A good watch, but definitely NOT tops!

Rating: 7/10 (8 September 2005)

Maybe I have lost my heart for films that tackle controversial issues, but this didn't seem that far off base from any other one I've seen.
Okay, let's break it down. Everyone is a racist. There, that just about does it.
Obviously, this is a bit of a rash way to describe the entire film, and I mean it with a grain of salt. The fact is that all of us have some sort of prejudice to some other group of people (regardless of what the definitive characteristic of that group may be; IE - they like to butter their toast on the other side than I do).
This movie tackles the fact that in many cases of intelligent society, the reasons for this prejudice is due to life experience as opposed to learned ignorance. In other words, seemingly consistent activity (or at least 'seemingly consistent' according to statistics) of any particular sect of society has lead to a label whereby that activity is expected before rational judgment can be made. Sometimes, the rational judgment comes too late.
The writer of this screenplay does a good job of explaining this and getting it across. This is why I cannot completely downplay this film. However, it seems like this intention is all that is successfully put forth for the first two-thirds of the film.
The script seems more like someone had some great speeches he/she wanted to read to some people. Well, since some person reading speeches doesn't appeal to the masses, it's easier to convert the speeches into a screenplay and make some money off of the message.
Now, with this, it is understandable why the characters' racism is so 'in-you-face' for the majority of the movie. We did not get to grow up with each character, nor do we know why they think the way they think. The only way to successfully get an audience to accept a personality in a short period of time is to shove it down their throats.
The final third of the movie aggressively tries to complete each story, and does so in a fairly acceptable fashion. Almost every question is answered, lives are changed, and messages come full circle. For this purpose, I will give this movie a 7 out of 10. It functions as a message, explains that there are different reason why people fall prey to such activity, and defines how single incidents and accidents can alter one's entire life perception. But, it is a far cry from a perfect 10, much less do I think it deserves the company of IMDb's top 250.