Snap shots

Rating: Null/10 (7 August 2005)

(watched in Toronto)
Paul Haggie's (writer of "Million Dollar Baby") directing debut, "Crash" is an attempt to be a thought-provoking film about racism. Despite a good cast and good efforts, it succeeds only in showing what racism looks like, but has no in-depth probing into what it really is, not even to the level of the legendary Archie Bunker TV series in the 70s, "All in the family", let alone the all time classic "Guess who is coming to dinner". (1967)
Quite a few critics condemn the plot for its total lack of common sense credulity – in a city of multi-million population, L.A., the two dozen characters keep bumping into one another as if this were a small rural town. Personally, I do not mind the coincidence, serendipity and all that, looking from the angle of these contrivances being necessary theatrical manipulations to get the ensemble story constructed.
Really lacking is the superficial treatment of the characters, as well as inconsistencies. Haggie wants to show two sides of every human being and there's nothing wrong with that. But take an example in Matt Dillion's character, a racist cop who thinks that Blacks are the cause of everything bad. So far so good. But if you look at his upbringing and if what he says about his father is true, it is totally inconceivable that he would turn out to be the way he is.
The movie is well intentioned, well acted and has some positive messages. Beyond that, however, it does not have much more to offer and is generally overrated.
Finally, just a quick summary of the various interwoven plot lines, using the names of the actors, rather than the characters, for expediency.
1. District attorney Brendan Fraser and wife Sandra Bullock got their car taken form them at gunpoint by two Blacks Ludicrous and Larenz Tate. Bullock's innate prejudice and distrust of minorities is later softened when after slipping and falling down the stairs, she finds that the only help comes from the Latina maid.
2. In danger of being compromised, Fraser forces police officer Don Cheadle to shield him, using as a threat the latter's delinquent brother Ludicrous. Jennifer Esposito is Cheadle's partner at work as well as lover but he never bother to understand her origin, considering "Mexican" (which really has nothing to do with her) to be sufficient.
3. Locksmith Michael Pena, after fixing the locks for Bullock's house and earning suspicious glances from her, goes on to work on Iranian Shaun Toub's store. When the store is broken into, not because of the lock be because of the door itself, Toub wants blood and would have killed Rena's 5-year-old daughter had it not been for a lucky mistake in buying the wrong ammunition.
4. Affluent Black couple Terrance Dashon Howard and Thandie Newton encounters racist cop Matt Dillon who molests Newton in a body search at a routine drink-driving check. The couple's relationship stands a severe test as a result of this ordeal. Later, by sheer coincidence, Dillon courageously rescues Newton in an accident when she is trapped in her car that is about to explode.
5. Young cop Ryan Phillippe, Dillon's partner at the same search, cannot stand his bigotry and asks for a new partner. Later, Phillippe courageously diffuses a situation in which innocent Howard is in danger of being shot by police officers. But ironically, Phillippe later picks up hitchhiking Ludicrous and shoots him dead in a misunderstanding.
6. A Korean couple is placed at various junctures, more as Asian tokenism.
That covers most, but not all, of the interwoven plot and characters.