Crash

Rating: 8/10 (13 December 2005)

Emmy Winner Paul Haggis delivered another outstanding production in " Crash" like he bestowed upon us before in "Million Dollar Baby." The movie "Crash" starts off in Los Angeles with a car accident and leaves the audience wondering what the cause of the accident was. Twenty-four hours earlier flashes across the screen, and we are then introduced to multiple different groups of characters who are complete strangers to one another. The different groups of characters consist of Latinos, African Americans, Caucasians, Asians, and Persians, whose lives all intersect in unpredictable ways. The audience doesn't know how the characters relate to each other until it is revealed near the end of the movie. I found this movie to be brilliant, and after watching it, I became a huge Paul Haggis fan. If you enjoy movies that leave you guessing up until the very last minute, I would recommend this film to you.
There are a number of different plots and sequences, and they all link together in surprising and unique ways. The movie goes back and fourth between each character's different cultural conflicts and the differences they experience due to their different cultural backgrounds. The audience is shown a number of story lines such as: A car accident, a car jacking, vandalism in a marketplace, a suspicious death, and L.A. Policeman being untrustworthy. All the stories circle around one thing, RACISM! All the characters act on certain situations that they are placed in , and we learn that there is good and bad in everyone.
"Crash" is an extremely powerful film and delivers a strong message. Paul Haggis speaks out about how racism still exists in our society, no matter how much we deny being racist or prejudiced. He shows us how we place segment on strangers by their cultural backgrounds. Haggis includes scenarios throughout the film which makes the audience feel uncomfortable. It is shocking to hear a character say, "Why do these guys have to be black?" This movie is disturbing, but depicts reality.
"Crash" features a Hollywood cast playing unusual roles. A major reason of why this is an excellent movie is because of this amazing cast. It includes: Matt Dillon as a racist police officer, Ryan Phillippe as his nervous partner, Thandie Newton and Terrence Howard as an African- American couple, Larenz Tate and "Ludacris" as African-American carjackers, Brendan Fraser as a Caucacian district attorney, Sandra Bullock as his wife who is also Caucasian and a racist, Michael Pena as a polite and caring locksmith who is Latino, and Don Cheadle as an African-American detective. All of the cast deliver magical performances in the roles they play, which makes the movie that much more interesting and enjoyable to watch.
"Crash" is a film that speaks out about a subject that is very offensive ,and stirs up a lot of controversy in our society today. This movie leads to discussion after seeing it and makes you wonder when we are going to put racism behind us. Or will we ever? This film is made for mature audiences with a R rating for language, sexual content, and some violence. It keeps the audience guessing, and there is never a dull moment. I would suggest you rent this brilliant film, if you haven't already, because it is a subject that needs to be thought about and shouldn't be ignored any longer.