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Saw the movie Crash last night. Rotten Tomatoes rated it Certified Fresh, which is one reason why I went. All CF-rated films I've seen have been excellent. Crash is about "the complexities of racial conflict in America." A rather ambitious undertaking. And it does a superb job at addressing this aspect. Many familiar actors & actresses lend their talents. Can't remember the last time I recognized so many faces in one film. It reminded me a little of Pulp Fiction, the way it was disjointed. Many seemingly unrelated scenes are strung together, which tie together only at the end. This is not my favorite style of film. ••• continued ••• First thing to strike me was its subtlety, both visually (cinematically) and morally. The filmmakers devise scenes that effectively explore the gray areas of life. I love the gray areas. I mean, anybody can tell the difference between noon and midnight, but what about dusk? When does day surrender to night? Therein lies a challenge. [After running the beach at sunset, I like to hang around long enough to watch for the exact moment when night takes over from day. It's a subtle yet distinct moment.] But some scenes were too contrived. And absurd coincidences ensue. That ruins it for me. If a coincidence is so unbelievable that it would never happen in real life, it ruins the story for me, especially when that coincidence is required to make the story work. In this film, it happens regularly. I'm more skeptical than I used to be. But the film also illustrates how circumstances & events in people's lives, which you don't see, make them feel the way they do. So, even the situations which *appear* black-n-white, are really gray, when you look DEEPER. (In the Deep is the soundtrack's next-to-last song.) But I still enjoyed it. Not enough to give it an official RAD recommendation. But it's definitely worth seeing. It's not like any other film I can recall. The theater was half-full: surprising for a Monday night. And the soundtrack was excellent. I also enjoyed the way many actors/actresses played parts that were opposite their normal roles. For example, Sandra Bullock, who normally portrays "nice" characters, played a real b*tch .. rather convincingly, too. Trailers here. For more info, here's a Google search pre-configured for the query: crash movie film review |
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