Its hard to imagine what it would be like to live in a big city. Most people, like myself, live day to day without encountering conflict, and human emotion is limited to what we, as human beings, have surrounded ourselves with. Crash opens with the poignant idea that when we lose our sense of touch, our ideal surroundings, that we crash into each other just to feel something. Its a hard message to listen to, hard to fathom. 'Crash' knows this, and paints a Los Angeles tragedy that few are willing to touch upon. Its easy to say this is a movie about racism, which it is, but there is so much more behind the masks the characters wear, which makes it all the more powerful when the mask is removed to reveal the broken creature underneath.
One of the more memorable moments is when Officer Ryan (Matt Dillon), who previously molested the drunk wife (Thadie Newton) of a TV director (Terrance Howard) at a traffic stop, arrives on the scene of a car crash involving the same woman he previously molested. Despite his poor choice in the earlier scene, Ryan chooses to save her life at his own risk, and the woman's protests, before her car explodes. The power of choice, the good and the bad, leaves both characters emotional and confused, the final shot of the scene showing Ryan, with the smoke billowing in the background, staring away at nothing.
In my opinion, this scene expresses the very nature of the film and its message, that may be unclear to some people. Racism and stereotypes aside, this movie is about what happens not only when we, as people, collide, but when our baggage, our past, even our fears, collide together. Which makes it, in my opinion, one of the greatest films I have ever seen. Tragic, yes. But great.
The story, not without its flaws, is fabulous. The artwork on the screen is beautiful. And the actors bring the heat. A+
Love your review and the way you write. I definitely agree with what you said.
ReplyDeleteAndrew,
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your review. It's phenomenal! I think it is so well written and I completely agree with your every point (not just because I'm bias either, lol). I love this movie for so many reasons. I think this movie also serves as a great reality check for so many. When we're too busy complaining about our life's struggles movie like this one remind us there are so many others in situations worse off we've never even come close to experiencing. What right do we have to complain when we're so blessed compared to the characters in this movie? So many are afraid to watch or create a tragic movie such as this one simply because it doesn't have a happy ending...but for many people, THIS IS LIFE. Thank you for your awesome impute. I look forward to your future reviews. :)