Crash (2004)

Director: Paul Haggis
Lion's Gate Films

Reviewed by Popcorn and the Kernels - 6/7/05

The movie begins with a literal crash on the freeway, where a police detective Graham (Don Cheadle) and his partner Ria (Jennifer Esposito) investigate the accident; then Graham looks around the scene and discovers something that may portend a crime.  We later learn each of these events, the crash and the discovery, are connected in a mosaic of relationships that initiate the previous day.

We are taken to the previous night: A couple of young black car thieves Peter (Larenz Tate) and Anthony (Ludacris), walking in posh Santa Monica, are having a rather comical conversation about white racism—just before they hijack the Lincoln Navigator of the district attorney Rick (Brendan Fraser) and his wife Jean (Sandra Bullock).  The couple changes the locks of its home.

As the locks are being changed, Jean becomes almost hysterical observing the shaved head and tattoo on the locksmith Daniel (Michael Pena).  She insists to her husband that the locks be changed again the next morning, because this Hispanic man is obviously a gang member and will have his homeboys breaking into their expensive dwelling.

It turns out Daniel is the quintessential family man with a wife and adorable daughter, who works hard to be able to afford to live in a neighborhood where windows are shot out on a regular basis.  In fact, the next day he’s working a job for an Iranian shopkeeper Farhad (Shaun Toub).  Out of the pure goodness of his heart Daniel tries to tell the shopkeeper his door needs replacing; that putting a lock on the door is pointless.

Farhad doesn’t understand him and becomes angry, feeling that Daniel doesn’t want to install the lock.  Daniel has installed the lock and wants to be paid, but Farhad keeps yelling and refusing to understand.  Frustrated, Daniel crumples up the bill and leaves, not taking payment.  Following that thread, Farhad’s store is broken into, insurance won’t cover it because of the faulty door, he’s purchased a gun—the gun-purchase scene occurs in the daylight before the district attorney’s hijacking—, his anguish takes him to Daniel’s home…

We’ll leave this thread at that.

Another thread leads from burned out cop Ryan (Matt Dillon) who stops and wantonly harasses what looks like an interracial couple.  He feels up the wife Christine (Thandie Newton), who passes for white, while her well-known director husband Cameron (Terrence Howard), is forced to stand by helplessly.  As in a dictatorship where the military is given life and death authority—or as in the American drug war.

The plot sequences stemming from that scene are illustrative of the mixed character of Officer Ryan.  They also move the story forward for his young partner Officer Hanson (Ryan Phillippe), who through a series of harrowing events discovers something about himself that isn’t as idealistic as he first appears.  But he’s more a victim of accident than anything else.

A plot of sorts does exist apart from the coincidental characterological development, but it is less important than the cycles of racial animosity—in each case, the non-PC plausibility of such racial antagonism is presented—turned toward self-discovery and redemption.  The audience is drawn into the internal conflicts of the characters, sympathizing with most of each of them, wanting to see a good resolution.

It’s a complex movie with many interwoven roles, and you have to pay attention.

Some critics, such as James Berardinelli, complain not enough time exists in the movie to let the characters breathe, much less grow.  I disagree; the efficiency with which Haggis moves the story along keeps you interested and on the edge of your seat.

Haggis spends the exact right amount of time on all the characters, particularly the Matt Dillon one.  For whites, Officer Ryan represents a challenge to how many of us feel about blacks, again giving the plausibility a non-PC bent.  I came away feeling properly chastised but understood.

My sense is every ethnic group described in the movie learned a lot about themselves and about the other races they tend to stereotype.  As several RTF reviews note, people are people.  It’s a common theme, and a movie like this cements the good will with honesty and hope.  The movie contains a healthy dose of natural humor, totally believable, just as are the characters.  I found myself noticing the music having a haunting quality at times.

Next time I see the movie, I’ll attend to the score, which is probably superior and unique.  Great flick, 4 puffs and a kernel.  Should be some Academy awards in the offing.

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