Crash
Like Traffic or Magnolia, Crash is not a straight story. It’s a dozen or so characters’ lives woven together to create the bigger picture–a picture that most Americans from multi-ethnic towns are familiar with. Using a grab-bag variety cast (everyone from Brendan Frazier and Sandra Bullock to a handful of unknowns show up in this film), writer/director Paul Haggis shows us that American racism is alive and well in the city of angels.
The official synopsis says “funny, powerful and always unpredictable.” While the film is definitely powerful, to call this film funny is a bit misleading. When you look at the way Haggis captures human frustration and misery on celluloid, you realize why his script for Million Dollar Baby helped Clint Eastwood secure his third best picture trophy. Haggis knows how to put you on the edge of your seat and break your heart.
There’s nothing particularly astonishing about Crash–the actors’ great emotional performances tend to get lost in the sheer number of scenes and characters–but the film as a whole serves as a strong reminder to all of us to live by the golden rule. Just as every action has an equal and opposite reaction, racism begets racism.