I feared as much

Rating: 3/10 (27 January 2006)

I must say that when I heard that a powerful Hollywood drama about racial stereotypes had been released I didn't have high hopes. I've heard it all before quite frankly - 'turns racism on its head', 'really makes you think'. Yeah, whatever. But I read some great reviews so rented it on video. Now this film is not a complete calamity - it's nicely shot for one thing - but quite why people are feting this film as some sort of cinematic masterpiece is extraordinary. But no more extraordinary than the earnest, self-important view that the film sees to have of itself. The absurd life-affirming music at the end would have fitted perfectly a genuine epic where you have seen the characters change and grow. But the problem with Crash is that there are simply too many characters to care about any of them. And they are all so horribly clichéd - the wisecracking, funny blacks, the desperate Arab, the hard working Hispanic, the racist and overworked white - that it makes a mockery of viewing racism in a different way. The more I think about this film the less I like it so I'll stop now and leave my 3 out of 10 before I reconsider and give it a two...