This review is longer than usual, just to warn you. Crash (2004) – There are a lot of films about social issues that are really good. Perhaps the best I’ve seen is Traffic, which has interwoven stories all having to do with the drug trade and how it can affect people’s lives, relationships, and morals. It’s great to watch and think about how all the characters change, for better or for worse. Crash deals with a social issue – racism, of course – and tells interwoven stories dealing with how people can be both perpetrators and victims of racism. And… that’s about it. After I finished watching it, which was a long while ago, I thought a little to myself. This won Best Picture, for Pete’s sake, it has to be good. And yet I left the film with a feeling that the film had missed something. I was convinced that all people have some racial conflict going on inside; Paul Haggis, the writer/director, makes sure of that. But what about the characters, and their struggles, and their relationships, and their growth? Was there any? Did I look away at those parts? There were a few touching scenes about family, but those were left to dry in my mind. In the end, all I knew was that… all the characters are racist. I could go on about plot details, like we usually do. About the two black men stealing a white couple’s car, a Hispanic man and his daughter moving from a bad neighbor hood, a Persian being confused for an Arab, a black detective investigating a crime that could lead to racial conflict. However, I think our focus should always be to the characters. But the dialogue doesn’t help much with that. For instance, one minute, the district attorney’s wife (Sandra Bullock) complains about having a Hispanic locksmith, who she thinks probably belongs to a gang, and then, five minutes later, lo and behold! Her husband (Brendan Fraser) confuses an Iraqi for an African American. Every character just has to talk about racism, because that’s who they are. The thing is, isn’t racism subliminal? It’s not clear whether someone’s actions are racist; there’s always a debate. The Trayvon Martin case was a prime example. In the end, Crash doesn’t take that to account, and it’s just the idea “Racism is bad” being spewed at us over and over. I didn’t hate it, but I felt it lacked something.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 02:56:59 +0000