Crash
“ It’s the sense of touch… In any real city, you walk. You know? you brush past people. people bump into you. [but] In L.A, 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 so we can feel something.” - Officer Graham (played by Don Cheadle), Crash (2004)
The film "Crash" is a story of a day in the lives of diverse Los Angeles residents. Each is from a different ethnic background. For example, there are African-Americans, Caucasians, Hispanics, Asians, and Iranian. Also, each is from another social class, "from the have-nots to the have-more-than-you-could-ever-needs." Characters include film directors, police officers, social workers, criminals, and small business owners. All are trying to make it through the day.
“In the style of Magnolia, [Paul] Haggis and co-writer Bobby Moresco weave many stories (too many) into the narrative. But the rage sticks, as do the emotions underlying it.” - link
The characters in "Crash" are all played by exceptional actors. Some have earned awards for their part in this film. The other actors may not have won awards for this film, but they have for other films. Nonetheless, these actors were all recognized for their performance by the "Actors Guild Awards" which awarded the cast for "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture."
This star studded cast include
- Sandra Bullock
- Don Cheadle
- Michael Peña
- Terrence Howard
- Thandie Newton
- laranze tate
- Chris Ludacris Bridges
- Ryan Phillippe
- Matt Dillon
- Keith David
- Loretta Devine
- William Fichtner
- Brendan Fraser
“ ‘Crash’ writes its themes in capital letters -- Race, Class, Life, Fate -- and then makes them the subjects of a series of speeches and the pivot points for a succession of clumsy reversals.” - New York Times
“[N]othing less than a post-9/11 fable of frazzled nerves in America” - ()[https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2005/aug/12/1] the theme of Crash is one of high importance. Released in 2005, after the September 11th attacks in New York, within a decade of the Rodney King beatings and the O.J. Simpson trial, the timing of this film is essential to how it is received. The film forces the audience to address commonplace racial stereotypes while captivating their emotions. In the United States, the turn of the millennium was the homeplace to a new age of racial tension. The ability of "Crash" to address these "Edgy" topics appropriately while remaining highly entertaining makes this film unique.
“It shows the way we all leap to conclusions based on race -- yes, all of us, of all races, and however fair-minded we may try to be -- and we pay a price for that.” - Roger Ebert
Each character in this film accidentally collides with one another. Hence the name of the movie "Crash." As people try to overcome their personal lives, they become victims or perpetrators of prejudiced harmful actions. Sometimes these characters encounter outright bigotry. These dramatic scenes make for one fantastic experience of a film. Some of these encounters artistically ask a variety of rhetorical questions to the onlooker. I imagine everyone in the audience at one point, or another asked themself if they, too, were prejudiced in some uncomfortable way. I would also imagine each person in the audience has had a similar encounter to one they were watching on film.
“... quite a lot happens. Guns are pulled, cars are stolen, children are endangered, cars flip over, and many angry, hurtful words are exchanged, all of it threaded together ...” New York Times
This movie, "Crash," is also equipped with a mix of other emotional rendering scenes not related to race. Horrible things happen, making this film "not suitable for children." Alternatively, it makes for a versatile cinema for viewers. There is action, romance, humor, suspense, factual information, and drama.
“writer-director Paul Haggis has crafted that rare thing - an intelligent, literate Hollywood movie that credits its audience with a brain.”
This masterpiece by Paul Higgins, and his all-star team cast, executed a set of intertwined stories to perfection. In addition, each actor delivers an award-worthy performance. As a result, the Academy awarded Crash three Oscars, including Best Picture. Well deservedly so.
"[Crash] makes its social and political collisions resonate in our heads so as to leave them ringing. It’s a film you won’t stop thinking about, arguing over, debating, after the lights come up.isa film you won’t stop thinking about, arguing over, debating, after the lights come up.” - New York Magazine