Review of:Crash (2005)
Director:Paul Haggis
Rating:R for language, sexual content and some violence.
Starring:Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner
After viewing the movie “Crash” I can only say one thing. Remember the name Paul Haggis (Million ‚ who is credited as the screenwriter as well as the Director of a film that will be heard from again come Academy time.
The film Crash is as layered as an onion‚ and all of the characters in this drama bring out excellent performances. The film starts off as a mystery. Who has killed a young man whose body has been dumped on the side of the road. Don Cheadle stars as Graham, the lead detective on the case. He has good reason to be interested in finding the killer since the person who has been killed is known to him. Now if this was a normal film it would follow along the path of finding who the killer is‚ but Mr. Haggis has greater things in store. He takes the viewer on an emotional journey‚ as we see behind the lives of several people‚ who unknown to even them have had some kind of connection with this case.
That is where this film is remarkable. In each and every character we are shown the good‚ along with the bad. Just when you think you have a character pinned down as being this or that‚ Mr. Haggis puts a twist on the happenings and makes you reevaluate what you believed in the first place. There is no greater character that makes this point than Officer Ryan (Matt Dillon). His story is perhaps the most complex of all the characters.
I would be remiss if I didn’t let you in on my favorite portion of the film‚ and that is the interaction between Anthony (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) and Cameron (Terrance Howard). It is an exchange between a man that is successful in a white man’s world (Cameron) ‚ and the youngster who thinks he knows how the world works. I beg of you to watch the exchange between them‚ and email me with your comments on the subject. It speaks volumes on race relations and the growing need for young men to have positive role models.
If you haven’t guessed it by now‚ I fully endorse this film. Go see it.
