Paul Haggis deals honestly with an aspect of human nature that we really would rather not acknowledge at all

Rating: Null/10 (7 January 2007)

It is ironic that this ingenious film divides its viewers into two camps: those who are passionately devoted to it -- and those who are rabidly contemptuous of it. This is ironic, because Haggis' clear intention is to deliver some insight that might present some hope of bringing people together. Oh well -- that's the human animal, right? And the human animal is what Haggis is exploring here. I was distressed to find that so many people in Los Angeles took this film as a movie about THEM. It isn't. L.A. is an incredibly diverse place, ethnically speaking, and it has its very well-publicized problems with cultural and racial conflict. It therefore makes an ideal setting for a film about racism and prejudice and the darker recesses of the human soul.
This film is clearly not a technical masterpiece; in fact, it has a number of obvious flaws in on-camera performance and technical execution -- the kinds of things that happen when you only get one or two "takes". When you hear its creator relate the story of the making of the film the reasons for this situation become quite evident. In spite of Paul Haggis' spectacular track record, every major studio turned this production down flat. It was simply too controversial for them. This left Haggis with a choice: abandon the project -- or go forward on a shoestring budget. It's a triumph, in my opinion, that Haggis attempted and succeeded at the latter. And its a tribute to the social consciousness of the major and minor stars who worked on this film for nothing (or next to nothing) that there are scenes in this film that will resonate with its audience for a long time.
Long ago there was a Public Service spot that ran on TV for many, many years. It featured scenes of children of various ethnicities with a pious sing-song voice-over that went like this: "You've got to be taught to hate and fear ... you've got to be carefully taught." In those days, it was widely held that racism could be forever eradicated by simply bringing children up with an "Equal Opportunity" mindset. For anyone who is still thinking along those lines, watch this film -- then see if you still think that way.