Movie Review: Crash

Crash

As an independent film (it premiered at the Toronto Film Festival), there apparently wasn't a lot of money behind publicizing the opening of Crash this weekend. Oh, I'd seen a few commercials, but nothing that piqued my interest enough to consider seeing it. And then I saw a preliminary review that said, among other flattering things, that Crash was a "must see" movie. The review was just enough to get me to shrug my shoulders and buy a ticket just for the hell of it. What a lucky stroke that decision proved to be!

The tagline for the movie Crash is surprisingly effective and, as it turns out, descriptive of the movie: "Moving at the speed of life, we are bound to collide with each other." In Los Angeles, with its many streets and highways, the collisions all too often involve motor vehicles in one way or another.

Jean (Sandra Bullock) is married to LA's District Attorney, Rick (Brendan Fraser). They've just attended a dinner event in a posh part of town. Anthony (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges) and Peter (Larenz Tate) are young black men who've just enjoyed a meal of their own, though in somewhat less ritzy surroundings. The four meet when the young men select Jean and Rick's black Lincoln Navigator as a target for a carjacking. Rick is furious that the men are black because merely stating the fact might cost him some black voters; Jean, meanwhile, is incensed that the young man who subsequently changes the locks on the doors of their home is Hispanic and she doesn't trust him not to make extra copies of the keys for his "homies." At the same time, Anthony and Peter are self-righteous in their getaway because they only steal from white people.

In another part of town, a Korean man is up to no good with his white van. His wife, as it turns out, is also up to no good in the family car, though her sins have less to do with any real wrongdoing than it does with her stereotypical inability to drive. The latter proves a problem for a police detective named Graham (Don Cheadle) and his partner and lover, Ria (Jennifer Esposito). Graham doesn't need any more problems. His mother has serious issues on more than one level, and his brother is nowhere to be found.

Police in the area have only just been made aware of the stolen Navigator when a pair of street officers observe one of those very vehicles cruise past them. Officer Ryan (Matt Dillon) opts to pursue the vehicle; his partner, Officer Hansen (Ryan Phillippe), points out that the plate doesn't match. But Ryan doesn't care. He's sure that the occupants "must have done something." They are, after all, black. Cameron (Terrence Howard) and his wife Christine (Thandie Newton) are simply returning home after a cocktail party. But being stopped by Ryan and Hansen turns into a nightmare that neither they — nor their marriage — might survive.

Meanwhile, the Hispanic locksmith (Daniel, as played by Michael Pena) leaves the well-to-do Brentwood home of the DA to fix the locks on a store owned by a Persian immigrant and his wife. He's had burglary problems in the past and wants the lock fixed. He's also had his daughter help him buy a handgun so as to be better able to defend himself and his property should another robbery attempt arise.

Interspersed into an already very, very busy storyline is the beautiful and smart 5 year-old daughter of the locksmith and her truly sweet relationship with her father; a terrible freeway conflagration that offers death and redemption in equal measures; demands that one man working to eliminate stereotypes instead do something instead to reinforce them which, in turns, provokes a shocking reaction; a shooting that proves a surprise to all, including the shooter; and a less surprising shooting that will be used for political and material gain regardless of whether or not justice is served.

If this all sounds complicated on paper, well, it is. But like a patchwork quilt, the mismatched parts and pieces all come together to create a whole that's far more significant — and, thankfully, understandable — than the mere sum of its parts. Crash was co-written by Paul Haggis, the same man who wrote Million Dollar Baby. Now, I thought that script was terrible in its shameless melodrama which made me worry a good deal that Crash would suffer some of the same problems. As it happens, Crash not only boasts a better script than Million Dollar Baby, it's easily the best script I've heard since Sideways. Haggis also makes his directorial debut with Crash, and a significant debut it is. His able direction and some excellent editing take what could have been incredibly confusing and make it fuse into a comprehensible whole.

The casting looks to be insensible at first blush. Sandra Bullock is, after all, best known for light comedic roles, and those are attributes Jean doesn't begin to possess. Brendan Fraser is also typically known for lighter fare. And yet, somehow, the two work here. Don Cheadle, though perhaps one of the more rationally cast characters, is nothing less than brilliant. In one scene, he doesn't say a word; he simply walks away. And yet the look of naked anguish on his face actually brought me physical pain as my heart broke for him. Even with a performance like that, Esposito manages to hold her own in her scenes with him. Thandie Newton is incandescent. Matt Dillon is surprisingly good as a man who exemplifies both the worst and the best of humankind; Ryan Phillippe turns out to be perfectly cast, something I wouldn't have believed before seeing the film. In fact, there's not a bad, or even a mediocre, performance in the film. Instead of insensible, I'd now call the casting for Crash inspired!

Crash actually uses its many facets to tell a story of mutual racial intolerance and of snap judgments based on nothing more or less than skin color or an accent. This is not a movie you'll walk away from with a smile, but you will leave with something to think about. When I first left the theatre on opening night, I wasn't really sure what I'd say about the movie. The only word that came to mind immediately afterward was, "Wow." And today, that's still the best word I can think of to describe the experience. I'll tell you something else: That reviewer I read earlier in the week was right. Crash really is a must see film.

POLITICAL NOTES: Bizarrely enough, though Crash comes across as anti-gun, one of its scenes actually does more to promote the idea of a firearm than to detract from it. When a person in very uncomfortable surroundings speculates aloud that the discomfort that should be overwhelming isn't, it's because there's a gun immediately at hand. A few points are also made in connection with the ubiquitous War on Terror and the instant condemnation it tends to engender. Crash also does a good job at pointing out that some cops are bad, but that some are still good, too. Unfortunately, it can be tough to determine who's who...

FAMILY SUITABILITY: Crash is rated R for "language, sexual content, [and] some violence." This is a rating I'd call a "hard" R. The film is in no way suitable for those under 17. Although its lessons are important for everyone of any age, the method of imparting those lessons isn't appropriate for children. There's violence, including violent death; and there's sexual activity and innuendo that are both sexy and horrifying by turns. There are moments of some very funny humor, believe it or not; but some instances of suspense are so well crafted that they're almost unbearable. And certainly, the repercussions some characters experience are truly awful and often very graphic in nature. I'm going to reluctantly acknowledge that sensitive adults should stay away from Crash because it is, at times, difficult or painful to watch. With that single caveat, I recommend Crash to everyone else — and I recommend it highly.