"Crash"

Reviewed by Chris Cappola
Starring Matt Dillon, Brendan Fraser, Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Ryan Phillipe, Thandie Newton, Ludacris, Larenz Tate and Terrence Howard. Directed by Paul Haggis. (2005, Lions Gate)

The issue of racism is forbidden territory so it takes a brave man to try and tackle such an issue and Paul Haggis does so with 'Crash', a new drama about how race becomes a subconscious part of everyday life. It doesn't paint any bias, it doesn't give any answers, it just shows a raw portrayal of how it has slipped into becoming an acceptable part of life, no matter how we wish it weren't the case. It doesn't give any explanations, any justifiable reasoning or any solutions, it just tells it as it is.

The film takes place in different areas of Los Angeles focusing on how a car crash brings a group of diverse people together. The story unfolds over an eventful 48 hours and how race becomes part of everyone's life. At the heart of the story is a conflicted detective Graham (Don Cheadle) and his partner Ria (Jennifer Esposito) who are also secretly dating. There's racist cop Ryan (Matt Dillon) and his naive partner Hanson (Ryan Phillipe) who becomes disturbed by his partner's despicable behaviour after he harasses a wealthy black couple Cameron (Terrence Howard) and Christine (Thandie Newton). Meanwhile District Attorney Rick (Brendan Fraser) and his wife Jean (Sandra Bullock) are carjacked by two black youths Anthony and Peter (Ludacris and Larenz Tate). Finally, a Persian shopkeeper (Shaun Toub) struggles with racism of his own before exacting revenge on a Latino locksmith (Michael Pena) who just wants safety for his young daughter. Most of these characters intertwine with one another and many learn to accept, understand and love, some get redemption, some get sadness and some are still conflicted, but of course life isn't about easy answers and there's no cure for racism, it's not a disease, it's sadly become part of life. Racism still is a prevalent issue and it's something that will never go away. The irony in the final scene debunks that anything was learnt from the film.

Writer-director Paul Haggis is coming off an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay for overall Oscar kingpin 'Million Dollar Baby'. As a writer, he is manipulative but intelligent but as a director, he is as good as any high-calibre director - Clint Eastwood included. 'Crash' is as hard as a film to balance out and not lean towards an obvious bias attitude, but Figgis never tries to take sides or portray one race in a better light than others. The screenplay is emotionally exhausting and profound at times but it's also countered with splatters of lighter moments to ease the tension and breakaway from sinking too much into disparity. Figgis doesn't try to preach or educate, he is showing a slice of life.

The performances from the very large ensemble cast are exceptional - there are no weak links. For some performers, this is their best work in years and in some cases, to date. It's hard to pinpoint particular performers in the cast but Matt Dillon's racist cop; Terrence Howard's conflicted TV producer, Michael Pena's locksmith and Ryan Phillipe's good-hearted cop who gets a harsh life-lesson in the end are standouts. Sandra Bullock's whiny housewife and Thandie Newton's equally annoying wife are hard to initially take, but get better. Many of the roles are very hard to take and some of their actions are inexcusable but that's the harsh reality that in real life people are not so clean-cut.

LA is a fascinating place and 'Crash' is similar to early 90's ensemble dramas like 'Short Cuts' and 'Grand Canyon', which showed the realness of everyday life. Ultimately, you may ask "what was the point?" because nothing is really resolved but these captions of everyday life is proof that this is existence. Shows like 'Desperate Housewives' may be what we hope our suburbia looks like but 'Crash' is the unfortunate reality for many. Profound, insightful and raw, this is one of the best films so far in 2005. A must.
out of 10
- Chris Cappola's Reviews

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