Steven Soderburgh demonstrates his mastery of the film medium with this sprawling, multi-character and plotline expose of American law enforcement's mammoth, endless campaign against illegal drugs. Three distinct story arcs and numerous characters are expertly woven into a compelling narrative that scores its points without attempting to wrap everything up into a neat package. The real world is messy and often ambiguous, and this film does a good job of reflecting it.
Screenwriter Stephen Gaghan has said that his research revealed one common denominator among those on the front lines of this 'war' and that is despair. Supplies can be interdicted with the proper application of force (and funding), but the underlying problem of a society's demand for mood-altering substances is rarely acknowledged and even more rarely addressed adequately. There may be those out there who can make the case that we're winning this war but clearly these filmmakers would beg to differ.
Benicio del Toro won a well-deserved Oscar for his portrayal of a conflicted Mexican policeman, but many others in the cast are equally impressive. Highest compliments go to Erika Christensen as the high school over-achiever who's also an addict; Michael Douglas as her father, a judge appointed to the position of federal drug czar who gets a hard lesson in the way drug abuse can insinuate itself into any stratum of society; and Don Cheadle as an undercover cop whose efforts -- and those of his comrades -- all too often lead to naught. In the latter section, Catherine Zeta-Jones gives a good, non-hysterical portrait of a trophy wife who learns more about greed and ruthlessness, and herself, than she could have imagined.
Soderburgh's cinematography (he operates his own camera) differentiates the three intertwining story lines with stylistic precision: yellow/overexposed hand-held camera-work in Mexico (del Toro and the Federales' assault on the Tijuana cartel); predominantly blue tones/dark interiors in Ohio and Washington, DC (the judge and his daughter); and warm sunny tones in San Diego and La Jolla (Cheadle and his team's bust of Miguel Ferrer and their stakeout of kingpin Steven Bauer's estate). It's not just a gimmick; it works.
This is an adult film. It entertains but makes you think, without preaching. Soderburgh, Gaghan, et al know there are no easy answers.
Screenwriter Stephen Gaghan has said that his research revealed one common denominator among those on the front lines of this 'war' and that is despair. Supplies can be interdicted with the proper application of force (and funding), but the underlying problem of a society's demand for mood-altering substances is rarely acknowledged and even more rarely addressed adequately. There may be those out there who can make the case that we're winning this war but clearly these filmmakers would beg to differ.
Benicio del Toro won a well-deserved Oscar for his portrayal of a conflicted Mexican policeman, but many others in the cast are equally impressive. Highest compliments go to Erika Christensen as the high school over-achiever who's also an addict; Michael Douglas as her father, a judge appointed to the position of federal drug czar who gets a hard lesson in the way drug abuse can insinuate itself into any stratum of society; and Don Cheadle as an undercover cop whose efforts -- and those of his comrades -- all too often lead to naught. In the latter section, Catherine Zeta-Jones gives a good, non-hysterical portrait of a trophy wife who learns more about greed and ruthlessness, and herself, than she could have imagined.
Soderburgh's cinematography (he operates his own camera) differentiates the three intertwining story lines with stylistic precision: yellow/overexposed hand-held camera-work in Mexico (del Toro and the Federales' assault on the Tijuana cartel); predominantly blue tones/dark interiors in Ohio and Washington, DC (the judge and his daughter); and warm sunny tones in San Diego and La Jolla (Cheadle and his team's bust of Miguel Ferrer and their stakeout of kingpin Steven Bauer's estate). It's not just a gimmick; it works.
This is an adult film. It entertains but makes you think, without preaching. Soderburgh, Gaghan, et al know there are no easy answers.