Crash

This is the rare American film really about something, and almost all the performances are riveting.

What makes Crash so gripping--so terrifying in spots, so moving in others, and even a little funny at times--is how nothing happens as we think it will.

A haunting, perceptive and uncompromising examination of controversial subject matter, expertly written and directed by Paul Haggis and characterised by excellent performances from its starry cast.

Crash can't rise from the ashes of its pessimism.

So what kind of a movie is Crash? A frustrating movie: full of heart and devoid of life; crudely manipulative when it tries hardest to be subtle; and profoundly complacent in spite of its intention to unsettle and disturb.

Any glimpse of emotional honesty comes courtesy of the actors, who manage to do a credible job despite the material.

It might even have been a landmark film about race relations had its aura of blunt realism not been dispelled by a toxic cloud of dramaturgical pixie dust.

Paul Haggis's 'Crash' its so much more than ye-olde-school racism. It is about the lack of human connections and mental damages brought up by living in modern America. More specifically, Los Angeles. A metropolis feeding on the minds of people, overflowing with concepts of hatred and anger brought by its hectic pace. "It's the sense of touch" says Detective Graham (Don Cheadle) after a close-call car accident. "In LA nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much that we crash into each other just to feel something". His partner and lover Ria (Jennifer Esposito) thinks he might have lost his frame of reference, which might be true. But these ideas were always deep inside him and maybe this brush with mortality just made them come forth. The film spawns a glassy and gloomy soundtrack occasionally containing sublime and dramatic world music and its visual style is polished and deeply introspective. Shots follow the characters beautifully as they clash with the surrounding neon lights of the big city. There is technical prowess in 'Crash' and, like all great films, there is no moment of pause. Los Angeles is the Haggis's chosen melting pot for not only necessarily race, but varying human ideologies. The 5-6 subplots are switched from one to another with relative ease, and often they split into more or they rejoin one another. Yet deep down, this is a film not about racial discrimination and eventual awareness, but about people and how ridiculous they can be. Scenes are switched at a fast pace, yet there is not one which is not interesting. Each one is focused, thorough and in a couple of minutes Haggis is more psychoanalytical than most films are in hours. He puts his characters in worst-case scenarios which they pass, but this might just be the first film which is about the lingering emotions brought up by those situations rather than the situations themselves. It is this what makes this film truly emotionally powerful. It's funny how things work. And as the film progresses each of its characters are drawn to an eventual silver-lining; most of them finding solace, overcoming and awakening from their emotional coldness. Snow falls over Los Angeles as people go on about their lives. Just like before, consumed by quotidian anarchy masquerading as order, feeling regret, love, hate, sadness; and I felt everything too. It was so familiar. But in the end, I just laughed at everything and thought to myself: "people, man... people".

This movie is HEAVY, and not exactly in a good way. It showcases the worst in human nature - fear & paranoia, prejudice & blatant bigotry, numbing & addiction, victim blaming, hatred & rampant disconnection. And that is pretty much the point. That we should expect the worst from each other, because we always get the worst. No redemption arcs, no happy endings, no learning from our mistakes. Just rock bottoms and continual crashing into each other, with no potential for healing. Ouch.

"Crash" by Paul Haggis is a film with a terrible sense of scope and content. It

While not a complete failure, this movie has a lot of problems. It takes itself very seriously and the characters are unengaging. The biggest problem is, is it iself borderline racist, and sometimes crosses the line between depicting racist behavior and being racist. Generally not all that well-received by critics at the time, it was a surprise to say the least when it won the Oscar for Best Picture.

Is this the most ignorant and poorly written script of all time? Racism is bad but all the negative and **** stereotypes are correct?? Some storylines have absolutely no resolution at all. Good thing LA is so small or this would of been completely illogical. Really a black mark that this won best picture.