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Crash [2004] [2005]
![Crash [2004] [2005]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ASW6CNK8L._SL160_.jpg)
A politically nervous district attorney (Brendan Fraser) and his high-strung wife (Sandra Bullock, biting into a welcome change of pace from Miss Congeniality) get car-jacked by an oddly sociological pair of young black men (Larenz Tate and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges); a rich black T.V. director (Terrence Howard) and his wife (Thandie Newton) get pulled over by a white racist cop (Matt Dillon) and his reluctant partner (Ryan Phillipe); a detective (Don Cheadle) and his Latina partner and lover (Jennifer Esposito) investigate a white cop who shot a black cop--these are only three of the interlocking stories that reach up and down class lines. Writer/director Paul Haggis (who wrote the screenplay for Million Dollar Baby) spins every character in unpredictable directions, refusing to let anyone sink into a stereotype. The cast--ranging from the famous names above to lesser-known but just as capable actors like Michael Pena (Buffalo Soldiers) and Loretta Devine (Woman Thou Art Loosed)--meets the strong script head-on, delivering galvanizing performances in short vignettes, brief glimpses that build with gut-wrenching force. This sort of multi-character mosaic is hard to pull off; Crash rivals such classics as Nashville and Short Cuts. A knockout. --Bret Fetzer
RRP: £19.99
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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Movie studios, by and large, avoid controversial subjects like race the way you might avoid a hive of angry bees. So it's remarkable that Crash even got made; that it's a rich, intelligent, and moving exploration of the interlocking lives of a dozen Los Angeles residents--black, white, latino, Asian, and Persian--is downright amazing.
excellent
Review date: 2008-11-05 Rating: 10 out of 10
Some people, including a lot of critics, seem to think this movie was about prejudices. They're only partly right. If you think about it, the racism expressed in each scene and encounter is too contrived, too well set up, too obvious for it to carry any weight. Racism, in reality, is more subtle than that. Therefore, I just didn't find that aspect convincing. What I did like, however, - and this was more important in the movie for me - was the spiritual dimension to the film, and in particular the theme of redemption. The Matt Dillon character is a prime example. Matt plays a LAPD officer who has prejudiced views, and we first we see him frisking and sexually assaulting a black woman on the side of the highway; then towards the end of the film we see him rescuing that very same woman from her burning car (pure chance, or destiny? Again the thread of redemption...). THAT is what the movie was about, for me. It was about HER being given a chance to forgive HIM; it was about HIM coming to terms with HIS prejudices; about him silently - in that moment of terror where all differences melted away in the burning gasoline - asking HER for forgiveness. This, along with other spiritual imagery, including figurines, a supposed miracle; the fact it's set at Christmas and the thread of redemption running through each mini story, all give it an uplifting spiritual dimension which I think some have missed.
I saw it for the first time on TV a few days ago and it's definitely going on my DVD "to buy" list. If you like thoughtful, insightful and moving films; films that are ABOUT something, then this is one to watch before you die.
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Reviews
The worst best film ever?
Review date: 2008-08-31 Rating: 2 out of 10
That this film won the Oscar for best film is absurd.
Just because it had an allegedly worthy message isn't enough to make it a good film. Besides its message is asanine and its delivery appalling.
First, there is no character differentiation or depth at all. Every single character is shown to be a) completely unhappy, b) mainly due to being subject to racial prejudice, leading to c) them being racist themselves. Just in case you can't see that, every character, often on first appearance, and then again, and again, make explicit statements about being unhappy/racist/victims of racism. That such a complex issue is dealt with so superficiality cannot be excused just by the fact that Hollywood so abjectly fails to address race properly (except by people who might actually have some idea of what they're on about, as in, for instance John Singleton's 'Bozy 'n the Hood').
Second, this all occurs in a plot of complete contrivance- of course contrived situations and events are essential for any story, but it's about making these invisible and natural as genuinely great works of drama do (e.g. Death of a Salesman). Here, every character is explicitly and completely unbelievably linked to every other character, solely in ways that reinforce the 'everybody's racist and unhappy' theme.
Third, this is added to by a whole raft of excellent actors all burdened with the 'important issue movie' baggage, leading to uniformly leaden, flat and unengaging performances. (It's as if they're all in a 'whose line is it anyway?' game being asked to do Sunset Beach in the style of Bertolt Brecht.)
Fourth, the film makes no attempt to explain, contextualise or offer ambiguities to the issue of racism in America, it's just presented as this unexplainable, irredeemable monolith, and yet this was received as somehow profound and incisive.
There's more truth and complexity to the issue of race in America in 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' or even 'White Chicks', and given that's all this film wants to do (it has no interest in any kind of drama- the ending is obvious from the very first scene, it's even more obvious than the endings of M Night Shyamalan movies, and more silly) you'd get more enjoyment out of such films too.
The only good thing to say is that essentially every major actor in this film has done better work than this, so at the very least if you work your way through the cast list's other work, you'll end seeing much better movies (and TV too).
A true emotional rollercoaster - sublime movie of the human condition
Review date: 2008-08-19 Rating: 10 out of 10
In the world of cinema there are often too many superlatives used to describe what turns out to be nothing more than mediocre (Atonement comes to mind!), with Crash there simply aren't enough to adequately describe what ulitmately is a true masterpiece captured so effortlessly by the director Mark Higgis on celluloid.
In the vein of Magnolia we have a story unfold from what appears to be a disparate series of events centred upon interaction through a number of fateful, often tragic events in a city where interaction, integration and trust appear to have fallen by the wayside. At face value the film could be interpreted as a portrayal of racial prejudice ranging from the black street wise car thief who believes that the windows on buses are made deliberately large so that the whites can see how the poor travel, to the Iraqui shop-keeper driven to the point of murder in his belief that everyone is out to rip him off. However, Sandra Bullocks character (wife of the district attorney in the movie) sums it all up when just before fate forces her to re-examine her own prejudicial beliefs she proclaims.......
"I wake up every monring angry and I don't know why"
Therein lies the beauty and craft of this movie, it's not just your run of the mill tale of modern racial hatred and prejudice with heros and villans running amock, moreover it is an intricate portrayal of how easy it is for anyone to fall prey to feelings of alienation and fear and how society can so readily, even if inadvertently, fuel the disconnect.
Thus in Crash we see the human spirit examined from all aspects at every angle, with good and evil, love and hatred emanating from the same characters depending on how fate throws them their dice!
To me a movie suceeds not only when it tells a story well, but when it leaves you with the feeling that you've somehow got inside the minds of the central characters - Crash not only achieves this with consummate ease, but in addition it leaves you with an understanding of why the very same characters react the way they do and thus affords you the opportunity to perhaps re-evaluate your own thoughts with regards to the film's powerful central themes, I don't think it an overstatement to say that Crash could almost fall under the category of "educational".
Two scenes of the film literally made my hair stand on end, such was their emotional intensity. It would be unfair to spoil matters by describing them in detail, suffice to say one involves a rescue from a burning car, the other an incident with a gun. I can't honestly remember the last time a movie had such an effect on my emotional state and it is a credit to the sheer brilliance of the director Paul Haggis whose work here so easily ellicits such powerful emotion.
Finally, those not fimilar with the work of Mark Isham who composed the faultless soundtrack should nip over to the CD review section of Amazon and pick up a copy tomorrow - you won't hear a better one for a long time!
In summary, it's a must see, must own, must watch (again and again), it is Fargo-esque, it is Magnolia magnified, it will make you think, laugh, cry, maybe even change. It is quite simply one of the best movies I've ever seen, it's what cinema should always be.
A Sublime Story about a City
Review date: 2008-06-23 Rating: 10 out of 10
Because views of this film are so polarised, I wasn't expecting much of this film. Another pretentious art house movie, I thought, I'll give it a go.
I was hooked almost from the first mesmerising lines about human contact in LA. On first viewing the story is totally absorbing. The characters speak with Tarantino-esque eloquence. And what they have to say is amusing and disturbing. On second viewing you realise how amazing the soundtrack is.
I've been watching Michael Haneke's films about cities in recent months and he does similarly-structured stories of urban interactions. But while Haneke is obsessed with the difficulty of communication, Haggis's characters have no trouble verbalising. It's the situations that they find themselves in which floor them.
Haggis says the intention of the film is to get everyone talking about the issues. I think Haneke would say that isn't necessarily going to solve anything. An interesting contrast between the Hollywood versus European approach.
Haggis comes from TV, which means everything is highly dramatic, but I loved every minute of the film. It's a really visceral entertainment, full of shocks and unexpected turns. It's up there with Shawshank and The Godfather for me.
Deals skilfully with very uncomfortable issues.
Review date: 2008-06-08 Rating: 10 out of 10
Powerful drama telling the interlocking stories of several characters in Los Angeles, highlighting issues of prejudice, racism and racial tension. Very well put together with stand-out performances from many actors and actresses including Thandie Newton, Sandra Bullock, Ryan Phillipe, Matt Dillon and the rapper Ludacris. Equally shocking and thought provoking, this was a film I couldn't really fault, which dealt skilfully with very uncomfortable issues. Recommended.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Matt Dillon
Sandra Bullock
Thandie Newton
Don Cheadle
Ryan Phillippe
Creators:
Sandra Bullock (Primary Contributor)
Don Cheadle (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Pathe Distribution
Manufacturer: Pathe Distribution
EAN: 5060002834107
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Anamorphic, PAL,
Release date: 2005-12-05
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 112 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2005
Language: English (Original Language)