Crash (2004)

Genre

Drama

Director

Paul Haggis

Country

Germany | USA

Cast

Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, Michael Peña, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Ludacris, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe, Larenz Tate, William Fichtner, Beverly Todd, Keith David, Shaun Toub, Bahar Soomekh, Ashlyn Sanchez, Karina Arroyave, Daniel Dae Kim, Bruce Kirby, Loretta Devine, Tony Danza, Kathleen York, Sylva Kelegian, Marina Sirtis, Nona Gaye

Storyline

Over a thirty-six hour period in Los Angeles, a handful of disparate people's lives intertwine as they deal with the tense race relations that belie life in the city.

Opinion

Crash is a beautiful, emotional, moving, insightful, provocative, raw, and powerful film about racism, and xenophobia in the lives of interconnected Angelenos.

The brilliant story written by Paul Haggis is an interweaving of various stories that collide - physically and not - one against the other. Some end up good, other badly. Some storylines are better than other, but overall they all are fantastic and powerful. Each story makes the film exciting, and guide the viewer on a path of death, despair, redemption, and joy.

The character development is great. Each character is developed enough so we can develop an opinion about them, but then suddenly things change, and so does our opinion of them. Despite initial appearances, none of the characters falls into the stereotype. Each character has to face everyday problems caused by racism, and ignorance. Everyone, whether white, black, hispanic, or Persian, has their own frailties, and is ruled by their own prejudice. Each character tries to defend their individuality at the detriment of the others, from the angry policeman who unleashes on the weakest, to the proud Persian shopkeeper who is trying the be accepted by society.

"I heard it might snow" says Don Cheadle's fellow detective at some point. And boy, they snow will fall. And that snow will give that sought physical contact, and will transform the lives of the characters. The wonderful, and moving final is supported by an equally wonderful music - the all musical score is actually sublime.

In this stellar cast, Matt Dillon is certainly the one that stands out. Never pandering to the camera for a moment, he delivers a more than believable performance, and his portrayal of the angry policeman is superb. Don Cheadle also gives a wonderful performance - and he is lucky, because he gets to be in the most beautiful scenes and he has some of the finest lines. Sandra Bullock is terrific, yet odious because of her character. Terrence Howard is exceptional. Chris Bridges aka Ludacris is very charismatic. Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe and co. all do a good job.

Quotes

Graham: In L.A., nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something.