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Movies / On DVD / Crossing Over
Crossing Over

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Crossing Over (2009)

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Reviews Counted:102

Fresh:16

Rotten:86

Average Rating:4.1/10

Consensus: Crossing Over is flagrant and heavy-handed about a situation that deserves more deliberate treatment, and joins its characters with coincidences that strain believability.

Rated: 18 [See Full Rating] for pervasive language, some strong violence and sexuality/nudity.

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:31-07-2009

Synopsis: The struggle to achieve resident alien status, or gain full-blown citizenship in the United States, provides some thought-provoking material in this feature from director Wayne Kramer(THE COOLER).... The struggle to achieve resident alien status, or gain full-blown citizenship in the United States, provides some thought-provoking material in this feature from director Wayne Kramer(THE COOLER). CROSSING OVER is an ensemble piece that contains many overlapping storylines, most of which revolve around Max Brogan (Harrison Ford), a law enforcement official who specializes in arresting people who break stringent immigration laws. Joining Ford is Ray Liotta, who plays a corrupt immigration official who forces a wannabe Australian actress (Alice Eve) to sleep with him in exchange for a green card. The film also focuses on the rigorous guidelines laid down in post-9/11 America, with Kramer detailing the shocking maltreatment of a teenage girl who faces deportation after giving a misguided high school presentation on terrorism. These tales, and several others, all combine to present an intricate overview of the desperate and often overwhelmingly sad lengths people will go to so they can remain in the United States. Kramer’s film closely mirrors other harrowing ensemble pieces such as Paul Haggis’s CRASH (2004) and Richard Linklater’s FAST FOOD NATION (2006). CROSSING OVER carefully presents many different sides of this complicated issue and also examines how coincidence and good fortune can play a part in achieving resident status. Ford is perfectly cast as the downcast lead character who battles with the moral and ethical ramifications of his job, and frequently gets too close to the people he is required to prosecute. Kramer skillfully interweaves each tale and allows just enough screen time to each of his characters, with Cliff Curtis leading the excellent supporting cast by playing an Iranian-American immigration official whose life is irrevocably altered by a series of tragic personal and professional occurrences. [More]

Starring: Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd, Cliff Curtis

Starring: Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd, Cliff Curtis, Jim Sturgess, Alice Eve, Alice Braga, Justin Chon, Summer Bishil

Director: Wayne Kramer

Director: Wayne Kramer
Screenwriter: Wayne Kramer
Producer: Frank Marshall, Wayne Kramer, Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein
Composer: Mark Isham
Studio: Weinstein Company

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Reviews for Crossing Over

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41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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A completely disingenuous slice of awful storytelling, one-note performances, and manipulative melodrama that should not only not be seen, it should be boycotted.

Full Review Source: Movie Retriever | comment Comment
03/13/09
Brian Tallerico
Brian Tallerico
Movie Retriever

Parental Content Review

Full Review Source: Screen It! | comment Comment
03/13/09
Jim Judy
Jim Judy
Screen It!

A sanctimonious sack of stupid that wants to do for the subject of immigration reform what "Crash" did for the subject of racism in America and tragically does just that.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
03/12/09
Peter Sobczynski
Peter Sobczynski
eFilmCritic.com

Crossing Over gets so wrapped up in its quest for topical resonance that it forgets some of the basic rules of narrative filmmaking.

Full Review Source: Film School Rejects | comment Comment
03/12/09
Robert Levin
Robert Levin
Film School Rejects

... feels an awful lot like the multicultural Crash, complete with its crisscrossing stories, heavy ironies and even heavier moralizing.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
03/12/09
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

It's Crossing Over -- or as we call it at my desk, Crash: Special Victims Unit.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
03/12/09
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe

Like too many Crash wannabes, Crossing Over gets an A for effort and a C-plus for execution.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
03/12/09
John Hartl
John Hartl
Seattle Times

The lack of subtlety...makes Crossing Over little more than an overwrought harangue.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
03/12/09
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

The finished product looks as though it was designed to satisfy egos, not viewers.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
03/12/09
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News

A responsible message movie wrapped in an irresponsible exploitation flick that cries fire in a crowded theater.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
03/12/09
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer

The characters don't relate; they trade expedient expository nuggets, when they're not speechifying. A surfeit of coincidence spoils our empathy. And when a character%u2014any character%u2014says "You doubt the veracity of my heart," you have to doubt the

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
03/12/09
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune

Crossing Over seems to strain, with too many characters, too many story strands and too much of an effort to cover the bases.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
03/12/09
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The movie matches nicely with Ford's somnambulistic nonperformance -- they're both pokey, morose and don't really say much at all.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | comment Comment
03/10/09
Sean Burns
Sean Burns
Philadelphia Weekly

The cast does uniformly fine work, but they and the film as a whole are hampered by Kramer's overreaching, overstuffed script.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
03/08/09
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

In its stories of immigration, Crossing Over raises questions: how far are we willing to bend the rules to get what we desire? What will we risk to uphold our own values?

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
03/08/09
Renie Scolaro Mora
Renie Scolaro Mora
PopMatters

About as airless and preachy as movies come.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
03/06/09
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Cinematical

Characters are stretched thin with only the most overstuffed dialogue to express themselves. As a result, the film is airless and petrified.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
03/06/09
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

A well-intentioned but ham-handed exploration of U.S. immigration policies, this movie's message is undermined by its cardboard characters and clunky script.

Full Review Source: Beliefnet | comment Comment
03/05/09
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Beliefnet

Writer-director Wayne Kramer gets uniformly terrific performances from a fine cast playing pawns in the game of sex, violence and betrayal that diminishes the noble tradition of naturalized citizenship.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
03/04/09
Rex Reed
Rex Reed
New York Observer

In this contrived illegal-immigration drama, the stereotypical characters and structured story lines keep crossing and bumping into each other.

Full Review Source: SSG Syndicate | comment Comment
03/04/09
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
SSG Syndicate
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Crossing Over

June 08, 2009: RT on DVD: Gran Torino, Crossing Over, Nobel Son Exclusive Look
This week on DVD, celebrate the big screen heroics of two former movie heroes (Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino, Harrison Ford in Crossing Over) or watch Clive Owen and Naomi Watts... More...

March 01, 2009: Harrison Ford does a very different sort of reluctant, discombobulated thinking man's action hero this time around, a kinder, gentler immigration cop not into raids, and mocked by his colleagues as an INS girlie guy. Opens in new window
More...

February 26, 2009: Critics Consensus: Jonas Brothers Fizzles
This week at the movies, we've got teenybop pop (Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience, starring Jonas Brothers) and a video game adaptation (Street Fighter: The Legend of... More...

November 26, 2008: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
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