Any comments?
Saw “Traffic” today and I was simply blown away. I’ll reserve final judgment until I’ve had some time to stew on it, but I came out comparing it to films like “The Godfather” and “Casablanca” on the greatness scale. A masterpeice, a true work of art.
And now I finally see what people see in Benicio del Toro. Boffo performance. He should win the Oscar.
I’m not nearly as crazy about it as you are but it was pretty good. Benicio del Toro is always great. Catherine Zeta-Jones was wonderful also.
I thought it was fantastic. I think “beautiful” was the word that I used on the way out of the theatre, oddly enough.
I also saw “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”, which is also excellent. (I’ve seen four movies in a theatre this year, and two of them have been in the last three days.)
Dr. J
I think Traffic was an incredibly well put together movie, but it still didn’t effect me nearly as strongly as Requiem for a Dream did.
Here are some other views on Traffic
Thanks for the link, Jack Batty. I have to agree with the folks in that thread who argued that Catherine Zeta-Jones’ character moved too quickly to the drug trade. She clearly did not know about it and was mad enough not to speak to her husband at his arraignment. Then her child is threatened, she finds some info, and she is trying to have a witness murdered and getting into the drug trade??? Huh??? I understand maternal protectiveness, but that’s a bit much. And later, she is happily in love with her husband who almost ruined their life, got his son threatened, etc??? Sorry, none of that makes sense to me.
I think one of the things about CZJ’s behavior is that the lawyer helped reminder her that she was a fighter (he mentions how he knew the first time he saw her she was strong or something like that) and that she could take care of herself instead of waiting for her husband to come through or the lawyer to help her out. I guess they just wanted to potray her as pulling herself up by her bootstraps and doing what has to be done. It was still not done that well but I think that’s why it was such a dramtic turn-around.
So far as her still being with her husband, when she was talking to him she said said she would not raise her kids in poverty and she wanted their life back. For one thing, he has the money and can provide the security she needs so of course, she welcomes him back. Then, of course, she also has all the info on what he has been doing and he knows about her little escapades in the drug scene–if she leaves him, he can destroy her and so she stays and enjoys the fruits of their labor.
Do those of you who liked the movie honestly think that a woman who did not know about the drug trade could have become as involved as she did so quickly, not to mention ordering someone’s murder? IMHO, this was one of the most unrealistic pieces of character development I have ever seen. Yeah, she was strong and yeah, she was determined not to be poor, but to do what she did and not appear to be conflicted about it was totally out of character.
Another question: What did Don Cheadle’s character plant under the desk at the end of the movie? I think it looked like a bug and indicated to me that the police were still after CZJ’s husband. A friend of mine thought it was a bomb, but I think it was too small. Does anyone know?
Yup, it was a bug.
Fine flick. I was really impressed by it.
Even though he wasn’t one of the main characters, I thought that Topher Grace (That 70s Show) did a great job.
The story of the drug Czar’s daughter falling into addiction was quite powerful. It was touching the way that even with everything going on, Michael Douglas was just concerned with his daughter being safe and showing her he still loved her.