Crash (2005)

Holy balls, what a piece of garbage. And there's an 85% chance you think this movie is great. In fact, I think it's #70 on the IMDb top 250. This makes me really question what the hell is wrong with people. Actually, let me postulate as to the reason American movie-goers are dumb before I tear this movie apart.

OK, you can read about why I think people are dumb by clicking here. Now, let's continue.

Crash technically qualifies as a film in the way that it attempts to tell a story, it was shot on film, and you saw it in a movie theater. That's about it, though. More than that it is an insult to any competent movie-goer. It is two hours of blatant, poorly scripted, and utterly unconvincing plot execution. To be fair, because I like to think I am, the concept is great. The editing is good and one or two actors do an OK job. But reflecting on what I just watched I couldn't help to feel disappointed in the filmmaker's squandered opportunity to make a quality film and political statement about social conditions. If you liked this you probably thought that's what you were seeing, and it was. But it was a really, really final product.

The acting is terrible. There's not one character that is convincing in their portrayal as a racist Los Angelino. Most look so uncomfortable with their dialogue and in their delivery that the picture loses almost all credibility right off the bat. Further into the movie it becomes very apparent that each of these characters are also shallow with no sense of direction or meaning. The only two that really showed flickers of a dramatic soul were the two police officers, as played by Matt Dillon and Ryan Philippe. But both these guys just serve as microcosms for the film as a whole; failed attempts at something brilliant.

Bad characters are one thing, but the ridiculous, super predictable manner in which each of their prejudices unfold break a narrative film altogether. There's not one instance of shock when a supposed plot twist occurs. Most are laugh out loud bad, and all are so contrived and forced that it is insulting to human intelligence. The entire thing is just so tasteless. And anyone old enough to see this movie should be old enough to not have his or her hand held throughout the whole film and be told what to feel and when.

Overall respect the film for its intentions. Perhaps in the hands of a more competent director, a person that can write a screenplay and develop good characters, and a more appropriately casted group of actors this could have earned the score most people bestow upon it.

Grade = D