Crash (2005) September 20, 2008
Posted by gproject in : Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: Paul Haggis
Crash is an issues film, and one that works very hard to stir its audience into post-screening conversation. Set over twenty-four hours in LA, writer-turned-director Paul Haggis’s foray into the political correctness nightmare of racial prejudice manages to stir up plenty of opinions, many of which hold their conclusions for debate on the ride home. Polarising opinions about its content aside though, there’s also a subtle drama worked into the seams that stops the movie from becoming just a random deconstruction of the stereotypes we consistently have pushed upon us, not least by Hollywood itself.
The story is of the multi-threaded variety, and concerns itself with an assortment of different ethnic groups, all living and working in modern day California. Two white cops, one a corrupted old hand, the other an optimistic freshman, have their racial tolerances pushed to the limit when the former abuses a black couple during a roadside check. Meanwhile, a district attorney and his wife are carjacked at gunpoint by two black men. The wife demands extra security but is suspicious of the Mexican locksmith hired to do the job. The locksmith, in turn, attempts to complete some work for a Persian storeowner, whose shop is later destroyed in a racial attack. Blaming the Mexican, the storeowner tries to take justice into his own hands.
A film that deals so singularly in the subject of race relations was always destined to draw criticism, and Crash was no exception. Sometimes praised for its honest and unrestrained portrayals, yet often derided for abridging the real issues, I think many people’s problem with the film lies in how it actually plays on the old stereotypes as much as it tries to refute them. For anyone who thought that the movie was too racially skewed, maybe you missed the point. It’s not a selection of concurrent stories that reflect life, but rather a selection of lives clouded by issues of ethnicity.
It is here that Haggis deals his toughest blows, with his righteous black characters who immediately turn out to be car thieves, his intolerant Persian shop owner, and his prejudiced white suburban woman. The film looks like a bleak excuse to propagate pigeonholing, but there’s more to it than that. The nicely pitched human struggles of Don Cheadle’s character and the harsh realisations of Ryan Phillippe’s supposedly straight-arrow cop, are both excellent accompaniments that help find truth amongst the turmoil. It is Michael Peña’s role, though, that forms the compassionate epicentre of the conflict, which results in a gasp-inducing finale.
The performances from a multi-talented star cast are, rather predictably, excellent. I’ve mentioned a few already, but add into the mix Thandie Newton, Terrence Howard, Sandra Bullock, Brendan Fraser, Ludacris, and Matt Dillon, all on the top of their game, and you’ve got a solid roster of talent. Dillon especially, has one of the film’s most interesting and conflicted characters - some will find him monstrous, while others may come away believing he is basically good. The trick played by both the writing and Dillon’s performance, is never forcing you to choose.
With such a long list of Hollywood names behind it, there are clearly plenty of people who believed in the film enough to help get it made (Cheadle even came on as producer). Much of this is down to the writing of Paul Haggis and his well handled reprising of the ‘interwoven stories’ narrative technique. He neatly builds his tales across the course of the film while dropping in racially reflective material that, in fairness, wavers from exemplary prejudice probing to slightly derivative typecasting. It would also be remiss not to mention that in his debut feature as director, Haggis handles the visuals and pacing with a great deal of attentiveness and care. The result is a film with fragmented stories, but where the cracks between them never show through.
As a general recommendation it can be a tough call, although the Academy apparently had no such trouble, handing Crash the Best Picture Oscar in 2005. For Haggis, this undoubtedly solidified the achievement, although that honour brought with it increased attention for his ‘controversial picture’ and its inherent opinion splitting. Personally, I don’t think it even needed this exposure - Crash is already a superb drama and an engaging film, even if you don’t agree with every minute of the content. It is hard to deny such emotive subject matter, but see it for the high quality performances, the adept storytelling structure, and most of all, for the thrill of debate.
Comments»
no comments yet - be the first?