CRASH (2005) - *Repost*

***SPOILER WARNING*** There you’ve been warned! SHORT REVIEW: A film so interested in being important that it forgets to be interesting. This meandering film doesn’t tell the stories of a gaggle of miserable Los Angeles residents as they cope with the fact that people are awful to one another. Supposedly a treatise on racism in America, this film pretends to be important while playing out staged scenes of abuse and hatred. This is the kind of film many critics will drool over since it is a safe movie that appears to be risky. Critics can pump up the film while patting themselves on the back. This is a well done film in some respects but is not nearly worth the hype. The film is a loose knot of characters making it through their lives. As their lives intersect, we’re supposed to watch in awe at the action/reaction of life and the deep symbolism it provides. Director Paul Haggis produces a series of scenes that are without depth or consequence. We are led through one forced situation to the next. Characters make irrational choices and/or make odd statements throughout the piece so Haggis can shoehorn his tension into place. An example of this is the final scene for Ryan Phillippe’s character. His character picks up a wandering man who is hitchhiking. Who picks up hitchhikers in the middle of the night? There is your irrational choice. The two get into a stilted conversation, since they don’t know each other. Literally within seconds the conversation swings wildly into a shouting match ending with the hitchhiker being shot dead. The whole scene lasts but a couple of minutes and couldn’t be more posed. The biggest problem with this film is that none of the scenes are organic. Each scene in this film is shoved in a very specific direction to lead to the act breaks. It is easy to set up tension, it is hard to make it mean anything. This film doesn’t have a message, it has the illusion of one. The closest thing one can take from this is “Hey, we’re all self hating racists and if you try to do the right thing you’ll get punished.” I’m not even certain that really makes the grade. When you’re done with this film you have nothing new added. That makes this film a literal waste of time. I know the other critics are wetting themselves with joy of this supposed important film. I'll call it as I see it and split from the others. This film wants to be Magnolia with a racism facade. It can’t because it’s just not that good, The Oscars be damned. The only thing I can see to recommend this film is the cast. Some of my favorite actors are here: Don Cheadle, Brendan Fraser, Terrance Howard, Keith David, William Fichtner and Loretta Devine. It pains me to see this talent wasted on this politcal tripe. Too bad. RELATED REVIEWS: Other films involving racism Something The Lord Made (2004) The Human Stain (2003)