Crash

Rating: 7/10 (6 December 2006)

From almost newcomer Paul Haggis (writer of Million Dollar Baby) this is a really inventive ensemble drama story. Yes are one or two crashes in the film, but this story is more involved with characters interconnected by collisions and close encounters. The connection with all characters in this film that I find really intriguing, and that almost got the film into trouble, is they all deal and theorise with issues in society about racial and social tensions. Set in Los Angeles, the stories set in a 36 hour period include: a door fixing Dad, Cameron (Terrence Howard); a foreign store owner (Howard Fong); a racist cop, Officer John Ryan (Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated Matt Dillon) with Officer Tom Hansen (Cruel Intentions' Ryan Phillippe); a TV director, Cameron Thayer (Terrence Howard) and his highly strung wife, Christine (BAFTA winning Thandie Newton); a detective dogged by serious family problems, Det. Graham Walters (BAFTA nominated Don Cheadle, also producing the film); district attorney Rick (Brendan Fraser) and his wife Jean (Sandra Bullock), and two carjackers, Peter (Larenz Tate) and Anthony (rapper Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges). Also starring Jennifer Esposito as Ria, Volcano's Keith David as Lt. Dixon and Lost's Daniel Dae Kim as Park. It won the Oscars for Best Editing, Best Writing, Original Screenplay for Haggis and Robert Moresco and Best Motion Picture of the Year, and it was nominated for Best Directing for Haggis and Best Song for "In the Deep", it won the BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay, and it was nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound, the David Lean Award for Direction and Best Film, and it was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay. Very good!