A brilliant ensemble cast in a brilliant film

Rating: 9/10 (7 October 2005)

A riveting and explosive drama, Crash is a simply terrific film. Exploring issues of race in a brilliant manner the film manages to be thought-provoking and eye-opening and yet still entertaining and thoroughly engrossing. Crash follows a widely disparate cast of characters in Los Angeles where people's prejudices and assumptions color the way they see others and ultimately impact their own destiny. We follow over a dozen central characters and explore the ways in which the fates of these people, seemingly with no connection to one another, all become intertwined. It's a tangled web and a fascinating one to explore.
If one actor had to be singled out as the star of the picture it would be Don Cheadle as a black cop being pulled in many different directions. His family, his superiors and his Latina female partner, who he also happens to be sleeping with, all want something different from him and the plot can be said to revolve around him. Cheadle gives a terrific performance but there are many other actors doing excellent work portraying varied characters, each of whom have their own unique and well-developed story. Particularly noteworthy are Matt Dillon as a racist cop, Terrence Howard as a successful black television director, Michael Pena as a Hispanic locksmith who is also a loving father and Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges as a young man who has chosen a rather interesting career path. In somewhat lesser roles the likes of Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Esposito, Thandie Newton, Ryan Philippe and Larenz Tate all do fine work. There are other less-familiar faces who also turn in very good performances. Perhaps the only casting misstep is Brendan Fraser as the Los Angeles district attorney. Fraser really isn't plausible in the role, not having the appropriate sense of seriousness and experience required. But his screen time is mercifully short, not nearly enough to detract from all the terrific performances around him.
Cross-cutting between characters, following so many different stories that all tie in to one another somehow, Crash is a thrilling ride. It is full of suspense, has many, many moments of great drama and sheer terror, and all along is filled with raw, genuine, honest, in-your-face emotion. It is certainly a movie with a message yet you do not feel as if you are being preached to. The story is simply laid out there for you to see for yourself the consequences which prejudices and false assumptions can have. It is a brilliantly conceived story which is performed wonderfully by a superb cast. One cannot ask for much more than that.