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Rating: 3.5 out of 5
A couple of weeks ago, I was walking to work. It was a simple day like whatever to me. I had my gym clothes, bookbag, briefcase, and lunch bag in my hands. The walk from the parking structure to the school is about two hundred meters. As I was walking, I saw a woman walking toward me. I didn’t feel threatening and minding my own business in the early morning. Homegirl saw me, clutched her purse, and crossed the street as fast as possible. When I passed, she immediately walked back to the side of the road I was on. I was pretty pissed because I didn’t want jack shit from her, and I worried about her doing something to me. As I reflected, I felt like the woman did a racist action because she didn’t know anything about me. The crazy thing is that I had the film Crash on my desk as one of the films to watch. That is some fate right there.
Crash is a film produced, directed, and co-written by Paul Haggis. The film features the racial and social tensions in one of the cities that is like a melting pot in America. In the bright lights, movie stars, and all sunny weather of Los Angeles, a thirty-six-hour period will intertwine the lives of several people who are all racially different from each other and have intense race relations among them. Detective Graham, and his partner Ria, investigate a potentially racially motivated crime while being lovers, with one being black and the other Hispanic. Caucasian district attorney Rick and his wife Jean are carjacked by two black men. Jean believes that her stereotypical views of non-whites are justified and cannot be considered racism. The two black carjackers speak about race, while each has different opinions. Sergeant Ryan is at odds with his rookie partner, Officer Hanson. Sergeant Ryan is a racist and uses his authority to harass and intimidate individuals of other races, while Officer Hanson rejects those views and stands on the other side. Black TV director Flanagan, and his mixed wife, Christine, are at odds with each other after a run-in with two officers. Daniel Ruiz, a Hispanic locksmith, meets several characters while trying to provide for his family. Lastly, there is Farhad, a desperate Persian shop owner who wants to have protection but seems to be at odds with everyone. In a city with a history of racism, hostility, hatred, and fear boil over as each life will change during the 36-hours.
Many interconnecting stories revolve around in this film. What I saw were the racism and stereotypes that live on in LA and the country. As the old saying goes, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” It seems like this film holds up now more than it did when it first came out. When the movie came out, most people thought it was the worst Best Picture winner. Nowadays, people might have a different tune. People might see these stories and feel that they can relate to a particular person and what they are going through.
It’s crazy to watch that the stories are connected by either coincidence, serendipity, and luck. I think that is what Haggis was going for. All these lives begin with a nice little ride until they crash into each other throughout the day. It’s more like an emotional car wreck that no one gets away unscathed. Many of the characters feel like they are prejudiced against and resent many other groups and races. In this car crash, we see how many of them are wrong and haunted. An example is Anthony spends every minute he has on-screen complaining to Peter about someone or how their people are being mistreated. The next moment he does something to justify why people think the way they do. The Cabots are walking to their car, and she clutches her purse. He complains about how a white woman clutches her purse and then, the next second, carjacks them.
The film seems to show many of the cast in positions that they somewhat do themselves and then want to blame others. Yet, I want to talk about the racism and mistreatment of everyone. It seems like no one could get along in this film. Not one character gets along with another character. It’s sad and painful to watch because it makes it seem like we are going backward rather than forward. In the film, we have an Iranian man who people believe is Arab. He wants to buy a gun, and the shopkeeper tells him to speak English. The same man’s door is messed up in his store. He calls a Mexican-American to fix the locks. The Mexican American had already been badmouthed by Mrs. Cabot because she got carjacked and thinks everyone is bad. This is the complicated shit I’m talking about with this film. Also, a black cop is having a love affair with his BEAUTIFUL Latina partner, but he disrespects her because he never gets which country she is from. The one that is also bad is the black television director whose wife was giving him head. They are stopped by the police, and one assaults the wife. The film was truly crazy and works so well today because it still happens and cops shooting black men for no reason.
I want to say that Paul Haggis should be applauded for this film. Now back in the day, I can understand why people think it shouldn’t have won Best Picture and it shouldn’t have. Yet, as the world has changed and people are opening their eyes to what is going on, you feel like he presented a story that is the underlying feeling and thoughts of many American citizens. Haggis made sure to represent almost all races. The true melting pot of America and how really fucked up it is. Everyone is against each other based on race, color, and religion. The ending tells it all with how each person’s story ends.
With this ensemble cast, everyone has their moment to shine just a tad bit. With so many interwoven stories, it’s hard to pinpoint the best person. Here are a few. Sandra Bullock as Jean Cabot was an awful person. I actually didn’t like her as she went on her racist rant. She was extremely hostile, and when she got hurt, the only person to be there for her was her housekeeper. Honestly, your fall wasn’t even that bad. Terrence Howard as Cameron Thayer was the one that went off the deep end. The trauma of dealing with the police and his wife almost saying it’s his fault leads him to an intense confrontation with the police. Ludacris, as Anthony, was one person you wanted to punch in the face. He spoke this talk about not being respected, and black people were treated like this and that. He played right into the stereotypes. When he got confronted by Howard’s character, he said he should be ashamed of himself. Finally, there was Matt Dillon as Sergeant John Ryan. A racist cop in the LAPD. If that something new? You don’t know what he is racist, and the film tries to have a sympathetic side to him showing his father being ill. Yet, it didn’t work because of his acts in the movie.
Overall, Crash is a decent film. It shows the evil side of how people from different races affect and think of each other. It showed that in this melting pot of America, we get along but also do things that make us move away. The acting is strong, with a few performances that stand out. I would say watch this film as we are now in a different era in the United States.
