Crash (2005)

Widescreen Edition DVD

Paul Haggis (writer / director; who also wrote Million Dollar Baby) assembles and brilliantly directs an outstanding ensemble cast in this insightful and intellectual drama. Cheadle executive produces and headlines this film that, despite a shoestring budget ($7.5 million), earned a huge $53 million at the box office.

Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Esposito, Thandie Newton, Terrence Howard, Ryan Phillippe, Matt Dillon, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Brendan Fraser, Michael Pena and Shaun Toub collide in in a round-robin of short interactions throughout 24 hours in Los Angeles.

Haggis and co-writer Robert Moresco explore race and other stereotypes in a dramatic dance that weaves through intersections in the lives of the characters. While LA detective, Cheadle, and his partner, Esposito, investigate the shooting of a black cop by a white cop, Cheadle's street-hoodlum little brother disects the city with his partner-in-crime, Bridges, stealing cars. One of the cars they lift belongs to the LA District Attorney, Fraser, and his uppity racist wife, Bullock. Fraser is desperately trying to get at the heart of his car-jacking without seeming racist, so he's spinning the cop shooting that Cheadle is investigating. Yet another Lincoln Navigator that Bridges and his chum TRY to steal belongs to a black TV director, Howard and his wife, Newton, who are (earlier) harassed by a racist cop (Dillon) who can't seem to get a fair shake for his sick father from the African American hospital administrator. Phillippe, who starts out as Dillon's LAPD partner, tries to right Dillon's early wrong committed against Howard and Newton, while Dillon, himself, gets the chance to change Newton's perspective on him from their early interaction.

Yeah...the above is not meant to make much sense to you if you haven't seen the film. The chronology and interplay seem complex on the surface, but the story and message is seamless when executed and displayed on the screen.

The thesps in this picture, without exception, deliver amazing performances that, as was the case with Bullock and Fraser, may not be at all what you'd expect. These portrayals will move you, in more than one instance, probably very nearly to tears...

It's a really good cloak...

Throughout the running-time of the film, I'll contend that we see some of the most effective and brilliantly shot / acted scenes in American cinematic history. The stories (and truths) told in these interactions are glaring. In two scenes, two working-class fathers, both of different ethnic heritage face-off. A Persian storekeeper and a Hispanic locksmith. Both of these honest, hardworking fathers are just trying to look after their families. In their pair of interactions, we see a simple failure to communicate or to empathize that leads to almost certain tragedy... for both?

The result of the cast and crew's handiwork is a funny, moving and genuinely unpredictable film that challenges your thoughts and portrays the unbridled rage that simmers so close to the surface of so many people, just waiting to be triggered by some spark that can change the course of our lives forever.

While the special features are present on the disc, I would have liked to see so much more for this film.

We get the following:

• DVD Introduction by Director Paul Haggis
  
• Crash Behind the Scenes
  
• Commentary with Paul Haggis, Don Cheadle and Bobby Moresco
  
• Trailers

The introduction and behind-the-scenes are pretty disappointing, but the audio commentary delivers a lot of what you'd expect. We get the discussion of the film and the cast and the back-stories from the 3 individuals most able to tell it.

This is definitely a film that will leave you wanting to sit through the entire running-length again soon, with the commentary playing.

Crash is a film not to be missed. It is brilliant, intellectual, compelling and will leave you examining your own prejudices and perceptions and will surely be a film you'll want to watch again... A definite addition to your collection.