random item

Troperville

Tools

Find recent edits by troper:

back to: Main / Traffic

edit article | go to discussion page

1st Feb '13 10:50:25 AM erforce

Send erforce a PM notification explaining the badness of natter: natter-fy

Changed line(s) 1,51 (click to see context) from:

[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/trafficposter_9344.jpg]]

->If there is a war on drugs, then many of our family members are the enemy. And I don't know how you wage war on your own family. 
-->'''Robert Wakefield'''

A 2000 crime Drama directed by {{Steven Soderbergh}}, ''Traffic'' was adapted from the 1989 British Channel 4 miniseries ''Traffik.'' With an AllStarCast headed by MichaelDouglas, his future wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Benicio Del Toro in his Oscar-winning performance, Traffic also won three other Oscars, including Best Director, only missing out on Best Picture to ''{{Gladiator}}''.

In Mexico, officer Javier Rodriguez is assigned to investigate the drug trade by one General Salazar. Meanwhile, in Washington, politician Robert Wakefield is appointed the new drug czar just as he learns his daughter is an addict herself. In San Diego, two DEA agents finally arrest drug Kingpin Carlos Ayala. Ayala's wife, Helena, upon learning of her husband's true profession, takes action to insure his freedom, and her own financial security. As more secrets and lies are revealed, these characters learn that the war on Drugs isn't as straightforward as it seems.

The movie has many layers of TruthInTelevision, being a highly dramatized amalgamation of the lives of real people and very common or highly plausible events.

----
!!!!This Film features examples of:

* AllStarCast: Featuring Benecio Del Toro, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Don Cheadle, Topher Grace, Dennis Quad, and Benjamin Bratt.
* BlackAndGreyMorality: One of the key themes of the film.
* BulletProofVest: Somewhat realistically done, as Don Cheadle's character gets shot at point blank and is momentarily winded. However, he's up and running again not too long after.
* BuryYourGays: The assassin approaching Del Toro's character in a gay bar leads to his JackBauerInterrogationTechnique.
* TheCameo: SalmaHayek has one brief scene as a drug lord's wife.
* TheCartel
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: Each of the four interleaving stories has its own location-based colour cast
* CultureClash: The Mexican law enforcement are show to have a decidedly more brutal approach to the war on drugs than the Americans. Wakefield is visibly shocked when Salazar explains that their way of handling addicts is to just let them drug themselves into oblivion.
* DigYourOwnGrave: Both (comparatively) honest Mexican cops are made to do this.
* DirtyCop: More than one, including a ''general''. 
** TruthInTelevision: Corrupt cops are nothing new, and the Mexican general is largely based on José de Jesús Gutiérrez Rebollo, a former division general in the Mexican army.
* DownerEnding: Almost averted. The good guys (mostly) make it through well enough, but the bad guys get away, although one of the cops is making progress investigating Helena and appears confident he'll be busting her in due time. Certainly more cheerful than, say, ''TheWire''.
* DrugsAreBad: The main character that is seen to be a drug user ends up appearing to have to whore herself out to get drugs.
* FridgeLogic: An in-universe example. Wakefield is told that the amount of drugs stopped at the border has risen by X. A viewer ''may'' think that's a good thing, until Wakefield asks if that means that the total amount of drugs people are trying to get through the border has also risen by X. The answer is yes.
* FunctionalAddict: Seth, Wakefield's daughter's boyfriend, appears to be this. At least when compared to his [[DrugsAreBad girlfriend]].
** Manolo, del Toro's character's partner, is subtly implied to be this.
** Wakefield himself is accused of alcoholism by his wife.
* {{Gayngster}}: The Assassin.
* GoodCopBadCop: At first the assassin is violently tortured, and then is "rescued" from his captors by the corrupt general; the torturer's boss. He is given a sumptuous meal and a bottle of wine, finally releasing the desired information after being told "in vino veritas".
* HookersAndBlow: The good news - it's Erika Christensen. The bad - she is desperate, humiliated, and barely conscious.
* InherentInTheSystem: The war on drugs.
* KnightInSourArmour: Montel to a tee.
-->"The worst part about you, Monty, is that you realise the futility of what you're doing and you do it anyway."
* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: The assassin is given one.
* KarmaHoudini: Carlos Ayala gets away with everything, the sole witness against him having been assassinated on the day of his testimony.
** Arguably, both Wakefield's daughter and her boyfriend. The former would have ruined her own life, were it not for her wealthy and resourceful father, while the latter suffers no consequences from getting his girlfriend hooked on crack.
* TheMan: Montel and Ray briefly discuss wanting to bring down TheMan when working on busting Carlos:
-->'''Ray''': I have actually dreamt about this, about busting the top people, the rich people, WHITE people!
* MoralGuardians: Wakefield's job is to be this, regarding drugs, for an entire country. Meanwhile, however, his own house is not quite in order.
* NoodleImplements: A variation of the Ginger Beer Trick variety of this trope is used with a Coke bottle.
* PerfectPoison: Averted, since the informant dies from eating poisoned breakfast that he complains "tastes like shit."
* RealIsBrown: Different color palettes are used for different scenes. Those taking place in Mexico are shaded brown, while some scenes set in America have a blue tint. 
* TheRemake: Originally a British miniseries, revolving around heroin from Pakistan rather than cocaine from Mexico. The movie itself was eventually remade by the USA Network as a three part miniseries.
* ThoseTwoGuys: [[KnightInSourArmour Montel]] [[FatAndSkinny and]] [[PluckyComicRelief Ray]]. Leads to MoodWhiplash when [[spoiler:Ray is blown up by Frankie Flowers' [[StuffBlowingUp carbomb]]]].
* ThrowingOutTheScript: Wakefield interrupts himself in the middle of a carefully prepared, approved speech to make an emotional (though vague) reference to his drug-addicted daughter.
* VanInBlack: Played with. Helena, wife to a drug dealer who is in custody and under investigation, brings lemonade to the cops keeping an eye on her house.
----

to:

27th Dec '12 2:25:13 PM Aspectify

Send Aspectify a PM notification explaining the badness of natter: natter-fy

Broadcaster of the original British miniseries corrected from BBC to Channel 4

Changed line(s) 6,7 (click to see context) from:

to:

28th Jun '12 6:47:45 PM Crowbar

Send Crowbar a PM notification explaining the badness of natter: natter-fy

Added line(s) 21 (click to see context) :

8th Apr '12 3:50:14 PM KamenRiderOokalf

Send KamenRiderOokalf a PM notification explaining the badness of natter: natter-fy

Changed line(s) 27 (click to see context) from: