Movie/DVD Review - Crash

(I know I mentioned that I saw this a while ago, and I'm just now getting around to writing about it. Bear with me on Walk the Line, that will come later.)

If you haven't rented Crash yet, what exactly are you waiting for? Are you sure that like many Oscar Best Picture winners this movie will be so dry, so depressing, or so utterly confusing that it isn't worth your time? Trust me when I say you won't be sorry to rent this film. It's enthralling, easy to follow (essential with ensemble casts), and leaves us with some rays of hope at the end - some things not every Best Picture nominee or winner can ever promise. (I sat through 'Gosford Park' a nominee a few years ago. I still can't figure out what the hell was going on.)

What is racism, and who is racist? That's the essential question this movie asks, but it asks a lot of little questions. What makes a man strong and what makes a black man who he is? When is respect for the law necessary and when is it dangerous? What are we all carrying around with us that makes us prejudge people? What little moments betray us to others?

This is a movie with no good guys and no bad guys (the only exception being the little girl, who we can probably unequivocally argue is a good guy). Everyone (and I mean everyone) has their prejudices, their misconceptions, their problems, and best of all, their redemptions.

And we get so many questions. Why is Matt Dillon's cop such an ass? And what moment spurs him to see the world a little differently? (To me, it was one of the most powerful scenes in the movie, although a friend disagreed.) Is Terrance Howard waiting to be carjacked, or merely sitting and thinking? Did he do the right thing by his wife, Thandie Newton, or not? Did Sandra Bullock really see Larenz Tate and Ludacris coming toward her and thus take her husband's arm, or did she take his arm purely innocently? What's really going on with Brendan Frasier and Nona Gaye? (Another scene I almost missed, at the very end.) Who let down Don Cheadle - himself, or his family, or his society?

You must watch this movie carefully for its small moments, a stellar cast and some great acting. Fraser doesn't get to bombast like he should but Bullock is amazing taking the role of a bitter wife - maybe she should skip the crappy love stories and go for something heavier. The critics have been right about Ludacris; he CAN act, and I expect to see more of him in quality flicks in the future. Ryan Phillippe doesn't layer his character enough, but there are so many other fine performances that it doesn't really matter. Terrance Howard, Don Cheadle, Loretta Devine (I have loved her since "Waiting to Exhale") Bahar Soomekh, Jennifer Esposito - the list goes on. In fact, you pretty much get fabulous acting from nearly everyone in the cast - people you recognize and people you don't.

And everyone is intertwined in such a way that we recognize the effects we have on others. We're not islands, despite the legendary cliche. We run round and round and round with each other, and our prejudices affect other people, whether or not we're willing to admit they're there. The question is then, what are you carrying around with you, and why? And can you let go of it?

The movie does have some redeeming moments, which to me is essential - I personally do not like movies that end with everybody dying or ending up horribly depressed or ruined or something dreadful. There is hope in this film, if you look carefully for it. And that elevates the movie beyond the usual ensemble cast film.

Not too many extras on the DVD - I would have liked some lighter moments to balance out the gravitas of the film.

Animal Trauma: None, but there's enough people trauma (emotionally) to more than make up for it.

Overall: If you miss this you only have yourself to blame. Four and a half roses out of five.