Plot: What’s it about?
This film has a few plotlines running under the surface, but there’s no typical central vein of storyline, so this synopsis might be a little lacking in the end. Human Traffic documents a weekend in the life of five good friends, who decide to look deeper this weekend and try to make some real connections. This causes them to see things in new perspectives and under a new light, in other words, it’s pretty wild from start to finish. The friends encounter romance, drugs, booze, sex, and even their own inner wants and dreams. As usual, these five will have a lot of fun as the weekend ticks on, but will any of them be any better off in the process? They’ve never used the five other days too much until now, but perhaps the time has come to live all week long…or not.
I think this movie passed under a lot of folks’ attention, but now that it has arrived on DVD, I think it will find a nice base of fans. This is an energetic, fun film and even though some hard topics are tackled, the messages are never crammed down your throat. The film deals with sex and drugs and such, but the main focus on these friends and what they do one weekend. There’s no epic tales involved or stunning revelations, but the film hits some nice tones and winds up being very entertaining. I love the camerawork used here and just from the trailer alone, you can tell you’re in for a visual ride and the movie never disappoints there. The writing is very solid also, with some terrific characters and some interesting, but realistic events involved. The film seems very natural as a result, which is not always the case with movies of this ilk. As far as this disc, I wish more supplements were present, but this is a solid base disc. Perhaps in the future, we’ll see a full blown special edition with a director’s commentary track, but until then, this one will just have to do. I recommend this release as a rental, but if you like the film, there’s no reason you shouldn’t add this disc to your collection.
This might be his first time out of the feature film gate, but writer/director Justin Kerrigan seems to have delivered the goods like a seasoned professional. I wouldn’t say his direction is stunning or overly original by any means, but he is able to put together a visually complex film and pull some solid performances from his young cast. I like how Kerrigan is able to keep the pace and bounce of the film moving, I never noticed much slow down and that is important to a movie like Human Traffic. This sense of energy and kinetic matter really enforces the film’s tone and visuals, pretty impressive stuff from a first timer. I am sure we’ll see more films from Kerrigan in the future, but let’s hope for sooner than later. The cast is electric in this film and includes Nicola Reynolds, Shaun Parkes (Rage), Dean Davies (House!), Jan Anderson (Tv’s Casualty), Danny Dyer (Greenfingers, The Trench), Lorraine Pilkington (The Boxer), and John Simm (Understanding Jane). Even though most of the cast was young and/or inexperienced, I think they turn in more than solid performances here.
Video: How does it look?
Human Traffic is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. This is a very solid transfer, especially when you consider the low budget nature of the film itself. The source print looks pretty clean and minimal grain is present, while compression errors are limited to some minor moire patterns. The film’s pulsing color scheme is well replicated here, with intense hues and rich shades, but no traces of bleeds or smears at all. I saw no issues with the contrast either, as detail always seems high and the black levels are dead on. This might be a low budget motion picture, but this transfer makes it look like a blockbuster effort.
Audio: How does it sound?
This movie uses a lot of music, so it’s good that the included Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is so active in that respect. From the smallest clips of music to the full on club sequences, the music is presented in fine form here, very immersive indeed. You need to be drawn into the music to be sure and thanks to this mix, you are sucked right into the middle of it all. The sound effects also make good use of the surrounds, especially for a music/dialogue driven film. The dialogue is clean, crisp, and clear and shows no problems in terms of volume or consistency. This disc also includes English subtitles, which are always nice to have on hand.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes the film’s theatrical trailer, but no other supplements.
