A Fine Film That Explores Racism In Society. Filled With Implausible Coincidences.

Rating: 6/10 (14 August 2019)

This is a thought-provoking film that makes the viewer consider his or her own prejudices and past behaviors. Naturally, this type of experience will be uncomfortable for some people. Many reviewers here on IMDB have stated that 'Crash' (2004) is heavy handed and manipulative, and, it is probably both of those things. However, it's only a movie - if you don't like it, turn it off. The point of the film was to make us consider society and our relation to other people. In this case, I am willing to accept the writer/director (Paul Haggis) leading us to to a specific emotional place within ourselves.
I enjoyed the cinematography and Los Angeles location shooting, but they could have made a more visually appealing film. Los Angeles is a very visual city, but there were few real landscape shots of the actual city and streets. Haggis dropped the ball on that one.
I'm not deducting points for anything on this film, but I do have one complaint - The actual premise is not revealed until the last 20 minutes of the film, and, it's implausible. There are probably many cities in the world where 20 strangers would find themselves all so interconnected to one another. But, not in Los Angeles. The extreme self-interest, income disparity, and well-segregated neighborhoods make these type of coincidences and connections impossible in that specific town.
Overall, this is a good film that won best picture in a weak year of nominees. It's a film everyone should see once, but no one has ever called 'Crash' (2004) their favorite film.
RealReview Posting Scoring Criteria:
Acting - 1/1;
Casting - 1/1;
Directing - 1/1;
Story - 1/1;
Writing/Screenplay - 1/1;
Total Base Score = 5
Modifiers (+ or -):
Originality: 1;
Total RealReview Rating: 6