Crash
78th Academy Awards
*Recommended*
"Crash" was a surprise win at the Oscars. "Brokeback Mountain" was the favored film that year, and even Jack Nicholson, who was presenting the award, couldn't contain his disbelief. There are only about a million people in this movie and everyone does an outstanding job (including our favorite cheesy-movie guy, Brendan Fraser. I only say 'cheesy' in the kindest way. There's a special place in my heart for Brendan. How can you not love his goofy grin in Encino Man? Or his swashbuckling in The Mummy movies? But, I will never forgive him for Furry Vengeance. Ever.).
Summary
Racism in Los Angeles. Facing stereotypes and prejudices. Race relations and discrimination. Heavy stuff. This movie didn't mess around or pussyfoot around the subject matter. It was definitely in your face. There were so many characters, plots, sub-plots, nuances, coincidences. No one was perfect. No clear-cut heroes or villains. Just people. Everyone was so human, trying to get by. Yes, some of the characters were more evil than others...and some more saintly. We have to look inside of ourselves and admit that we all have our prejudices. They may not be as obvious or cruel as depicted in the movie. But, I think that it's human nature to feel that way, we have to work to move above it, educate ourselves, step out of our comfort zone, and face things head-on. (Read the book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell if you haven't yet. There's a bit about the subject in that book)
About three-quarters of the way through, the subject started wearing on me. I said to myself, "There had better be some redemption at the end of this film, or I'll be really pissed." And there was some redemption, but not everything gets tied up in a pretty bow. There are some victors and some victims. Any other ending would have made the journey contrived...or worse, hopeless.
Acting
This movie had a huge cast...Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Ryan Phillipe, Brendan Fraser, Daniel Dae Kim (from Lost) and even Tony Danza popped in for a few minutes. In my opinion, every single actor did an amazing job making this movie this movie feel like real...almost like you were peeking over the fence, eavesdropping on their lives.
This movie had a huge cast...Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Ryan Phillipe, Brendan Fraser, Daniel Dae Kim (from Lost) and even Tony Danza popped in for a few minutes. In my opinion, every single actor did an amazing job making this movie this movie feel like real...almost like you were peeking over the fence, eavesdropping on their lives.
Emotionality
This film draws you in, chews you up and spits you back out again. But in the end, it dusts you off a little and set you back on your feet. At first, it felt a bit removed, since there were so many story lines, but as the movie progressed, you couldn't help feeling anxious every time that you left one story, but at the same time, relieved that you had a chance to check on the other characters in the meantime.
This film draws you in, chews you up and spits you back out again. But in the end, it dusts you off a little and set you back on your feet. At first, it felt a bit removed, since there were so many story lines, but as the movie progressed, you couldn't help feeling anxious every time that you left one story, but at the same time, relieved that you had a chance to check on the other characters in the meantime.
Timelessness
When I was looking at the list of the movies in the 2000's...it's a gritty group from 2004-2009. Crash, The Departed, No Country for Old Men, Slumdog Millionaire, The Hurt Locker (in the order). Woo...heavy stuff! It's a good thing that I wasn't watching them in order, or I'd need to take some happy breaks and watch reruns of Saved by the Bell or something! My wish is that in 100 years, people will watch "Crash" and say, "What are they talking about? Everyone gets along so well nowadays." Unfortunately, I don't think that will be the case. It's hard to tell if a movie had staying power looking at it through today's lenses, but I have a pretty strong feeling that this will be like Kramer vs. Kramer and be just as relevant in 30 years as is it today.
When I was looking at the list of the movies in the 2000's...it's a gritty group from 2004-2009. Crash, The Departed, No Country for Old Men, Slumdog Millionaire, The Hurt Locker (in the order). Woo...heavy stuff! It's a good thing that I wasn't watching them in order, or I'd need to take some happy breaks and watch reruns of Saved by the Bell or something! My wish is that in 100 years, people will watch "Crash" and say, "What are they talking about? Everyone gets along so well nowadays." Unfortunately, I don't think that will be the case. It's hard to tell if a movie had staying power looking at it through today's lenses, but I have a pretty strong feeling that this will be like Kramer vs. Kramer and be just as relevant in 30 years as is it today.
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