Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR: Brian Oliver
SCHOLARS:
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Traffic
Starring: Michael Douglas,Catherine Zeta-Jones,Benicio Del Toro
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| Review Summary |
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"Steven Soderbergh (sex, lies & videotape, The Limey, Out of Sight, Erin Brockovich) directs an astounding multi-faceted study of the U.S. war on drugs. Douglas plays a conservative Cincinnati judge summoned to Washington to be the new national drug czar. His teenage daughter, however, is becoming hooked on heroin. Del Toro is a Mexican federal cop trying to fight drug traffic south of the border, Cheadle a DEA agent on the American side, and Zeta-Jones the wife of a prominent California drug dealer who has just been nabbed. Their stories interconnect, if indirectly (though Soderbergh takes many opportunities to show characters sharing the same frame unknowingly). The film is beautifully made: note the washed-out beige palette of the Mexican scenes versus the cool blues of Washington and Cincinnati. If not quite an all-star cast, the film boasts many familiar faces: besides Quaid as a slick lawyer, there's Amy Irving as Douglas's wife, Benjamin Bratt as a Mexican drug kingpin, Albert Finney as the President's chief of staff, James Brolin as the outgoing drug czar, Topher Grace from "That '70s Show" as the daughter's drug-supplying boyfriend, and cameos by Senators Barbara Boxer, Orrin Hatch, Don Nickles and Charles Grassley. At 147 minutes, the film is long but rarely drags. The script is a little weak and cliched at times, but the acting and direction more than make up for that."
--David Loftus, Resident Traffic Scholar
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"The film deals with sveral different aspects of drug trafficing. It involves the family of Robert Wakefield (Douglas), the new appointee to unleash the war on drugs, and his daughter who is abusing drugs. It also looks into the world of police corruption in Mexico and the dictators use of it. Overall a tremendous film that goes above and beyond any other films about drug abuse."
--Brian Oliver, Resident Traffic Scholar
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| Overall Review |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1980's-1999
Kids growing up/acting up?
Yes
Kids:
- boozing
Crime & Scandal
Yes
Story of
- criminals stealing from other criminals
- criminals killing each other
- police corruption
- life in drug culture
- military corruption
How much story is philosophy rather than plot?
- 5 (an average amount)
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- govt employee
Age:
- 40's-50's
- 60's-90's
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Events of movie makes character more...
- sensitive
- caring
- aggressive
- sad
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- soggy whimpering jelly muffin
Sense of humor?
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Hair style
- (man) short/standard wavey
Body type
- (man) muscular
How much in movie?
- 60%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Hispanic/Latinic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- an organization
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 60%
- 90%-100%
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
- Midwest
- California
The Americas (not US):
Yes
The Americas:
- Mexico
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
- prison
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- explicit references to torture
Movie makes you feel...
- challenged
- all mixed up
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- sex under blankets
Any profanity?
- Some foul language
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