When a girl is kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery and prostitution it is up to the unlikely team of a Texas cop (Kevin Kline), with a dark history, and a Mexican youth (Cesar Ramos) to save her from the hands of her buyer.
Taken from Peter Landesman's New Your Times Magazine cover story, Marco Kreuzpainter brings to life the haunting story that is all too familiar to some and attempts to shed light on an unsightly subject. With the potential to be a fast paced thriller that would keep you on the edge of your seat Trade had it all to offer, yet delivered on none. With the combination of bad acting, unnatural dialogue and horrible script writing, the film trots a long and does more to gross you out and make you feel "˜dirty' than actually entertain.
When an Academy Award winner such as Kline is attached to a film you expect the acting to be at least watchable; however, with Trade, this is proven to be untrue. Kline underperforms and causes concern of the validity of the Oscars in his half hearted, horrific attempt as a Texas cop. Playing a man who might have lost his own daughter to the hands of sexual slavery, Kline shows no signs of sorrow, nor understanding as he struggles his way through the film emotionless and completely out of sync. On top of that, Kline carries the "˜cop' persona miserably; however, he does do a good job on one thing: he meshes the line between good cop and bad cop, instead staying unmoved through the film and playing to neither side. Combine that with his miserable chemistry with Ramos, who gained recognition for his role in The Motorcycle Diaries, who underperforms as well, and the film lacked a decent quality to even mention.
Another major problem I had with the film was its dialogue/screen writing. The interaction between the two lead characters doesn't come close to flowing and often times feels unnatural, even forced, causing for a film to drag.
The film was a major disappointment. The story was there, leading to great potential; however, every piece around the central one was MIA, leaving for a movie better worth missing.
