While I was disappointed with the much-praised Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , I cannot say the same about Steven Soderbergh's epic film, Traffic . Soderbergh's Brockovich was an excellent film, but one that was successful more so for Julia Robert's performance and the inspiring story that came with it. Traffic 's grainy shots and intertwined story is much more a tribute to the excellence of Soderbergh's style, a style that may lead to even bigger and better things in the future.
Traffic takes a look at the drug war from a moral perspective.
While we do see some drug use in the film, the main objective is to look more at the objective of the war on drugs, and how effective it really is. Through multiple stories, Soderbergh gives a perspective on the drug war that is both depressing and hopeful at different points. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Soderbergh's take, however, is that there is no definitive answer to how successful the drug war. In fact, there isn't even an opinion on drug use. Soderbergh presents the story, in all of its glory and grime, and ultimately leaves the final decision up to the viewer.