racism comes in many colors

Rating: 7/10 (18 January 2006)

This is a great film that's marred by its absurd amount of contrived moral "incidents" in its finale. one or two of these would have been enough to hammer the message home. I desperately tried not to be cynical but towards the end i was loosing the battle. Having said that is an amazing film with a great cast and stand out performances particularly from Tandie Newton. And she is English too! Sandra bullock also gives an against type performance which adds to the power of her character. I recommend seeing this film and leaving all cynicism at the door. If you can do that you will enjoy this film. It will hit you hard at times but that is what any good film should do. But if you can't come with an open mind read below! Though it aims to turn stereotypical views on racism on their head i feel it nearly achieves this too well in creating a group of people who seem to be obsessed with race and the issues that surround a multicultural society. It seems any time we catch a glimpse of them they are making some kind of racial observation and you feel at times they have nothing better to do with their lives. Obviously this film has an agenda and thus we need to be exposed to its themes and issues but there is such thing as overkill. It works the "mixed up morals" theme also. Particularly with the two "hoods" Anthony and his friend. Anthony has a extreme devotion to his racial roots while his friend, though willing to kill, keeps a saints relic in his pocket. Yet its the actors that save this film from becoming a new age "moral of the story" tale and that is saying a lot; that they manage to bring it above this. Ultimately i can sum up my gripes by saying i wondered what i should feel with Damon's Character. He's a good cop who looks after his ailing father yet brutally molests woman while on the beat. I felt this was verging on arrogant by the writer in his aim to create such a conflicting character. Film offers great power in unleashing the imagination but this seems to smack of a character solely created to get a reaction, to fit a "cool" idea that the writer came up with.