by Drew Dallet
June 15, 2005

My wife and I had just finished seeing Crash and I decided to stop and use the restroom on the way out. While standing at the hand dryer next to me was a young african-amrerican man, maybe in his late 20's. Normally I don't engage in conversation with strangers in a public bathroom, regardless of race or color, but this time was different. I said to the guy, "Did you just see Crash?" He said, "Yeah! Really makes ya think huh?" I said, "No kidding! Talk about a powerful film. Everyone needs to see this one." He agreed, nodding his head, when an older man, maybe late 50-early 60's chimed in from the sink area, "Too Stressful!". The young man and I look at each other and shake our heads and at the same time say, "This is REAL, real life!" In a way, that summed up what the movie was all about. People looking at different people, hopefully in a better light.

Crash is a story of race and gender, spanning a two-day period and intertwines the lives of a dozen people. Graham (Don Cheadle) is a police detective whose brother is a street criminal, and it hurts him to know his mother cares more about car stealing brother Peter than him. Graham's partner is Ria (Jennifer Esposito), who is also his girlfriend, though she has begun to become irritated at his emotional distance, as well as his occasional insensitivity over the fact he's African-American and she's Hispanic. Rick (Brendan Fraser) is an L.A. district attorney whose wife, Jean (Sandra Bullock), makes little secret of her fear and hatred of people unlike herself. Jean's worst imaginings about people of color are confirmed when her SUV is carjacked by two African-American men -- Anthony (Ludacris), who dislikes white people as much as Jean hates blacks, and Peter (Larenz Tate), who is more open minded. Cameron (Terrence Howard) is a well-to-do African-American television producer with a beautiful wife, Christine (Thandie Newton). While coming home from a party, Cameron and Christine are pulled over by Officer Ryan (Matt Dillon), who subjects them to a humiliating interrogation (and her to an inappropriate search) while his new partner, Officer Hansen (Ryan Phillippe), looks on. Daniel (Michael Pena) is a hard-working locksmith and dedicated father who discovers that his looks don't lead many of his customers to trust him. And Farhad (Shaun Toub) is a Middle Eastern shopkeeper who is so constantly threatened in the wake of the 9/11 attacks that he decided he needs a gun to defend his family.

This film is a must see. Not just because of its writing and cinematography, but for the message it conveys. Crash will stay with you for hours, days, weeks, and hopefully years.

Crash was the first directorial project for award-winning television and film writer Haggis (Producer/Screenwriter of Million Dollar Baby).

Rating: 5 out of 5