(Reviewer Rating: 6 out of 10) Crash, by writer/director Paul Haggis, traces a 24 hour period in Los Angeles, following the stories of 7 (maybe 8?) people. It's hard to say because their lives crisscross in interesting ways ala, though not to the same extent, Magnolia. On the surface, it seems to be a study of racism and how it affects these normal people with many different backgrounds. Paul Haggis is no stranger to dealing with controversial subjects, having screen written Million Dollar Baby.
 The movie opens on a car accident, with actor Don Cheadle lamenting the separation that is inherit in living in a big city, where everyone drives, versus New York, where everyone walks and contact is inevitable. This line is intended to define the way contact is made in LA is by crashing into one another, figuratively and literally. The movie then flips back in time about 24 hours (give or take) and you begin following looking at all the players involved. Ludacris and Larenz Tate (who was very good in The Postman) leaving a restaurant complaining about their waitress not giving them very good service because of the belief that black people don't tip. Flip to the District Attorney and his wife (Brendan Fraser and Sandra Bullock), who were carjacked, bringing out the fear of political embarrassment by Brendan because the carjacker was black ("Were going to lose the black vote when this comes out or the "tough on crime" vote), and bringing out the racism from Sandra in an outburst regarding the concern that a Mexican guy with tattoos is putting new locks on their doors, fearing he'll just sell copies of the keys to his hoodlum amigos. The entire first act continues like this, with several other characters being introduced. Don Cheadle plays a cop with a disgraceful history and intimacy issues. Shaun Toub is a middle eastern store owner with a huge chip on his shoulder, fearing everyone is out to cheat him. Matt Dillon is a cop who's father is suffering because of his HMO's bureaucracy, singularly personified by the person helping him on the phone, Shaniqua ("Shaniqua? Of course it's Shaniqua.") played by Loretta Divine.
It was compelling to watch because the acting was superb. Though some of the surprises were predictable, I was with the movie all the way through to the end, which failed to pay off. It did have go through the motions of wrapping each story line up without being contrived, but like Requiem for a Dream, it is harder for me to swallow that each of these people, whose lives cross back and forth, are going through the worst days of their lives. Each person wears a mask of evil in some respect or another, and in many cases, irredeemably so.
I would recommend this movie to anyone who asked, but warn them of possible disappointment. In thinking about the movie as a whole, it really is good. Great acting, good direction, decent writing, but the subject matter is impossible to separate from my judgment, and the subject matter, through no fault of the movie or the writer, will take a lot longer to eliminate from our society or to portray the many aspects of, than the two hours this movie commits to the subject. As a piece of interesting film, it's great. As a fable, it lacks a moral.
|
|
|
