A remarkable debut

Rating: 9/10 (21 August 2005)

Like Paul Thomas Anderson's "Magnolia" and Robert Altman's "Short Cuts", Paul Haggis' remarkable film, (his first as director), tells several stories over a two day period in Los Angeles around Christmas time. Naturally all these stories turn out to have common threads running through them and all these people are in some way intrinsically linked. This is, perhaps, a little bit too schematic, (coincidence piles on coincidence in a fairly predictable fashion), yet Haggis still manages to hold our attention in an iron-clad grip; a couple of these coincidences providing some heart-stopping moments. This speaks volumes of Haggis' abilities as a good dramatist and for a first time director, juggling so many characters and story-lines is both ambitious and commendable, especially when he can pull it off with such aplomb.
The obvious theme of the film is racism and had it been made, say, even five years ago may have concentrated solely on the relationships between blacks and whites and with it's LA setting, may have had a few token Mexicans thrown in. (There is a good joke in the film when Don Cheadle's character automatically assumes the white woman he is having sex with must be Mexican because she is from LA and not totally Causcasian). But post 9/11 Haggis throws in the Iraquai equation, too, not too mention some Chinese characters, (who are, perhaps, used too predictably for comic effect). And if the first half of the film is made up of one racist slur after another, the effect is not wasted. No matter how often we have encountered racism in the cinema in the past we still squirm uncomfortably when Matt Dillon's racist cop sexually assaults Thandie Newton during a search.
But what distinguishes the film is not so much the cumulative, vitriolic effect of the hatred most of the characters seem to display for each other but Haggis' deep affection for these people and his belief in redemption. This is a film of happy endings for all but three of the characters. This may be wishful thinking on Haggis' part but it can also make dramatic sense when handled with the kind of authority that the writer/director shows here. (Though the fact that it's the three nicest characters who suffer the film's unhappy ending is a bit problematic. I wasn't quite sure what Haggis' point was in doing this).
He also displays a remarkable way with actors. The performances are uniformly excellent, particularly from those cast members who are not 'stars' or that well-known. Sandra Bullock is excellent cast against type as something of a bitch, but her part is small while Brendan Fraser's part as her DA husband is smaller still. The really outstanding performances in the film come from Matt Dillon, displaying both an edge and a depth hitherto unhinted at, as the racist cop who saves the life of a black woman he had earlier assaulted, and from Terrence Howard and Thandie Newton as the rich black couple whose falling foul of Dillon's racism early in the film changes both their lives. (Howard has an extraordinary scene late in the film when, falling victim to a carjacker, he finally cracks, leading to one of the film's many moments of almost unbearable tension).
These set-pieces, for that is what they are, may over-egg the film at times but Haggis handles them superbly and the overall effect is deeply moving. The film never achieves the dizzy heights of "Magnolia" but then Haggis is still finding his feet. Personally, I feel he has already joined that small group of directors whose next film I await with great anticipation.