Excellent ensemble movie that really hits a couple of nerves

Rating: 9/10 (21 May 2006)

Once very while, a movie comes along that really makes you think about (Western) society, a society where things often look just fine on the surface but once you look deeper, the opposite is sometimes the case. One of these fairly rare movies is "Crash", a movie that expertly shows that things like racism, discrimination and prejudice are still alive and kicking in a civilized society.
The best part of "Crash" is probably that it does all of this in a way that feels very realistic and believable. I felt that the majority of the situations that occur in the movie could (and do sometimes) happen in the real world.
It's also noteworthy that "Crash" doesn't threat its subject matter in a black-and-white matter. This isn't a movie where there are good guys and bad guys, instead there are many shades of gray: the initially idealistic cop turns eventually turns out to be biased after all, while the racist pig turns out not to be so evil after all, and so on.
All in all, I think "Crash" presents a number of very interesting moral dilemma's (would you jeopardize your career in order to stop discrimination?) and touches a couple of sensitive spots.
What also helps a whole lot are the generally very strong performances by a very diverse cast of talented actors. Not all of them are known for serious roles (Sandra Bullock, Ludicrous) but even they do a convincing job here. Even though none of the characters get much screen time (this is a real ensemble movie) you do get to care about them, especially during some very intense and emotional scenes.
"Crash" is a great ensemble movie, with strong performances, and a realistic and thought-provoking plot ****1/2 out of *****