Traffic (2000)

Traffic rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb7.5/10· 228K votes

Rotten Tomatoes93%

Metacritic86%

TMDb7.094/10· 2K votes

With 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 7.5/10 on IMDb and 86/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been very positive.

About Traffic

An exploration of the United States of America's war on drugs from multiple perspectives. For the new head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the war becomes personal when he discovers his well-educated daughter is abusing cocaine within their comfortable suburban home. In Mexico, a flawed, but noble policeman agrees to testify against a powerful general in league with a cartel, and in San Diego, a drug kingpin's sheltered trophy wife must learn her husband's ruthless business after he is arrested, endangering her luxurious lifestyle.

Cast of Traffic

• 

  Michael Douglas

  as Robert Wakefield

• 

  Benicio del Toro

  as Javier Rodriguez

• 

  Catherine Zeta-Jones

  as Helena Ayala

• 

  Erika Christensen

  as Caroline Wakefield

• 

  Don Cheadle

  as Montel Gordon

• 

  Jacob Vargas

  as Manolo Sanchez

• 

  Miguel Ferrer

  as Eduardo Ruiz

• 

  Luis Guzmán

  as Ray Castro

• 

  Topher Grace

  as Seth Abrahms

• 

  Tomas Milian

  as Gen. Arturo Salazar

• 

  Clifton Collins Jr.

  as Francisco Flores

• 

  Amy Irving

  as Barbara Wakefield

Traffic facts

Budget

$48M

Box office

$207.5M

Our take on Traffic

Steven Soderbergh's 2000 crime drama tackles America's war on drugs by weaving several stories at once. A newly appointed national drug czar confronts the crisis at home when he learns his privileged suburban daughter is using cocaine; in Mexico, a compromised yet decent policeman weighs testifying against a cartel-linked general; and in San Diego, a kingpin's sheltered wife must grasp her husband's brutal trade after his arrest. Built as an interlocking mosaic across genres of crime, drama and thriller, it suits viewers who prefer moral complexity to easy answers and who like sprawling ensembles where every strand quietly reshapes how you read the others.