Crash

Can I borrow this?

Movie studios, by and large, avoid controversial subjects like race the way you might avoid a hive of angry bees. So it's remarkable that Crash even got made; that it's a rich, intelligent, and moving exploration of the interlocking lives of a dozen Los Angeles residents--black, white, latino, Asian, and Persian--is downright amazing. A politically nervous district attorney (Brendan Fraser) and his high-strung wife (Sandra Bullock, biting into a welcome change of pace from Miss Congeniality ) get car-jacked by an oddly sociological pair of young black men (Larenz Tate and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges); a rich black T.V. director (Terrence Howard) and his wife (Thandie Newton) get pulled over by a white racist cop (Matt Dillon) and his reluctant partner (Ryan Phillipe); a detective (Don Cheadle) and his Latina partner and lover (Jennifer Esposito) investigate a white cop who shot a black cop--these are only three of the interlocking stories that reach up and down class lines. Writer/director Paul Haggis (who wrote the screenplay for Million Dollar Baby ) spins every character in unpredictable directions, refusing to let anyone sink into a stereotype. The cast--ranging from the famous names above to lesser-known but just as capable actors like Michael Pena ( Buffalo Soldiers ) and Loretta Devine ( Woman Thou Art Loosed )--meets the strong script head-on, delivering galvanizing performances in short vignettes, brief glimpses that build with gut-wrenching force. This sort of multi-character mosaic is hard to pull off; Crash rivals such classics as Nashville and Short Cuts . A knockout. --Bret Fetzer pardpardeftab720sa240qlqnatural f2b cf0 Stills from f3i Crash f2i0 (click for larger image) f0b0 itap1trowd taflags0 trgaph108trleft-108 trwWidth15380trftsWidth3 trbrdrtbrdrnil trbrdrlbrdrnil trbrdrrbrdrnil tapadt160 tapadb160 clvertalt clshdrawnil clwWidth7400clftsWidth3 clmarl40 clmarr40 clbrdrtbrdrnil clbrdrlbrdrnil clbrdrbbrdrnil clbrdrrbrdrnil clpadl160 clpadr160 gaphcellx4320 clvertalt clshdrawnil clwWidth7420clftsWidth3 clmarl40 clmarr40 clbrdrtbrdrnil clbrdrlbrdrnil clbrdrbbrdrnil clbrdrrbrdrnil clpadl160 clpadr160 gaphcellx8640 pardintblitap1pardeftab720qc cf0 cell pardintblitap1pardeftab720qc cf0 cell row itap1trowd taflags0 trgaph108trleft-108 trwWidth15380trftsWidth3 trbrdrlbrdrnil trbrdrrbrdrnil tapadt160 tapadb160 clvertalt clshdrawnil clwWidth7400clftsWidth3 clmarl40 clmarr40 clbrdrtbrdrnil clbrdrlbrdrnil clbrdrbbrdrnil clbrdrrbrdrnil clpadl160 clpadr160 gaphcellx4320 clvertalt clshdrawnil clwWidth7420clftsWidth3 clmarl40 clmarr40 clbrdrtbrdrnil clbrdrlbrdrnil clbrdrbbrdrnil clbrdrrbrdrnil clpadl160 clpadr160 gaphcellx8640 pardintblitap1pardeftab720qc cf0 cell pardintblitap1pardeftab720qc cf0 cell row itap1trowd taflags0 trgaph108trleft-108 trwWidth15380trftsWidth3 trbrdrlbrdrnil trbrdrtbrdrnil trbrdrrbrdrnil tapadt160 tapadb160 clvertalt clshdrawnil clwWidth7400clftsWidth3 clmarl40 clmarr40 clbrdrtbrdrnil clbrdrlbrdrnil clbrdrbbrdrnil clbrdrrbrdrnil clpadl160 clpadr160 gaphcellx4320 clvertalt clshdrawnil clwWidth7420clftsWidth3 clmarl40 clmarr40 clbrdrtbrdrnil clbrdrlbrdrnil clbrdrbbrdrnil clbrdrrbrdrnil clpadl160 clpadr160 gaphcellx8640 pardintblitap1pardeftab720qc cf0 cell pardintblitap1pardeftab720qc cf0 cell lastrowrow pardpardeftab720sa240qlqnatural cf0