Human Traffic (1999) – Film Review

Director: Justin Kerrigan
Cast: John Simm, Lorraine Pilkington, Shaun Parkes
Certificate: 18

By Sarah Morgan

The 1990s. I remember them well, which perhaps means I wasn’t exactly a member of the ‘in crowd’. Indeed, I’ve never taken Ecstasy or been to a rave; perhaps if I had, Justin Kerrigan’s 1999 film might have meant more to me.

But I do recognise the characters it depicts, a group of friends in Wales who are living for the weekend, enduring largely dull jobs before blowing their pay packets on booze and drugs while dancing the night away in dingy clubs with likeminded souls.

“Holds up a mirror”

Among them is Jip, a jeans salesman whose unsuccessful liaisons with a number of willing young ladies has left him feeling rather inadequate. His best friend Koop, meanwhile, is madly in love with his girlfriend Nina, but is rampantly jealous about her interactions with other blokes, no matter how obviously platonic they are.

Nina is dealing with sexual harassment at work, having failed her college interview, while her mate Lulu is sick of being cheated on by a string of worthless lovers. Finally, the newest member of the gang, Moff, is making a living as a small-time dealer, despite the fact his father is a copper.

The film is set mostly over the course of one night, in which each member confronts their issues.

Although I found the story to be somewhat disjointed, and many of the characters rather annoying, I applaud writer-director Kerrigan for not moralising about their behaviour. Rather than telling us what they should be doing, he simply holds up a mirror to the lives of many young people at the time who were desperate to let loose, and finding friendship within an underground culture frowned upon by so many in society.

“Intriguing snapshot”

John Simm heads the cast as Jip, a sensitive soul whose mother is a prostitute, which may be among the reasons for his sexual issues. Shaun Parkes, Lorraine Pilkington and Nicola Reynolds also feature, while a very young Danny Dyer, in his film debut, is wonderful as Moff – he delivers the film’s most touching and hilarious moments.

An in-depth interview with Dyer is also the highlight of the special features; he is as charming, erudite and yet foul-mouthed as ever – a worthy national treasure if ever there was one.

I don’t agree with The Guardian’s description of Human Traffic as ‘the last great film of the Nineties’, but it’s certainly an intriguing snapshot of a life most of us will know little about, even if it makes me feel even more than ever as if I’m on the outside looking in.

The soundtrack, however, is extraordinary – if you’re into Fatboy Slim, Carl Cox and Orbital, you’re onto a winner.

Sarah Morgan( Writer )

Sarah Morgan studied film journalism at post-graduate level with the BFI and has been writing about TV and film for PA Media’s newspaper, magazine and new media customers since 1996. She’s also written for a wide range of other publications, both online and in print, including the book Offbeat and Intermission magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Talking Pictures TV podcast. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s collecting and reading vintage crime and horror paperback books or, for her sins, watching her beloved Sheffield Wednesday.

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