It’s hard to imagine a Hollywood without Steven Soderbergh. Soderbergh has been one of the most important, creative and provocative directors in the last 20 years. Lauded by fans and critics alike for his daring work, Soderbergh has climbed to the “legendary” rung of the film director’s ladder. He secured his position on that sturdy step when he took home the Academy Award for Best Director for Traffic (2000). With a few minor exceptions such as Ocean’s 12 and 13, Soderbergh has always been slightly more revered by critics than by fans, but the margin has been narrow. And up until the widely panned Full Frontal was released in 2002, the vast majority of movie-goers have loved Soderbergh’s imaginative film making. But ten years after that cinematic disaster, Soderbergh has yet to match the success of Traffic. While critical reception has waxed and waned throughout the years, the public seems to expect perfection from Soderbergh. His recent movies Haywire (2012) and Contagion (2011) have received lukewarm fan approval. Has Soderbergh lost his touch with audiences?
In 1989, a then 26-year-old Soderbergh stunned the film industry when his brilliantly crafted breakout movie Sex, Lies and Videotape won the coveted Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Soderbergh’s low budget independent film helped to launch the modern indie film revolution. Soderbergh’s script, written in just 8 days, was nominated for an Academy Award. In 2006 the film was preserved by the United States National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”. The acclaim given to Sex, Lies and Videotape was well deserved. The film was haunting, original and compelling. The casting was genius with the possible exception of Andie MacDowell. Soderbergh’s original reservation in hiring her was well-founded. Her flat performance is possibly the only serious flaw in the film. Nonetheless, the film had a giant impact on Hollywood and served as the basis for Soderbergh’s enviable career. Few careers begin with such a boon, and those that do often wane in a short amount of time.
After this astounding start it seemed Soderbergh was on his way to stardom. However, for the next several years Soderbergh stalled in the land of the low budget, box office slugs. The slump came to an end in 1998 when Soderbergh hit a minor jackpot with Out of Sight, (based on the Elmore Leonard novel). Out of Sight scored well with critics and performed decently at the box office. The film marked the beginning of a significant partnership with George Clooney.
From there, Soderbergh was on the upswing with the favorably received The Limey. But the film that endeared Soderbergh to the American public was Erin Brockovich (2000). Soderbergh crossed over into the land of the bona fide hit and Julia Roberts took home an Oscar for her portrayal of the title character. Some critics panned it as being a bit slick or superficial, but the majority of critics and audience alike adored the film. Erin Brockovich herself has become an enduring household name and part of the American consciousness as a result of Soderbergh’s biopic.
Erin Brockovich earned Soderbergh his first of two Academy Award nominations for his work as a director. That same year, Soderbergh was basking in the glow of an even larger success, the film that earned him the Oscar for best director, Traffic. An in your face disturbing drama about the escalating war on drugs in America, Traffic is truly Soderbergh at his finest.
In the years following Traffic and Erin Brockovich, Soderbergh has been on a roller coaster of sorts, swinging from the likeable, lively, and very successful Ocean’s Trilogy to the dismal Full Frontal and the disappointing The Informant. The success of the Ocean’s Trilogy was due in large part to Soderbergh’s relationship with George Clooney. The two skilled artists seem to have a knack for bringing out great things in one another. Clooney fares well under Soderbergh’s direction. This partnership also thrives when Soderbergh switches chairs from director to executive producer as was the case with two of Clooney’s greatest dramatic roles, Good Night and Good Luck and Michael Clayton.
Conversely, Soderbergh’s less successful directorial efforts seem to have the potential for greatness while suffering from an obvious Achilles’ heel. Arguably his least successful offering, Full Frontal has many weak spots but the obvious one is Soderbergh’s use of the digital medium to create a documentary style feel. His usual visual genius is marred by this choice and the film suffers greatly from a style poorly executed.
In 2011 Soderbergh attempted to end the ups and downs when he tackled Contagion, a film about a global pandemic. From the previews it appeared that Contagion might be a return to the genius recipe of Traffic. Contagion’s high stakes and globe trotting excitement enticed me greatly. But while critics were for the most part enamored of the film, audiences were not as convinced. According to Rotten Tomatoes, Contagion only garnered approval from 63% of the viewing audience. Although many reviews were glowing, I found Contagion interesting and a bit savvy, but overly sentimental moments coupled with obvious and jarring exposition left me feeling unmoved.
Soderbergh’s latest directorial effort, Haywire, about a covert special ops agent who discovers she has been double crossed by a close colleague and attempts to settle the score, hit theaters in January 2012. January is a month that is famous for lackluster films that die a rapid box office death. Most reviews were a tepid mixture of praise and criticism. While critics were enthralled with the idea of an ass-kicking woman, most found the fight scenes were not enough to hold the narrative together. And in the company of tremendous actors such as Ewan MacGregor and Michael Fassbender, Gina Carano, an MMA fighter who was cast in the lead, has a painfully obvious lack of acting training. Carano might be a dynamite ass kicker, but a skilled actress she is not. Soderbergh’s casting of Carano was fatally flawed from its inception. You wouldn’t hire an actor without previous Mixed Martial Arts training for a Title Fight. Why then hire an MMA fighter with no acting training to star in a film?
So why has it been more than a decade since Soderbergh has had a Traffic? As a visual director, Soderbergh remains quite dynamic. His films are usually riveting to watch, his eye is superb, and his imagination is rich. More often than not, Soderbergh can at least entertain if even he fails to astound. Looking at his body of work as a whole, it is difficult to pinpoint a trend, or even a reason that he has missed so many marks in the last few years. What is clear is that when Soderbergh’s eye meets a great script, genius can happen. His best efforts have been the product of well-written, compelling, and sometimes funny stories that are wonderfully enhanced by Soderbergh’s sophistication. Soderbergh takes chances – that’s one of his greatest strengths – and as long as he continues to do so, another Traffic might just be around the bend.
