Crash is Brilliant

Rating: 8/10 (29 September 2005)

Crash Emmy- Winner, Paul Haggis, delivers another outstanding performance in " Crash" as he bestowed upon us before in "Million Dollar Baby." The movie "Crash" starts off ,in L.A., 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 five or six different groups of characters who are complete strangers to one another. The different groups of characters consist of Latinos, African- Americans, Whites, Asians, and Persians whose lives all intervene in unpredictable ways. The audience doesn't know how the characters relate to each other until it is revealed in the end. If you enjoy movies that leave you guessing until the ending, I would recommend this film to you. I found this movie to be brilliant and became a huge Paul Haggis fan after watching it.
There are a number of different plots and sequences, but they all link together in surprising and unique ways. The movie goes back and fourth between the character's cultures and fears that comes with living in L.A. 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 LAPD being untrustworthy. All the stories circle around one thing, RACISM! All the characters deal with the consequences they a dealt 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 judgment on strangers by their cultural backgrounds. Haggis says things 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 reality.
"Crash" features a Hollywood cast playing unusual roles. A huge 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 White district attorney, Sandra Bullock as his White, racist, wife, Michael Pena as a polite and caring locksmith, and Don Cheadle as a 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 very offensive and which 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 an 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 go see 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.