Angry with Crash (spoiler)

Rating: 4/10 (4 March 2007)

I am angry with Crash. It was my fault really...I made the crucial mistake of getting caught up in the hype. It had a very talented writer/director running things a great ensemble cast, how could you go wrong??? I'll tell you how...by listening to the hype. After finally seeing the movie with all those high expectations given the cast and all else I was let down. I hated and loathed the movie. I originally rated it with one star before changing it to four for the sake of the talented cast. One was a little unfair and was based more on my disappointment than on the actual movie itself. But the thing that bothers me about the movie is the fact that so many people find it so incredible yet it is an average movie at best. This is due to the way in which so many of the crazy racial situations in the movie just seem too forced and too orchestrated to make me care about most of these characters or even feel that they're real. I can not blame the actors, I felt the cast really did the best they could due and sadly the blame must lay on Haggis himself.
No....
I am not a Haggis hater. I actually enjoy most of his other works, including his latest TV work the Black Donelly's...actually might be one of the best shows out right now. I just feel no real point was made with the movie. It feels as if his approach was to get a talented multi cultural cast, put them in over the top racially motivated situations and the rest of the movie would take care of itself.
Matt Dillion's character fondles, gropes and molests Thandie Newton's character simply to give the black couple a hard time because they're black. Okay that's fine, I mean it's not but it fits within the story. Now Dillion's character has reasons for being a racist asshole but so does every other racist asshole. My problem is in less than a week after this sexual abuse the officer Dillion plays, runs into Newton again on the scene of an accident and all of a sudden in an instant, seeing her there trapped in burning car wreckage all his hate melts, he is instantly sorry for his racially motivated abuse and his hate filled persona magically dissipates and he is transformed into a compassionate hero who must rescue this woman he has wronged! All this in the half a second it takes him to look in and see her trapped inside the car. How touching...now Newton's character goes from being victimized by this man to becoming indebted to him, owing him her life as he holds and consoles her!??
Does anyone find this extremely too Hollywood and unrealistic? Too many of the social situations seem too contrived and it's as if Haggis put the actors in front of the camera and instructed them to act as pig headed and racist as possible and it's okay cause it's Hollywood and i'll make it look heartwarming buy adding a warm fuzzy soundtrack and throwing in an ironic plot twist to boot. Crash isn't the worst movie, just not a very good one. Not one deserving of an Oscar at least. After watching it twice just to make sure I find it average at best.
And no...it is not because I dislike artsy films, Une liaison pornographique happens to be very artsy and very good. One of my favorites.
I just think Haggis tries too hard to make a point which never surfaces. Real racism which i've experienced on a number of levels isn't always the in your face variety. Most of it is pretty damned subtle. I think in attempt to make his social commentary Haggis, loses sight of this and as a result goes over the top and loses the realism of the film. American History X is a similar type movie that does a much better job of handling these dynamics and is a much better movie for it. From talking to others, people either love or hate the movie. I think the people who hated the movie wouldn't hate it as much if the people who loved it would not herald it as the greatest, most compelling, social commentary since Sarafina. Crash caters more to the set of movie goers that want to prove to themselves and others they are hip and socially conscious. As if to say "hey I hang with Blacks and Asians, plus I loved the movie Crash, so I can't be racist!" Not to say people that enjoyed it are racist...maybe a little sheltered; or maybe they just haven't watched too many great movies in order to know this ain't one of them. All in all I would say it was a promising movie that fell apart on the strength of it's own ambition.