You do know what happens when you assume?

Rating: 9/10 (7 May 2005)

It's been only a few hours after watching an early Friday afternoon showing of "Crash" and I'm certain that I will be seeing this movie again. This movie sticks with me.
With writing collaborator Bobby Moresco, co-writer/director Paul Haggis has managed to create a tight, challenging, and very fascinating view of race and bigotry and how people (in this case several residents of Los Angeles) are unable to or unwilling to view people as equals. The dialog is very raw and politically incorrect. When the characters are first introduced, it sounds like many of their censored buttons were turned off. Insult first, regret later.
This format has been done before with varying results. (In my opinion, Robert Altman's "Nashville" is one of the best films with numerous characters. As of this posting, I have not seen "Short Cuts". I thought Paul Thomas Anderson's "Magnolia" was a mixed bag.) I'm interested in how Moresco and Haggis were able to create such complex characters when many of them are on screen for about 15-20 minutes or less? The entire cast gives performances that are worthy of several acting awards. From actors who have been reliable in a number of movies (Don Cheadle, Thandie Newton), to actors who gave their best performances in their careers (Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Ryan Phillippe, Larenz Tate, Terrence Howard). From the actors who make their mark in only a few scenes (Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser, Tony Danza, Bruce Kirby, Beverly Todd, Keith David) to even someone I'd never expected to be than good (Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges). I'll be disappointed if no one from the cast receives an Oscar nomination.
As much as I was impressed by all of the story arcs, what touched me the most was the relationship between the locksmith and his daughter, beautifully played by Michael Pena and Ashlyn Sanchez. The conflict that threatens their lives provides a twist that was life-affirming.
Just like life, "Crash" is alternately dramatic and comedic that resonated with me and I'm certain this movie will be talked about for many years. Congrats to everyone involved with the movie.
Update (July 17, 2005):
On watching "Crash" for the second time, I was still impressed with the pacing of the movie. I picked up several clues that I did not pick up on in first viewing the movie: the confrontation between the detective (Jennifer Esposito) and the other car crash victim at the beginning of the movie; in the gun shop, Dorri's (Bahar Soomekh) telling glance of the boxes of bullets on the shelf; Sgt. Ryan's (Matt Dillon) confrontation with the HMO employee (Loretta Devine) and her decision to let him speak after security comes into her office; the assistant (Nona Gaye) glancing at the DA (Brendan Fraser) while he was talking to his wife (Sandra Bullock) on the cell phone. With all of the scenes that were in-your-face, it was interesting to see the some of the scenes that might have seem insignificant but said a lot about the characters and their situations.
I'm not surprised at the praise by most published critics. I'm pleasantly surprised that audiences have responded toward the movie. As of this update, "Crash" has earned over $50 Million and is ranked 95 on the IMDb's top 250 films. In perspective, "Crash" was released in the U.S. the same weekend that "Kingdom of Heaven" and "House of Wax". Even with its serious subject matter, "Crash" grossed more than both of its weekend movie competitors.
I'm also not surprised at the positive and negative criticism of the film. On reading the reviews and the message boards on IMDb and reading reviews on other web sites, I noticed a number of people are expressing their feelings of a film on the web for the first time. This is not a movie that demands you to feel neutral at the end. Sure, the film is manipulative to shake viewers up. To some who think manipulation in movies is a negative, please explain why horror films are a hit?
Some people believed that there were too many coincidences and that was one major reason why some people were not impressed. I believe the coincidences were there for a reason. Some situations do occur for a reason. Should there be an explanation on why things happen?
I'm still impressed with the movie and I'm looking forward to buying the DVD.