As odd and uncomfortable as I felt in the late 90's when I saw David Cronenberg's 'Crash' - about alternative sex acts carried out in car wrecks, 2005's guilt-o-rama 'Crash' made me do just that.
<img src="http://www.joeylora.com/images/Oct%2020%201999%20%20Joey%20fell%20asleep%20while%20playing.jpg">
What a wreck. Glad my copious renting on Netflix will even this selection out... I'd feel pretty hosed if I went to a theater or video store and I got separated with my $$$ for this.
Not even Matt Dillon and Don Cheadle could break free of the ultra - pc / programmed guilt I was supposed to feel for how all of us humans are racists.
Spike Lee did it w/ finesse, humor, and urgency in 'Do the Right Thing' (w/ Public Enemy as the soundtrack I might add).
Crash does it with each group's racial group equally hating and misunderstanding any divergence away from what is familiar to said racial group with a complete and utter lack of subtlety, tact, humor, and to a new-agey (i.e. here come the strings, you're supposed to feel guilty now) soundtrack.
It has Robert Altman ('Short Cuts' / "Nashville' / P.T. Anderson ('Boogie Nights' / 'Magnolia') aspirations in its convergence of story lines, and the attempt of the "ensemble" cast, but good actors cant always save a film.
It actually reminded me of 'Grand Canyon' (Kevin Cline / Mary Stuart Masterson...) which was released after the Rodney King beating. I think that film was also geared to pull the heart strings of the predominantly yuppie audience, featuring predictable scenarios like a white guy driving his minivan, after a Lakers game, into the "South Centralish" area of town...Very afterschool special-like.
I can habdle disturbing, difficult, and gritty subject matter about things that go wrong and need to be changed in American society, but 'Crash' did none of this without feeling like a foul-mouthed 'after school special', or some type of mandatory sensitivity training you'd have to take at school or work.
If you want a good disturbing film that shows off Cheadle's talents, go with 'Hotel Rwanda'. Leave 'Crash' be unless you can't sleep and no one can hook you up w/ Ambien.
As odd and uncomfortable as I felt in the late 90's when I saw David Cronenberg's 'Crash' - about alternative sex acts carried out in car wrecks,I now relish that film experience when compared to 2005's guilt-o-rama 'Crash' (which made me do just that).
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No group is spared, everyone gets it (except for Jews maybe), unlike "Do the Right Thing" inwhich blacks are treated overtly fairly (the reason Spike fails with that movie). The stereotypes are as much a part of the story as the characters, so it never comes from one person and never feels preachy.
Best cinematography this year, with subtle camera moves and especially great moments when people touch each other.
Break out role for Sandra Bullock (might get an Oscar nod for her 20 lines), and Ludacris starts what will undoubtably be a long career.
Still in my top 3 of the year.
A hysterical Sandra Bullock calls a hispanic locksmith a gang member and gives the performance of a lifetime because "its so real and true to our society" Im sorry, guys, but this one is straight up bullshit.
Also, Ludacris will need many more film roles before a viewer will be able to judge whether he will have a succesful career...
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I've already drunken the Kool-Aid on this one, so, I don't need a movie to point out that I am biggoted. It's now on the Netflix queue, anyway.
everyone has stereotypes and predjudices and bigotries that we need to recognize and overcome.
My irritation is the film's myopia that all people are predjudiced and that very little to no good deeds are done by folks...
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I should hold off on commenting until I've seen it, some of the poor reviews I've seen have mentioned the unbelievability of the characters.
And again, if its a gritty, grim film, that's fine. I certainly don't need a film to be a hallmark card or an easy "escape"/entertainment device or vehicle.
What I object to is the choice of presenting all of this bad stuff in an unrelenting fashion in order to elicit a very specific feeling / response of guilt. How do these filmmakers know that their viewers are guilty? They don't, and I dont appreciate not being allowed to feel my own feelings when Im at a film.
I'd much rather watch something that is more open to interpretation as opposed to something thats as subtle as a ten ton bag of hammers being dropped off a building.
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Again, I haven't seen the movie, I too may be turned off by it's heavy-handedness. I'm interested in seeing if I feel like it's me the viewer on trial, which is how it seems you took it. Frankly, I recognise my bigotry and don't feel guilty about it. It's part of the human condition; we can only strive to not allow it to effect our actions, not remove it from our psyche.
Should Speilberg have included some nice Nazis in "Schindler's List"? (Haven't seen that pic. either)... This seems like an artistic call that in retrospect might not be very effective.
I thought the opposite. The most prejudice "villain" of the movie (Matt Dillon) ends up doing the best deed, while Ryan Phillipe who we thought was doing a good deed.... can't ruin it for others. Sandra Bullock is bigotted towards the Hispanic locksmith she doesn't know, but then says "You're the only one I trust" to her Hispanic house cleaner. Fairly complex problems here.
Heavy handed, yes, but distinctly not as rladew describes.
.. a lot of people criticized Spielberg for the uplifting ideals inserted into the end of the film.... "with this watch I could have saved 3 more people etc. etc etc."
As far as artistic calls, thats fine too. But If this is the way (i.e. woefully unsubtle "socially conscious" messages) Paul Haggis continues to direct his films, I'll just avoid his pics as director. I thouroughly enjoyed 'Million Dollar Baby' - Haggis absolutely is a talented film writer.
Here's to hoping 'Crash' was one technique Haggis has used, but will rely on an arsenal of other techniques for future projects...
BTW, as with 'the corporation' criticism we talked about a few weeks ago, the Glob's <a href="http://www.boston.com/movies/display?display=movie&id=7408">Ty Burr</a> has a much more eloquent way of saying what I'm trying to say here...
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I guess I liked the movie mostly for the acting- wasn't looking for any sort of message to come out of it because nine times out of ten, art dealing with Big Issues tends to be ham-fisted. Maybe that's why I wasn't at all disappointed.
I'm still at a loss as to how "Ordinary People" could have beat out "Raging Bull" in 1980.
My attention waned in the latter half, so I may owe seeing the ending a second chance.
Oscar nods have met with my disapproval (I know: who gives a flying fuck) before:
-<i>Monster's Ball</i>
-<i>Erin Brokovich</i>
-<i>Jerry Maguire</i>
Are a few in recent years I remember not being as worthy of the praise they received.
Halle Berry's histrionics and ultra believable sex with Billy Bob? <strong>Caucasian, Please</strong>.
Stephen Soderbergh, Albert Finney and Aaron Eckhardt are all fantastic, but they couldn't save Erin B.
Jerry Maguire: Did you know that human bullshit weighs more than 10 pounds? Shame on you Cameron Crowe!
Just meant that, despite the talented writers and actors involved, I am suprised that the particular product known as <i>Crash</i> is still gathering steam.
Here's the <a href="http://www.oscars.org/78academyawards/noms.html">List</a> if you are a list person.
What's the longest time lag from theatrical release to clip showing on the Tonight Show, and did Dillon and Leno just break it with 10 1/2 months?
The movie dealt with power, or lack thereof. It happened to use racial stereotypes to elucidate these power struggles. Every character that was acting in anger was acting due to a powerlessness in their lives.
In some ways, the movie was more about class than race. Sandra Bullock's character could have been any upper-middle class wife, she did not need be white. Her racist comments sets her up for us to dislike her at the beginning, but the revelation about the central angst in her life has nothing to do with her racial stereotype nor anyone elses.
Dillon's character is powerless to help his father. He does have power --and wields it maliciously-- when in uniform. Again, the couple he pulls over does not have to be black.
I guess I was "supposed" to be the most reviled by the Dillon character, but I found myself turned off more by the Brendan Frasier character, as well as the rookie cop. OK, maybe the rookie cop was sympathetic, but so was the Dillon cop in some ways.
Vilest character: The human smuggler.
While I enjoyed Cheadle's performance, I didn't feel like it was an Oscar-winner. Walking around with a furrowed brow isn't _that_ difficult. "Fuck you very much" is a great line. That interchange with the DA's political advisor might have been the best scene in the movie. THe DA's political advisor might have been the most honest character in the movie.
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One thing I didn't need to see this movie to understand: If you're not a racist, you're not human.
In fact, I'm thinking _that_ might be the take-away from this film: racist stereotypes should not be guilt producing.
Who is the character that does _the_worst_ thing in the film? The rookie cop, the supposedly PC-est of the entire ensemble. Is he guilty of being racist? Or of being dishonest --to himself-- of his racist thoughts?
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OK, the jewelry store owner's daughter is really the only clear angel in this ensemble... this sort of throws my theory a bit.
The locksmith might also be a character "in the clear", but I don't think giving your child an invisible cloak of impenetrability is really good parenting. Check in with me in 10 years and I'll give you an update on that thought...
um - I think at this point to give a fair rebuttal I need to re watch so I can have the ending fresh in my mind as my attention waned in the second half.
Aside from my distracted-from-parenting style of movie watching, <i>Crash</i> at this point seems to be embedded enough in popular culture that a second viewing would be appropriate anyhow.
Ill get back to you on this.
Can I ask a fantastically stupid question?
What is 'Lorbering'?
Then again, my reaction was probably tempered by the discussion I was privy to before seeing the film. I may have been going into it trying desperately to find another angle other than the "we're all racists" message. Secondly, Paul Haggis's comments on the DVD are such that it's clear he is hoping that the "message" of the film is ambiguous. So, maybe I'm trying to find a plausible different "message" from the ones already espoused above.
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File my previous comments under "meta".
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<a href="/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?Lorbering">Lorbering</a>