More than being a risky venture in terms of box office results for Hollywood producers, perhaps the subject of racism in films isn't very common because it is so difficult to depict in an objective way. Even some of the best features that have seemingly flawlessly executed an anti-racist stance often fail to look at every angle of the problem, either because it clouds the over-riding message or because the filmmaker does not feel comfortable depicting a contrary thread which they cannot relate to as easily, much less represent in an accurate fashion. The new motion picture Crash is a brave stab at the complicated subject of racism, particularly when one considers that all of the characters, to one extent or another, exhibit racist tendencies themselves towards any number of minority or majority groups. It begs the daunting, unshakable question, Can anyone truly claim to be otherwise? And worse, with the world in the dubious shape that it's in right now, can some kinds of prejudicial thinking actually be beneficial under certain conditions? Our kneejerk reaction is to say no, but the film pushes the debate a step further.
Crash doesn't dare answer any of the myriad questions it raises, but that it dares to ask them in the fair place is certainly to be commended. We are introduced to an ensemble of people who live in downtown Los Angeles. There's Graham Waters (Don Cheadle), a police detective investigating a high-profile case but is sleeping with his female partner (Jennifer Esposito) on the side. Elsewhere in the police department, rookie Officer Hanson (Ryan Philippe) has been paired with a chauvinistic veteran Jack Ryan (Matt Dillon), a cop whose racism gleans a shinier badge than anything the LAPD could have issued for his uniform. When the patrolling officers arbitrarily pull over a young African-American couple (Thandie Newton and Terrence Dashon Howard, in my two favourite performances), Ryan violates the wife in plain view, assuming himself to be above reproach or the law. In another storyline, two African-American youths (Chris "Ludicris" Bridges and Larenz Tate) rob the car belonging to the district attorney (Brenda Fraser), and his wife (Sandra Bullock). As a result, they engage a locksmith of Mexican descent to bolt their front door (Michael Pena). The tattooed locksmith becomes mistrusted by many, including an Iranian small business owner (Shaun Toub), but it turns out he is not the "gangbanger" he is accused of being and is actually a loving husband and father from the suburbs trying to make ends meet. Slowly, the stories begin to overlap and converge, and the results challenge the fundamental assumptions and beliefs of the characters, as well as the audience.
Strange how so many people in real life spout the expression "things happen for a reason", but when unique coincidences happen to people in the movies, we cry foul and pan the device. Crash's effectiveness really does hinge on a suspension of disbelief in terms of how often the storylines of the characters intersect. However, if you buy into it, then the movie, including its sharp dialogue, gripping situations, and combustible subject matter, works very well. And because writer/director Paul Haggis establishes the identities of the characters so clearly at the onset, when the criss-crossing of story arcs does occur, the result is heightened drama because we are so familiar with the people in this small universe he has created. If Haggis had opted to write new characters into the screenplay in midstream, the result would have been a lot of scenes that aren't nearly as electrically charged as we observe.
Of note is a specific scene about midway through the film that really stuck with me, where the lives of two characters are at stake, and they must trust each other in the midst of a nearly impossible situation. It's shot with such confidence and precision that it sinks in and resonates. That scene is matched a bit later by another intense scene, and yet another, until the bittersweet conclusion, which shows each of the characters in a montage similar to the interlude-like one in Magnolia.
It is in these moments that Crash rings the most true. In other parts, when the characters discuss race and prejudice issues among themselves in almost a platonic dialect, the results are a little more mixed. Although Haggis benefits immensely from a seasoned cast, sometimes the blunt debates seem too forced to be effective. Nevertheless, the film takes risks at almost every turn, and what we get is an intelligent, literate, and often affecting exercise in exploring a volatile topic that we take for granted so frequently that it rarely gets the heated, or at least passionate, debate it deserves. Here's a film that's been a long time coming.
