Director:
Paul Haggis

Cast:
Matt Dillion
Tandi Newton
Terrence Howard
Ryan Philippe

Official URL:

http://www.crashfilm.com

Country: USA
Rating: R
Studio Name: Lions Gate Films
Running Time: 1 hr 40 mins
Release Date: May 2005

Critics's Rating:
(4 Reels out of 4) 

May 2005

By Veronica Mixon

America doesn’t want to talk about race or the on going racial tension in today’s society. Yes, things have changed dramatically over the last fifty odd years due to the intensity of the Civil Rights movement, Affirmative action, etc. but the tensions between the races remain despite positive efforts.

The film, Crash was such a surprise because American film is so focused on cartoon heroes, television remakes and adolescent behavior in the young and adults. Imagine trying to understand the anger that people carry in their day-to-day lives and how they often release that anger at a person of another color because it is convenient.

Talented writer/director, Paul Haggis (he penned the Academy Award winning film, Million Dollar Baby) doesn’t shy away from bigotry of all kinds! When an angry LA cop insults a black insurance caseworker who refuses to expend benefits for his ailing father and then goes on the prowl for someone he can humiliate, we something believable. The cop, Officer Ryan (played by Matt Dillion Wild Things) sets off a time bomb when he pulls over an affluent TV director, Cameron (Terrence Howard Best Man) and his beautiful wife, Christine (Thandie Newton Beloved). Cameron is already feeling enormous pressure despite his great success from white studio heads to make black characters seem more like “coons” and comfortable for the greater white audience. When his wife feels he failed to adequately protect her, Cameron’s pushed to the limit. Of course, he isn’t the only man needled by his disappointed wife.

When the LA district attorney (Brendan Frasier) is car-jacked, his angry wife (Sandra Bullock) crews out everyone around her. She lashes out not only at her husband but the hard-working Hispanic locksmith with the “gang” tattoos. Of course, she doesn’t realize that this man has just moved his family to a new neighborhood, hoping that it will be safer for his terrified little girl. Imagine his surprise when trouble knocks on his door in the form of an angry Iranian shopkeeper, who blames the continuous break-ins to his shop on the locksmith. Everyone blames someone else for their misfortunes especially his that person happens to be very different from themselves.

Police detective Graham (Don Cheadle Hotel Rhwanda) tells his partner and lover, (Jennifer Esposito) that he read that people crash into each other in Los Angeles because they crave personal connection. It does seem that way. One thing is certain there is massive misunderstanding and suspicion between the races and the sexes. Officer Ryan’s former partner, Officer Hanson (Ryan Phillippe Cruel Intention) isn’t around to see him save the very woman he insulted the day before and Hanson’s baptism by fire wouldn’t surprise Ryan one bit.

Haggis interlocks a series of characters in a short twenty-four hour period in the tricky, dangerous, urban world of LA where bad things can happen to almost anyone! He’s definitely trying to get people to think about the world at large and to look at all of the conflict that fuels violence on the streets and between the races. Lorenz Tate and rapper-turned-actor Ludacris are shocked that the affluent Cameron is angrier than they are and he’s willing to act on it. A lot of the tension is fueled by fear and the politics of the status quo. Clearly, we need to look beyond politics and try to eliminate the fear.

Crash has a superb cast who deliver tender, tough performances in an unflinching manner. Sandra Bullock has not given such a wonderful dramatic performance since A Time to Kill and personally, I’d love to see Brendan Fraser, who is best known for comedies like George of the Jungle in more dramatic roles. Don Cheadle, Ryan Phillippe, Matt Dillion and Thandie Newton are simply wonderful to watch. Crash is superb!

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