4. Robert Wakefield - Traffic
Douglas' contribution as a government official fighting the war on drugs in Soderbergh's ensemble masterpiece is a smash success. The film's multi-cultural take on the problems created by drug running hits home brilliantly on so many levels as it's presented from so many different points of view. Steven Soderbergh's stylistic use of cinematography helps the audience keep track of the character-laden story and, well, you get the point. It's a good movie and one that will remain relevant to our society for years to come. Douglas definitely adds a notch in his belt playing Robert Wakefield. His character is a twist on the men he usually plays. Like most of his other roles, here Douglas is still playing a man conflicted by morality, but this time it is not due to him being in the wrong. While in other movies he is playing a man who must make up for his corruption or face the consequences in Traffic he is an upstanding, law abiding citizen with integrity. It is only when he realizes that his own strict moral integrity has lead his daughter to experiment with drugs to the point where it almost kills her that his world view is turned upside down and he questions his own self-righteousness. I love how Wakefield's life in Cincinnati is always painted in shades of blue. I lived there for ten years and usually that city is too busy looking gray and ugly to be much of anything else.