Beauty collision

Rating: 7/10 (16 July 2005)

I just had a delectable visual and mental treat from Paul Haggis. Crash, which opened in theaters on Thursaday, is a well-crafted story. From the opening scene of a car collision, the film unfolds to weave several stories to form an intricate web of inter-related events involving the beautifully drawn characters. The basis of the story might have been racial discrimination and stereotyping but beneath this surface, it's really an emotionally-charged collision of unearthed feelings, contradictive thoughts and the emotional freedom that people sometimes deny themselves by refusing to confront reality. There's a couple of heart wrenching scenes in the film too.
Although most of the actors have minimal screen time due to the various stories, the acting is consummate. Don Cheadle is shaping to be a great character actor as his display of emotions is so intense that you feel him. Ludicrous, the rapper (whose music I couldn't care less), also shows promise in his big screen debut.
For me, I identify most with Sandra Bullock's character, a heavily repressed and unhappy socialite who was robbed at gunpoint with her husband (Brendan Fraser). When her character said, "I am upset but it's not because of the carjack. I wake up feeling like this every morning. I am angry but I don't know why." And when she falls off the stairs shortly after, only to arrive at the realization of the people and things that matter most.
I am deeply surprised by how well the little stories intertwine so flawlessly to present a thought-provoking film. Certainly one of my three favorite movies of 2005 following Closer and Sommersturm (Summer Storm). I urge everyone to see Paul Haggis' Crash and experience 2 hours of feeling again.