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Friday, 08 July 2005 |
  After watching Crash, a particular scene from the classic 1974 comedy The Longest Yard, starring Burt Reynolds kept coming to mind. In this scene Paul Crewe (Reynolds) the quarterback on a prison football team playing a game against the prison guards instructs his line to let opposing player Bogdanski (Ray Nitschke) through unchallenged. Crewe then zings the football into a particularly delicate part of Bogdanski's anatomy and the entire team piles onto him. Back in the huddle, Crewe says "It worked once, it'll work again" and they do it all over, causing Bogdanski to be taken off the field on a stretcher. It's a hilarious scene, but in the case of Crash, it just illustrates how nothing succeeds like excess. Crash is every bit as subtle as that scene from The Longest Yard. Unfortunately, I can't help but believe it would be more effective if it held back just the slightest bit.
The primary objective of Crash seems to be driving home the belief that absolutely everyone is racist. Not just racist, but vein popping, screaming, saliva spewing, hateful, all consuming racist. The problem then becomes, if everyone is so profoundly racist, what exactly is racism? Is there no distinction between different situations, when the people involved do not have the same color skin? Is there no distinction between judging a person because they are of a different race and judging someone who simply is a different race? Before political correctness takes control here, it is important to realize that we (every one of us) judge people every day, no matter how much we would like to tell ourselves we don't or that it is wrong. It is a necessary aspect of life. We must distinguish between those we can trust and those we can't in order to survive. The cold hard truth is, not everyone has the best interest of others in mind.
In the opening scene of Crash, two young black men are walking down the street when they cross paths with a white couple. The white woman suddenly becomes uncomfortable and one of the black men then goes into a dissertation to his friend about how racist she, the Los Angeles Police and the rest of society are. They then pull out guns and carjack the couple. The only real point to Crash may be the type of paradox depicted in this scene. The young man condemns the woman for being afraid of him for no other reason than because he is black, which he states, clearly makes her racist. He then commits a violent crime against her, thus giving credence to her judgment of him. Who is the real racist here? Is it both of them? Neither of them?
This one scene could build the foundation of a promising, intriguing story, if it weren't simply repeated over and over and over again, each time taking it a bit further and becoming more impressed with itself. In the end, Crash becomes nothing more than an encyclopedia of racist and possibly racist actions, taking increasingly greater liberty with the audience with each occurrence. Missing is what is ultimately the greater impact of racism. The long term effects it can have in real situations. As I watched Crash, I couldn't resist thinking I'd much rather be watching some of the movies which have dealt with the topic on a considerably more profound level. Films such as Monster's Ball and the particularly outstanding American History X have dealt with this volatile subject in an infinitely more powerful way. They do not, however, pull out a sledgehammer and bash the audience between the eyes. Something Crash does quite aggressively. They do, however, have a profound effect on the viewer, something Crash fails to do. After watching both Monster's Ball and American History X for the first time, I was physically drained. Crash left me mostly unaffected, other than a simmering resentment at being subject to 2 hours of severe manipulation.
So, why is Crash one of the most highly rated films to come out this year? There are probably several reasons. First, critics just love this politically correct stuff, and they particularly like films about racism, regardless of what they are. Second, extreme is in. A film will almost always be more successful if it bashes the audience between the eyes than if it actually makes them observe and think. Third, the acting is truly wonderful, if sometimes a bit excessive, from this ensemble cast of big names. The acting is the only saving grace, however. Why am I not mentioning any of these big names? Simply because, to me, they are just another aspect of the manipulation of the entire film. Yes, they universally do a wonderful job, but seeing the latest film by "Insert Hollywood Celebrity Name here" is not the reason to see Crash.
Bad movies come in many forms. Most often, they are just poorly written, acted and/or directed. Crash is technically well made, but in many ways falls into the worst type of bad movie since it is so consumed by its own superiority and manipulation that, in the end, it is like a hefty serving of airline vegetables. Having substance and seeming to have nutritional value, but having nothing but mass. At the end of the movie, several characters who have spent the entire time spewing rage at each other suddenly come together to show how much they care for each other. It wasn't profound when it happened on The Honeymooners back in the 50s, and it isn't profound here. Unlike the films mentioned earlier, there is no genuine affection between any of the characters or the slightest chance of catharsis for anyone. The only redeeming factor is that racism and general intolerance are not portrayed as going in only one direction, but other films, such as the incredible Far from Heaven have exhibited this with infinitely more style and tact.
It's no surprise Crash was written and directed by Paul Haggis, who also wrote the masterfully made but equally absurd 2004 Academy Award Best Picture winner Million Dollar Baby. It is clear that despite my personal aversion to both these movies, Haggis has hit on an extremely successful formula, since Crash is a front runner for another Best Picture Oscar. Of course, Gladiator is also a Best Picture winner. Enough said.
Starring: Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, Thandie Newton, Sandra Bullock, Brendan Fraser, Chris Bridges, Ryan Phillippe, Terrance Howard, Larenz Tate, Keith David, William Fichtner, Marina Sirtis
Director: Paul Haggis
Studio: Lions Gate Films
Rated: R
Running Time: 122 mins
Release: 2005
Reviewer: John Rice |
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