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“Crash” is a complex film that both condemns and validates racial stereotypes; it’s a treatise, if you will, on the consequences of prejudice. In many respects, the film is also a candid and thought-provoking observation of racial intolerance and the impact it has on those afflicted by it and those who practice it.
That said, it’s still just an observation: a fly-on-the-wall look at a significant and pervasive issue. There are few actual characters, i.e. real people to be found; most are caricatures of racial archetypes that are flesh and blood only enough to articulate the prejudiced role they represent. It’s the difference between just seeing something rather than experiencing/feeling/caring about it.
This shortcoming is a disappointment not only because of what the film could have been, but also because it was written, produced and directed by Paul Haggis, who created such tremendous emotional gusto in his script for the Oscar-winning “Million Dollar Baby.” Here he never finds the proper balance with which to juggle his (roughly) 15 characters, thereby preventing the narrative from gaining any real momentum.
The different races and racisms depicted in each of the interwoven (but not intertwined) vignettes are matched only by the star power that fills each role. Sandra Bullock’s Jean is a socialite whose latent racism is masked by the social stigma that demands her to not think that way (Bullock has a great speech in which she gets to demonstrate her little-seen actual acting talent), and Brendan Fraser is her husband, a District Attorney who has an image to uphold after they are held up by two young black men (Ludacris and Larenz Tate). Scared, they immediately change the locks to their home, which introduces Daniel (Michael Pena), a Hispanic locksmith whom Jean immediately fears is going to give the keys to one of his “amigos” to break into their home.
Setting the film in Los Angeles, which has become the de facto hotbed for racial problems, allows Haggis to use the much-maligned L.A.P.D. as a sounding board. Notable here is Matt Dillon’s jaded Officer Ryan, who sexually molests a white woman (Thandie Newton) when he realizes she was performing fallacio on her African-American husband (Terrence Howard) while he was driving, and Officer Hanson (Ryan Phillippe), the virtuous rookie who is discomfited by Ryan’s ways. Don Cheadle and Jennifer Esposito also star as detectives.
The ample social commentary also includes a Persian storeowner (who’s constantly mistaken for an Arab) who resorts to violence when wronged by the American insurance system, and Officer Ryan’s father not being able to get the medical help he needs due to a lack of coverage. “Crash” is admirable in its desire and ability to depict the bigotries that plague our society, and the short-sightedness that disallows any sort of swift resolution. What it says carries a very powerful message that will undoubtedly hit home for many, particularly in a community as racially diverse as South Florida.
How it says it, unfortunately, isn’t as effective. Other opuses set in Los Angeles (“Short Cuts,” “Magnolia”) run at least three hours in length and embrace their self-indulgence to an uncanny degree. While three hours of various forms of bigotry and other injustices admittedly would have been a lot to handle, the subject matter warrants a thorough exploration of the topic with a full set of well-developed characters. As is, only Cheadle’s guilt-ridden detective and Pena’s family-oriented locksmith emit the genuine emotion needed to make the movie great.
Undoubtedly, it took courage for Haggis to make this movie, for the stars to appear in it, and for Lions Gate to distribute it. Why that courage ran out after 100 minutes when another hour could have made the film a true masterpiece makes as much sense as why racism continues to exist and passive-aggressively mutate into more useless hatred.
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