Some brilliant moments in "Crash"

Rating: 8/10 (7 May 2005)

Prior to seeing "Crash" I had read a great deal about it and was, truth be told, expecting the worst and sincerely hoping for the best. Overall, I got the latter. I think it's very, very good with some absolutely brilliant moments in the film, and it is clear that Paul Haggis is one of the most talented people working in Hollywood now. Although I am not a big fan of all the interconnectedness of the film's characters (you can only rely on this scheme for so long, in my book anyway) and don't appreciate being strung along in a few of the sequences, Paul has elicited from his cast some of the most heart-breaking, poignant scenes captured on film in a long, long time. Thandie Newton's rescue scene is one. Matt Dillon's father's crying in the bathroom is another. And the filming of the invisible cloak scene early in the film is absolutely perfect. And much to my delight, Sandra Bullock is able to portray an unlikeable character and capture the frustrations of a control freak who realizes that she no longer has control over so many of the happenings and people around her. Hopefully she will stick to her word and ditch the romantic comedies going forward! And of course, the issues of race relations in America are the mainstay of the film. If nothing else, you and your friends will have plenty of topics to discuss as Haggis seems to have succeeded in covering just about every racial stereotype in America today.