. of Review 2000: Director (Soderbergh); N.Y. Film Critics 2000: Director (Soderbergh), Film, Support. Actor (Del Toro); Natl. Soc. Film Critics 2000: Director (Soderbergh), Support. Actor (Del Toro); Screen Actors Guild 2000: Actor (Del Toro), Cast; Writers Guild 2000: Adapt. Screenplay; Broadcast Film Critics 2000: Adapt. Screenplay, Director (Soderbergh).