A Divisive Report of Bigotry

Rating: Null/10 (13 February 2015)

As a Best Picture winner, "Crash" is not often regarded as one of the best. In fact, most rank it at the bottom of the list of any best picture winner from any decade ever. While I understand the concerns with certain aspects of the movie not being up to par, "Crash" is an important story that deserved to be rewarded for its reporting and unraveling of bigotry, racism and xenophobia of society from shown from multiple perspectives. Brokeback Mountain probably should have won in 2005, but at least the Academy chose to recognize a socially significant film for its Best Picture award.
Paul Haggis' execution of the plot is the most divisive aspect of the film, and as each year passes, it feels as if more people ease over to the side of distaste conceding his directing work in "Crash". The film's primary problem is that the heavy moments rest at such a high level of melodrama that some feel the direction overdone and cheap. But whenever I think about "Crash," the sensory atmosphere Haggis creates remains the most prevalent thing about the movie. The eclectic vibe the film produces launches off the screen. Haggis creates this tone with the camera-work, the editing and the score, which he uses to investigate the ideas in the script.
"You think you know who you areYou have no idea."
When Matt Dillon's cop says it to Ryan Phillippe's less experienced character in the police force, it's almost as if Haggis is emblematically speaking to us, the viewers.
The screenplay shows sides of its fictional characters that we can recognize in ourselves, and some sides of things we don't want to see in ourselves. Every character—whether black, white, Hispanic, rich, poor, powerful—has a trait for which the viewer can latch onto and turn away from. Though many people who watch "Crash" probably would not consider themselves bigoted individuals, neither would many of the characters inside the film. But that's the intelligence of the "Crash": We identify with and admonish every character. There are correlations to "Do the Right Thing" in the way it explores internal human flaws exist beyond stereotypes. ("Crash" is an inferior film to "Do the Right Thing," but they conduct themselves in the same vein and have similar intentions.)
The last time I saw Crash was in 2009, and what has remained so active in my mind is the drastic information revealed about the characters, which moves us as the film pivots in its emotionally overwhelming climax. We learn these characters are complicated, as we see them take on the mask of the hero and the villain. While the credits roll, we sit mystified trying to piece together which person deserved or did not deserve our loyalty the most. The character development is enlivened by career-best performances from the epic cast ensemble, with standouts being Matt Dillion, Terrance Howard, Thandie Newton and Sandra Bullock.
The idea of interconnecting stories was, of course, a narrative method used in film before, but the way "Crash" uses it invigorates the process. This type of story structure already divides people, so by adding race politics and a melodramatically unconcealed tone, "Crash" was doomed to face the brunt of controversy even before it defeated an upscale homosexual love story for best picture.