An episodic drama with a good ensemble cast that shows there's some good in the worst of us and some bad in the best of us, with some funny racial lines that lighten the load
Crash (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:194
Fresh:146
Rotten:48
Average Rating:7.1/10
Consensus: A raw and unsettling morality piece on modern angst and urban disconnect, Crash examines the dangers of bigotry and xenophobia in the lives of interconnected Angelenos.
Theatrical Release:12-08-2005
Synopsis: A Brentwood housewife and her DA husband. A Persian store owner. Two police detectives who are also lovers. A black television director and his wife. A Mexican locksmith. Two car-jackers. A rookie... A Brentwood housewife and her DA husband. A Persian store owner. Two police detectives who are also lovers. A black television director and his wife. A Mexican locksmith. Two car-jackers. A rookie cop. A middle-aged Korean couple… They all live in Los Angeles. And in the next 36 hours, they will all collide… A provocative, unflinching look at the complexities of racial conflict in America, CRASH is that rare cinematic event - a film that challenges audiences to question their own prejudices. Diving headlong into the diverse melting pot of post-9/11 Los Angeles, this compelling urban drama tracks the volatile intersections of a multi-ethnic cast, examining fear and bigotry from multiple perspectives as characters careen in and out of one another's lives. No one is safe in the battle zones of racial strife. And no one is immune to the simmering rage that sparks violence - and changes lives... Funny, powerful, and always unpredictable, CRASH boldly explores the gray area between black and white, victim and aggressor…and finds no easy solutions. The dynamic feature directing debut of Emmy Award-winning writer/producer Paul Haggis, CRASH stars Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe and Larenz Tate, from a story by Paul Haggis and a screenplay by Haggis and Bobby Moresco. CRASH is produced by Cathy Schulman, Don Cheadle, Bob Yari, Mark R. Harris, Bobby Moresco and Paul Haggis. [More]
Starring: Thandie Newton, Matt Dillon, Don Cheadle, Michael Pena
Starring: Thandie Newton, Matt Dillon, Don Cheadle, Michael Pena, Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Esposito, Brendan Fraser, Larenz Tate, Ludacris, Ryan Phillippe, Terrence DaShon Howard, Shaun Toub
Director: Paul Haggis
Director: Paul Haggis
Screenwriter: Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco
Producer: Cathy Schulman, Don Cheadle, Bob Yari
Composer: Mark Isham
Studio: Lions Gate Films
Reviews for Crash
A preposterous view of American life that bleakly covers the surface of the social problems it tried to paint with such broad brush strokes.
It’s rare to find anything in the theater this deeply affecting. It may even prompt you to hug the guy sitting next to you.
"Crash" is improbable, unpredictable, unsettling - depressing but with a detour.
Crash is always entertaining and provocative, never depressing. It doesn’t beat you over the head with a message, but rather lets you draw your own conclusions.
It’s the most compelling American movie to come around in a long, long time.
Haggis weaves various threads together in a remarkably cohesive narrative ... but his characters seem incapable of talking about anything but prejudice.
Every once in a while you need a movie like this to come crashing down on you.
All the actors strive mightily not to get mired in the jackhammer moralizing, but it's mostly a losing cause.
It relies too much on coincidences and shock value over thematic depth, but at least it dares to be about something heavy.
Haggis's drama is about much more than interlocking front-end collisions. It's about the way we learn, often badly, about one another and how it may take a bad confrontation to peel away the misperceptions.
This is the rare American film really about something, and almost all the performances are riveting. It asks tough questions, and lets its audience struggle with the answers.
Rather than feel reductively schematic, the film overall seems vividly complex and provocative in the true sense of the word — it challenges viewers to reflect and discuss, rather than surrender to knee-jerk reactions.
The best parts of Crash are as good as they are because they confront us with behaviour we might be capable of under the same circumstances. And we're not bad people. Are we?
And so Crash raises the question: If racism is so pervasive in our society, why do we need such an elaborately contrived plot to drive home the message? In other words: How many racists does it take to screw in the point?
Crash, Paul Haggis' flawed but riveting tale of racism in contemporary Los Angeles, has moments so powerful they're instantly seared into your memory; you'll watch without blinking, barely breathing.
A mesmerizing urban drama that gets under the skin of racial intolerance more forcefully than any film since Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing
occasionally too willing to rely on convenience... (but) full of provocative ideas, shocking moments and wholly believable performances...
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