Human Traffic

Director: Justin Kerrigan.

Justin Kerrigan - this time you've really done it. Human Traffic is going to upset the majority of film critics who will view the lack of plot, the drug induced dialogue and the futile outlook on Nineties Youth culture as a miserable and desperate view of how weekends are spent by ravers and clubheads across the UK. Moreover, they will spot camera work borrowed from Boogie Nights and even try and associate the whole film with 'Trainspotting' theme (because, lets face it, a Scottish Heroin addict trying to clean up his act and a Welsh clubber looking for a good time with his mates is pretty much the same thing, right?)

Well wrong. Human Traffic has landed - along with one and a half quality hours of clubs, drugs, pubs and parties - and its time to leave behind your preconceptions of what a film should be like (where's the plot? I want a plot!) and instead delve into the lives of Jip (John Simm) and his mates, Nina (Nicola Reynolds), Koop (Shaun Parkes), Lulu (Lorraine Pilkington) and Moff (Danny Dyer). There's nothing special about these five friends; they're just hanging out together and showing you the way they lead their lives. They are not Burger King. They certainly don't do it your way. And you don't like it - well, tough.

Because essentially this period piece has captured everything that Nineties youth culture is revolving around. There are no clear solutions, in fact very few problems in the first place. At the end of the day, what Jip and his friends are doing is living and who are we to know or comment on anything different? They drink, smoke dope, pop pills and party; they know the risks and they're prepared to take them and moralists will just have to sit back and (try to) enjoy the ride.

The sound track is terrific and accompanies the highs and lows of the 48 hour weekend and the events that take place in it. But within this, what first appears to be social unity, we see traces of individual isolation that are easy to bypass in a culture of hedonism. Jips paranoia of sex, Koops jealous possession of Nina and Moff as his drug habit digs him deeper into his own hole and further away from his family, asks the question 'are things really this good?' However they will not be exaggerated to the extent that they are conspicuous, giving the film a controversial stance on drugs and the role in social integration. Kerrigan is pulling no punches. And why should he? This isn't GO! or any other such American rave film with clear cut margins and please-the-crowd conclusions - it is one that forces us to question whilst at the same time enjoy the at times hilarious, touching and other times exciting events of 48 hours with a group of five 'friends'.

And for the die-hard British youth among you, this might not be reality - but it's a bloody brave effort at depicting it.

I've just rewatched this through eyes half closed after about 10 years and can confirm it's still a brilliant snapshot of the time. Brilliant soundtrack. Sweet, funny, flawed characters. Peeking into drug and party culture in the late 90s. A lovely little journey (dare I say trip?) to nowhere in particular and back.

Every time I watch this film, it just really makes me wanna go out and have a good night! My mate uses "the weekend has landed" speech to psyche himself up before going out! and so do I...sometimes.

This film is a great debut for the writer/director - well done mate!

The acting is great, all the characters are believable and are larger than life! The 'weird' scenes are a joy to watch, Jip's running Mr floppy flashbacks/explanations/visualizations are all great! The scene in the huuuuuuuge pub when everyone stands up and starts singing the mock national anthem is a laugh too. There's loads of comedy here - Howard Marks' 'spliff politics' speech is hilarious!

Oh god, you just need to see this. Mind you, I felt the film did somewhat glorify the use of ecstacy, but hey, that's the truth of the matter eh? At least the film doesn't shy away from this fact. I suppose the film does carry a decent message to it as well - don't take life TOO seriously, you have to let you hair down sometime. And of course the chat in the pub when Moff tries to explain to his mates that he's coming off the drugs is a sure reminder that when the come down's out-way the good times, you know the party's over!

This is at times a very clever film in it's use of the camera, lighting, etc. It was a realised piece of cinema, and a great feel-good tale of mates, love, clubs, and drugs.

Get outta the 'rat race' people!!!

8/10

Enjoy!

This film was hilarious. It provided a somewhat comical view of the British club scene, which, if you really look at it, is a funny thing. The characters in this flick were so realistic to those of us who watched here at my place that it was like watching a movie about ourselves.

There were a few pivotal scenes which really made this movie work: the getting ready scenes; the "Get me a real doctor" scene; the white background scene showing each character in a total state of being wrecked, ending with the infamous line "what was i saying?" and the comedown-sunup scenes. I have lived these moments myself and found myself laughing hysterically at my own ridiculous behaviour.

I can't give this movie a 10 because it doesn't measure up to Groove, which I thought was out of this world, but it certainly has its moments. The mise-en-scene and the camera work is superb, the special effects are well worth mentioning, and the acting is fantastic.

After waiting a long time to see this film, I am glad to say that I was not disappointed. I hope to see more from the writer/director in the future.

This movies is obviously the most realistic movie about clubbing ever made, but this is true for us in Europe becuase in America, they have a Chopped up version of Human Traffic, Yes, I just sent this movie to my brother who lives in America, he's seen it already the U.S, and this is want he wrote me, after seeing the british tape I send him: "There's basically new stuff throughout the whole movie. Every 2-3 minutes there's something new. Very little things. All the English slang was translated to American like Blagging, Class A's. There's also big scenes like a whole bunch of new Felix scenes, including him talking about the old times and him speeding at the bar. The new version also shows the scene that explains that Muff is a dealer and The crazy dad talks at the hospital. The editing was also different, almost every scene was longer with a couple minutes extra. It was like watching it for the first time again. Nice one bruv, "