954. Traffic

Traffic
2000
Directed by Steven Soderbergh

As I have previously stated, I don't like movies that have to do with drugs, as I don't really need a reminder about how destructive they can be.  Of course, life doesn't avoid the topics we find unsavory. And neither does the Book.

Traffic is two and a half hours and tells three separate, but loosely connected, stories revolving around drugs.   Let's see...a suburban judge is appointed as the head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, only to discover that his teenage daughter is an addict.  The pregnant wife of a jailed drug lord attempts to save her family.  And finally, in Mexico, a cop struggles with his conscience when he finds out that his boss may be corrupt.

Like I said in my Requiem for a Dream post, I didn't enjoy this film, but I can still appreciate its beauty. Soderbergh used different film stocks for each storyline (i.e. the Wakefield story had a depressing bluish tone while the Mexico story had a grainy, rough tone).  I also thought the politics of this one were interesting.  The message wasn't simply "drugs are bad" but that the war on drugs is utterly futile.

Still, I obviously didn't enjoy it.  I wasn't particularly impressed with anyone's performance and it ran way too long.  Most likely will never watch again.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Has 135 speaking parts.

The teens had peppermint dust blown into their faces before the drug scenes to make their eyes and noses look red.

808. Sex, Lies and Videotape

Sex, Lies and Videotape
1989
Directed by Steven Soderbergh

We had people talking about sex in The Decline of the American Empire.  Now we take the logical next step and tape people talking about sex so that James Spader has something to masturbate to later.  Cinema truly progressed in the eighties.

John is married to Ann, but is sleeping with her sister Cynthia.  He doesn't feel too guilty about it because Ann has never had an orgasm and at least Cynthia has the decency to fake it.  John has invited an old college friend, Graham, to live with them until he finds a place of his own.  Graham can't sustain an erection around women so he interviews women on their sexual fantasies and...enjoys the tapes later.  Apparently, no one told him about pornography.

Parts of the film are kind of silly.  John is a ridiculously douche-y character.  I get that the filmmakers wanted us to hate him enough so we would cheer for the Graham/Ann (Gran, if you will) romance, but at a certain point, they went overboard.  He didn't feel like a character, he felt like a plot device.  Also, I have a feeling Graham and Ann's sexual disorders were a bit simplified; I find it hard to believe either one of their problems would just magically go away because they are in love.

Still, the dialogue in this movie is great and feels real.  It is easy to look past the flaws and into Spader's seductive eyes.  Maybe that was just easy for me.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Jennifer Jason Leigh turned down the role of Cynthia, later regretting the move.