Absoulte Masterpiece

Rating: 7/10 (2 June 2005)

Paul Haggis seems to have just popped up all of the sudden, first with "Million Dollar Baby" and now with "Crash" which goes way beyond entertainment and offers some of the most interesting, compelling and realistic character's ever created.
The story follows several different people in LA, all with different job, different social status, different dreams, different beliefs. Yet haggis was able to fine commonality in diversity and masterfully allowed these character's lives to collied in the course of only a couple of days.
The character development in this film is better than pretty much any film I've ever seen. Most films try to create an allegory, or if not that they simply conform to formulaic design. They create character's that can do no wrong or can do no good. In this film all of the character's are shown as having a capacity for both, just as humanity has its flaws and virtues in reality as do the fictional character's created by Haggis. There are times when the man that is made to look like the good guy does something completely unforgivable and the schmuck does something completely selfless and noble. Speaking from experience, it is very hard to create this kind depth in any fictional being, its even harder to do it when you have that many principal character's.
The dialog was very interesting and smart. I can imagine it would be very difficult to create the variation that was included in this film. He used several different vernacular's for the different character's based on there social status, level of education, occupation, etc. It is so realistic that it allows you to be drawn in from the very beginning and held to the end.
I found the cinematography interesting. It isn't on the same level as John Mathison or Matthew Labique but it was still good to look at. It reminded me a little of the look of Steven Soderburg's "Traffic" minus the variation of color tints. It was a sort of grainy image which gave the film an interesting effect, very dark and gritty. I felt it fit the subject matter perfectly.
I was absolutely amazed to find out that this film was shot on only seven million dollars. What Haggis was able to do with the minuscule budget that definitely would have inhibited them in regards on-location shooting, scheduling and other things. This film is proof that the bigger budget doesn't mean the better film.
This is definitely recommended. It is a beautiful film. Completely original and unique. This is truly one of a kind. Don't miss it.