Forget everything that you ever imagined.

Rating: 10/10 (25 February 2006)

For years, the movie industry was afraid to tackle racism, and when they finally did, the movies were good but were a little too straight forward about their subjects to fully get into the issues (think "To Kill a Mockingbird"). "Crash", on the other hand, gets down and dirty in every way. Focusing on how a car crash and the racially charged associations therewith affect several people in LA, the movie is as gritty as "LA Confidential".
It's hard to sum "Crash" up easily, as it looks more at stereotypes than at simple discrimination. It portrays the obvious tensions (if a white person avoids a black person, does that make him/her racist?), but there's also a gun store owner who implies that a Middle Eastern man is trying to start a jihad. As for the LA police...well, you'll see what I mean if you see the movie.
The roles are all quite impressive. Terrence Howard plays a TV producer with trouble standing up for himself; Thandie Newton plays his hubby who gets on his case for not standing up for her; Matt Dillon plays a cop with a slightly aggressive streak; Ryan Philippe plays a rookie cop unsure about when to act; Don Cheadle plays a dignified but nervous detective; Brendan Fraser plays a district attorney fed up with his job; Sandra Bullock plays his unfulfilled wife; and Ludicrous plays a gang member.
A very good movie, but remember, not for the squeamish.