Crash review

Crash is a provocative treatise on racism woven together with a series of overlapping threads. Written and directed by Million Dollar Baby screenwriter Paul Haggis, Crash was inspired by an incident in which Haggis was carjacked at gunpoint in Los Angeles. Racism is a universally recognized affliction, but Haggis' victimization at the hands of black robbers caused him to explore how living in a city where everyone is cocooned in their car contributed to the problem. One theory he posits via detective Graham Waters (Don Cheadle), whose car has just been rear ended is, "In LA, nobody touches you. I think we miss that sense of touch so much that we crash just so we can feel something."

It's a slightly less sexually charged motivation for having an accident than was suggested in J.G. Ballard's book which shares the same title as Haggis' film. That anyone would deliberately risk potential injury just to connect with a stranger is clearly an extreme viewpoint, but subtlety is not exactly a feature of Haggis' melodramatic Crash. The bludgeoning approach is taken to stir a reaction and while it dares to state inflammatory points of views eloquently and forcefully in a way few films have risked, it does so with an intellectualism that undermines its authenticity.

Reminiscent of Magnolia and Short Cuts, Crash comprises a number of separate stories that are loosely connected. Set over a period of 24 hours, each vignette offers a different perspective of the multi-ethnic melting pot that is life in Los Angeles. The film uses its characters not so much to tell a story, but to express an opinion, from the racial cop (Matt Dillon), to the campaigning District Attorney (Brendan Fraser) anxious to capture the black vote, to the black television director (Terence Howard) toning down his ethnicity in a predominantly white industry. All fit into well-defined stereotypes and engage in the kind of dialogue reserved more for an impassioned polemic than everyday conversation.

Anthony (Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges) and Peter (Larenz Tate) are two of the most articulate carjackers ever seen on screen. The pair are forever discussing in loquacious terms the stigmas and prejudices they face as two young black men. As they stroll an upscale neighbourhood, the more aggrieved Anthony observes, "We're the only black people surrounded by a sea of over-caffeinated white people and a trigger-happy LAPD." Seconds after being incensed by the sight of Jean (Sandra Bullock) clutch her husband (Fraser)'s arm upon spotting the two black youths, Anthony pulls out a gun and relieves the couple of their Cadillac. It's one of the many times in the film where stereotypes are enforced only to later be dispelled.

Crash taps into the underlying tension of city where the haves and have nots might pull up next to each other in traffic, but are still a world apart. Haggis ventures beyond the more commonly explored white black issue to encompass a gamut of ethnic vantage points including Hispanic, Korean and Iranian. With strong performances from its ensemble cast, Crash is audacious and thought provoking if heavy handed. It succeeds in capturing the urban alienation of Los Angelenos, but does so at the cost of forging a real connection with those it uses to convey its message.

Kevin Murphy