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Traffic poster

Movies that feel likeTraffic (2000)

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.

If you loved Traffic, the closest films we have are Layer Cake (2004), Ocean's Eleven (2001) and Red Rock West (1993). All three share Traffic's tense and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is 36th Precinct (2004).

🍅 93% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.5 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Steven Soderberghtensecontemplativegritty
8 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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See it on the Mood Map

If Traffic hit the spot, these will too

Layer Cake poster
Layer Cake
2004 · dir. Matthew Vaughn
🍅 81%★ 7.2drama · thriller · crime

Both are working the same pair: drug smuggling, drug trafficking

When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...

Ocean's Eleven poster
Ocean's Eleven
2001 · dir. Steven Soderbergh
🍅 83%★ 7.7thriller · crimeMaxStarz

Both are Steven Soderbergh's work, and they rhyme

The difference: Takes it somewhere less contemplative than Traffic does

Less than 24 hours into his parole, charismatic thief Danny Ocean is already rolling out his next plan: In one night, Danny's hand-picked crew of specialists will attempt to steal more than $150 million from three Las Vegas casinos. But to score the cash, Danny risks his chances of reconciling with ex-wife, Tess.

Red Rock West poster
Red Rock West
1993 · dir. John Dahl
🍅 95%★ 7crime · thriller

Tense and gritty in the same breath

The difference: Trades the stillness of Traffic for an angle of its own

When a promised job for Texan Michael fails to materialize in Wyoming, Mike is mistaken by Wayne to be the hitman he hired to kill his unfaithful wife, Suzanne. Mike takes full advantage of the situation, collects the money, and runs. During his getaway, things go wrong, and soon get worse when he runs into the real hitman, Lyle.

Side Effects poster
Side Effects
2013 · dir. Steven Soderbergh
🍅 82%★ 7thriller · crime · dramaPrime VideoParamount+

The same hand behind both of them: Steven Soderbergh

A woman turns to prescription medication as a way of handling her anxiety concerning her husband's upcoming release from prison.

Infernal Affairs poster
Infernal Affairs
2002 · dir. Alan Mak Siu-Fai
🍅 94%★ 8drama · thriller · crimeMax

Thriller with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

Chan Wing Yan, a young police officer, has been sent undercover as a mole in the local mafia. Lau Kin Ming, a young mafia member, infiltrates the police force. Years later, their older counterparts, Chen Wing Yan and Inspector Lau Kin Ming, respectively, race against time to expose the mole within their midst.

John Q poster
John Q
2002 · dir. Nick Cassavetes
🍅 26%★ 7.1drama · thriller · crimeStarz

Tense drama in both cases

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

John Quincy Archibald is a father and husband whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and then finds out he cannot receive a transplant because HMO insurance will not cover it. Therefore, he decides to take a hospital full of patients hostage until the hospital puts his son's name on the donor's list.

36th Precinct poster
36th Precinct
2004 · dir. Olivier Marchal
🍅 100%★ 7.1crime · drama · thriller

Crime built on stillness, twice over

In Paris, two cops are competing for the vacant job of chief of police, in the middle of the search for a gang of violent thieves. The movie is directed by Olivier Marchal, a former police officer who spent 12 years with the French police before creating this story, taken in part from real events of the 1980s.

A Time to Kill poster
A Time to Kill
1996 · dir. Joel Schumacher
🍅 66%★ 7.5crime · drama · thriller

Gritty thriller, and it commits to that

A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.

The Experiment poster
The Experiment
2001 · dir. Oliver Hirschbiegel
🍅 72%★ 7.7drama · thriller

Both lean on tension more than on drama

20 volunteers agree to take part in a seemingly well-paid experiment advertised by the university. It is supposed to be about aggressive behavior in an artificial prison situation. A journalist senses a story behind the ad and smuggles himself in among the test subjects. They are randomly divided into prisoners and guards. What seems like a game at the beginning soon turns into bloody seriousness.

Phone Booth poster
Phone Booth
2003 · dir. Joel Schumacher
🍅 72%★ 7.1thriller · crimePrime Video

Gritty crime, and it commits to that

A slick New York publicist who picks up a ringing receiver in a phone booth is told that if he hangs up, he'll be killed... and the little red light from a laser rifle sight is proof that the caller isn't kidding.

The Unjust poster
The Unjust
2010 · dir. Ryoo Seung-wan
★ 6.5crime · thrillerNetflix

Both are thriller through and through

An honest cop has to compromise with his principles when he is told to find a scapegoat for a high-profile serial killer case in exchange for a big promotion.

Irreversible poster
Irreversible
2002 · dir. Gaspar Noé
🍅 60%★ 7.3drama · thriller · crime

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

A woman’s lover and her ex-boyfriend take justice into their own hands after she becomes the victim of a rapist. Because some acts can’t be undone. Because man is an animal. Because the desire for vengeance is a natural impulse. Because most crimes remain unpunished.

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The best-reviewed films that share Traffic’s defining feeling.