Traffic ★★★½ 2000 (R)

Based on the 1990 British miniseries “Traffik,” Soderbergh's film has three loosely intertwin ed stories about the drug trade: Supreme Court Justice Douglas is appointed as head of the National Drug Task Force but learns his own daughter is a heroin addict; San Diego socialite wife Zeta-Jones learns the drug trade when her drug lord hubby gets busted; and Mexican border cop Del Toro works on his power base. Soderbergh takes on a large, complex subject with a large, complex film populated by a large, uniformly excellent cast. The outcomes of the various storylines may not end happily or neatly (just like in real life), but the characters and ideas explored along the way are compelling. 147m/C VHS, DVD, HD DVD . Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Quaid, Benjamin Bratt, Albert Finney, Amy Irving, Don Cheadle, Luis Guzman, Steven Bauer, James Brolin, Erika Christensen, Clifton (Gonzalez) Collins Jr., Miguel Ferrer, Tomas Milian, D.W. Moffett, Marisol Padilla Sanchez, Peter Riegert, Jacob Vargas, Rena Sofer, Stacey Travis, Salma Hayek, Topher Grace, Beau Holden, Enrique Murciano, Jsu Garcia; D: Steven Soderbergh; W: Stephen Gaghan; C: Steven Soderbergh; M: Cliff Martinez. Oscars ‘00: Adapt. Screenplay, Director (Soderbergh), Film Editing, Support. Actor (Del Toro); British Acad. ‘00: Adapt. Screenplay, Support. Actor (Del Toro); Golden Globes ‘01: Screenplay, Support. Actor (Del Toro); L.A. Film Critics ‘00: Director (Soderbergh); Natl. Bd. of Review ‘00: Director (Soderbergh); N.Y. Film Critics ‘00: Director (Soderbergh), Film, Support. Actor (Del Toro); Natl. Soc. Film Critics ‘00: Director (Soderbergh), Support. Actor (Del Toro); Screen Actors Guild ‘00: Actor (Del Toro), Cast; Writers Guild ‘00: Adapt. Screenplay; Broadcast Film Critics ‘00: Adapt. Screenplay, Director (Soderbergh).