Writer: Siddharth Kara (Screenplay)
Starring: Ashley Judd, Brian Thompson, Elisabeth Rohm, Sean Patrick Flanery, Anne Archer, Jason London, Courtney Gains
Plot: In this story inspired by real characters, three girls from America, Nigeria and India are trafficked through an elaborate global network and enslaved in a Texas brothel, and must together attempt a daring escape to reclaim their freedom.
Tagline – Last year slave traders made $100 billion.
Runtime: 1 Hour 44 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Eye Opener
Story: Trafficked starts as we see how Amba (Banker), Mali (Obilom) and Sara (Washington) get taken from their different worlds and shopped around the world before finding themselves meeting in a Texas brothel.
Simon (Flanery) runs the brothel with the deal being 500 men and they can leave, the three learn to survive in this environment, hear the other victims stories, learning just how deadly the world is for everyone involved.
Thoughts on Trafficked
Characters – Sara was raised in a catholic school, reaching the age to leave, she is promised a bright life away where she could achieve great things, only she is tricked and taken to the Texas Brothel, forced into complying with the promise of freedom. Amba is from India looking to break away from the traditions and find herself dreaming of studying in America, she is taken after rejecting a marriage plan, passed around Europe before arriving in Texas. Mali is a Nigeran woman that has been in the brothel for a while, she takes the younger woman under her wing, trying to find a bright light to survive the situation. Simon runs the brothel, he is strict and doesn’t let the girls leave, he has his finger in nearly every pot, controlling everyone around him. We do meet many other people who arrange the deals around the world, along with many other victims who face a darker fate.
Performances – The performances from the three leads, Kelly Washington, Jessica Obilom and Alpa Banker are very strong showing how hopeless the situation feels for them, showing us just how bleak the future will be for them. We do have some big names like Sean Patrick Flanery and Ashley Judd, but they don’t take anything away from the three leading ladies.
Story – The story here follows three victims from around the world, kidnapped and sold into the sex trafficking business who meet in a brothel, where they must learn how to survive, while waiting for any chance to escape. This is an eye opener to the cruelty and suffering experienced by women all over the world, we might only focus only three women who all get their own stories of how they ended up here and what it would mean to escape. How everything unfolds is similar to what we have seen before, offering little new to the overall story side of the film.
Thriller – We are left on the edge of our seats with what might happen to the women, if they could escape or what would happen if they don’t follow instructions.
Settings – Most of the film is set on the Texas brothel, before hand we do get to see how the normal lives did get ripped apart from the young girls, showing how this is a global problem.
Scene of the Movie – The escape.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – That this is happening.
Final Thoughts – This is an eye opening drama that shows us how profitable a business that abuses people around the world, with three young stars shining through the film.
Overall: Must Learn Movie.