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Movie Review - Crash (2005)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Paul Haggis |
| Starring: |
Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, Brendan Fraser, Ludacris, Thandie
Newton, Ryan Phillippe, and Larenz Tate |
| Rated: |
R (for language, sexual content and some violence) |
| Length: |
113 minutes |
| Genre: |
Drama |
| Tagline: |
You think you know who you are. You have no idea. |
| Studio: |
Lions Gate Films |
| Website: |
Crash |
| Release: |
May 6, 2005 |
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PLOT
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An angry housewife and her successful District Attorney husband. A Persian store owner. Two police detectives
(a black male and a Puerto Rican female) with a complex relationship. A black television director and his wife.
A Mexican locksmith with a young daughter. Two car-jackers. A rookie cop. A jaded cop who's seen so much on the
force that he's lost his way. A middle-aged Korean couple...
They're all part of the racial diversity that colors Los Angeles. They're all searching for answers, they're all
moving forward, they're all coming together, they're all falling apart, and in the next 36 hours they will all
collide. An examination of fear and bigotry from multiple perspectives ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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"You think you know who you are? You have no idea."
Those words, spoken by Matt Dillon to Ryan Phillippe, are probably the most poignant of the movie. Not only do
some of the characters not know who they are, but the audience doesn't even know. Crash does an ingenious job
of forcing the viewer to confront his own prejudices by presenting us with characters and causing us to develop
our perception of them, but then as the layers are stripped away, we start to realize that perspective can change.
We all have our prejudices whether we want to admit it or not, and one or two actions will immediately shape our
opinion of these characters. But do those actions completely define the character?
Suspected reprehensible characters are slowly revealed to have a little more depth to them than we initially expect.
Matt Dillon is painted as a bigoted, sexist cop. His early actions are indeed reprehensible, but we soon realize
there's more to him than our first impression. The years have torn away at him as he's had to take care of his
ailing father without being able to get adequate medical care. There's a reason he's turned so bitter, and when
his humanity is put to the test, in one of the most powerful scenes in the movie, will he realize the hope that
is within him? Nobody is beyond redemption.
Then there's Ludakris (who does a surprisingly good job) who wants to blame everything on racism. He's so
blinded by hate that he blames poor service at a restaurant on racism despite the fact that his waitress was
black. When his friend (Tate) points this out, Ludakris argues that she has been manufactured by white people
to believe in the stereotype that black people don't tip. He's a street thug whose idea of nobility is stealing
only from white people. His reasoning? Stealing from other black people is just a sign of cowardice towards
whites. Of course, that so-called "nobility" is later put to the test. Is he beyond redemption? Or is there
hope?
You'll also learn that nobody's halo shines too brightly. Just when you're starting to feel sorry for a character
that appears to be a victim, you'll soon see they're just as capable of breaking the ol' Golden Rule as those who
have wronged them. If you're going to accept the idea that nobody is beyond redemption, then you have to accept
that nobody is beyond reproach either.
You think you know who you are? You have no idea. At least not until your character and humanity are put to the
test. Holding onto a set of ideals and dreams is admirable, but actually living out those ideals and dreams is
what defines you. True character is displayed through actions. And reactions. We're all searching for answers,
we're all moving forward, we're all coming together, we're all falling apart, and our paths may one day collide.
Whatever the circumstances may be, the way we act and react to that collison is what's important.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- At one time Heath Ledger was up for Ryan Phillippe's role.
- Director Paul Haggis wrote the screenplay for Clint Eastwood's Million
Dollar Baby. He also wrote several episodes of Josh Brolin's Mister Sterling.
- Lost's Daniel Dae Kim (the Korean dude) has a very small role. It's so small that I don't even think
you can qualify it as a cameo. Basically, he's an extra, and if you blink you'll miss him. It's quite strange.
- Jennifer Esposito was in Summer of Sam with Mira Sorvino who was in Mimic with Josh Brolin who
was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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This is probably a little rough for mama. Profanity isn't as bad as something like 8 Mile or Pulp
Fiction, but a few f-bombs (and other salties) are dropped. There's also a scene of sexuality that shows
brief nudity (Jennifer Esposito). Definitely leave the kids at home. The dramatic storyline wouldn't exactly
have them tapping their toes anyway.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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The trailer presents this as a character-driven drama, and that's exactly what we get. If you pay really close
attention, then there are a couple of things that could be minor spoilers for you, but I really didn't realize
it until after watching the movie and then watching the trailer again.
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THE GIST
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Crash is a strongly-written, strongly-acted, emotionally-gripping, thought-provoking movie that never gets
as preachy as you may fear. I could add a few more hyphenated words, but I think you get the point. Some of the
stereotypes are exaggerated for effect, but this is a movie that combines just the right amount of humor with some
very tense drama to force us to take a close look at how we view others. Is it really fair to blame everything on
racism? Sometimes we may unfairly assess a person's character based on his or her appearance, but is that borne of
prejudice or is it just a matter of being overly cautious in a world where it's hard to trust those you don't know?
Actions speak loudly, but so do our reactions.
This is probably a little too heavy for younger audiences and a little too dark for anybody who just wants to
escape from the world for a couple of hours, but for those of you who want a bit of dramatic storytelling then
Crash serves up one of this year's best.
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