Starring: Michael Douglas, Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Quaid, Catherine Zeta-Jones
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

��� Ever been stuck in a car for hours trying to get someplace, but there were just so many cars ahead of you?� You know the feeling: it�s hot, noisy and there�s nothing good on the radio?� Have you ever wanted a movie to tell this story?� Well, Traffic isn�t that movie.� Instead, it�s a frightening story of drugs and how they ruin people lives.

��� The movie follows three interweaving stories, each with its own perspective.� There are the DEA agents trying to bust the big-time, filthy rich dealers, the Mexican police who are fighting on their side of the border, and finally the na�ve government types who think they�re winning the war on drugs.

��� After seeing this film, you realize just how awful all this drug business really is.� The camera never shies away from showing the gritty and disturbing realism that we really don�t want to see, but are nevertheless powerless against its images.� As far as anti-drug films go, this one is on top.

��� The acting in Traffic is superb, from Benicio Del Toro�s noble Mexican cop, Javier Rodriguez Rodriguez , to DEA agent Montel Gordon (Don Cheadle).� There are even some notable cameos, like Salma Hayek and Benjamin Bratt.� It�s as if the big names in movies were lobbying to get in this movie, and it is better for it.

��� The director was really on his game, using a handheld camera that makes us feel closer to the goings-on on screen.� The Mexican scenes are all yellowish and dusty, while the government business is usually in hues of blue.� These colour schemes make the images last longer in the mind, even hours after walking out of the theatre.

��� Traffic isn�t exactly what is known as entertaining.� At some points, you�re almost ready to give up, but not because it�s a bad movie, but rather due to its intensity.� It�s a good film to have seen, for the messages contained therein, and based on that, I recommend it as a sobering lesson in the reality of drugs and their effects on society.

DroopyMcC
Ten

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