DVD Review: Crash
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::Movie review
When I was a little kid, my best friend was named Vu. Vu was Vietnamese. This is a fact that would have never, in a million years, occurred to my eight year old brain – if it weren't for the fact that my mother hammered it home at every opportunity. To her, Vu was a “gook.” He and his family were “those boat people,” and not to be trusted.
To me, he was just Vu.
For Vu and I, our favorite television show was Battlestar Galactica. It was all we talked about and all we played. I remember once that he came home from the store with a couple of models of space ships from the show. He had two because he had asked his mother to buy one for me so we could build them and play with them together. Meanwhile, my mother was certain that if given the chance, Vu would steal the paint off of our house.
I remain convinced to this day that if Vu had been white, he could have been the terror of the neighborhood, and still would have been welcomed into our house with open arms.
Such was my early experience with racism.
Race and racism are at the center of the film Crash, which tells a series of interlocking stories. The ensemble cast of characters all lead lives that are sheltered until, during a brief couple of days in Los Angeles, all of their experiences crash into each other in one way or another.
Crash reminds me a lot of another film that dealt with the clash of races called Grand Canyon. However, where Grand Canyon focused primarily on the tensions between blacks and whites, Crash adds Persians, Latinos, and Koreans to make a true melting pot of cultures.
Both Crash and Grand Canyon are great in their own ways, but the earlier film is far more uplifting and paints broader strokes. Crash doesn't intend to make anyone feel good by the time it's over; instead, it seeks to provoke thought and enlighten.
The most poignant thing about Crash is that nearly every single character is both a victim and perpetrator of racism, on some level. Take, for instance, the character of Graham Waters (Don Cheadle), a police detective who one moment takes offense at being offered up as the token black man in political maneuvering, while the next moment he doesn't understand why his lover gets upset that he can't remember that she's of Latina heritage, rather than Mexican.
Some of the characters are fully aware of the things they say and do. They embrace racism as a means to provoke reaction. Following having been carjacked, Jean Cabot(Sandra Bullock) and Richard Cabot (Brendan Fraser), the LA District Attorney, return home and promptly have their locks changed. The locksmith is Mexican American. Jean, in near hysterics, begins to complain loudly that she knew, just knew, that those two black men who took their car were trouble. This quickly degenerates into loud accusations against the locksmith, his "prison" tattoos, and her conviction that he's going to sell the keys to the new locks to his "homies."
Other characters are ignorantly racist, while convinced that they are "aware" and "compassionate" about such matters. Following Jean's outburst, Richard tries to calm her down. Then he turns to his aides and begins talking about damage control. How will it look, he wonders, to his black voters if he makes a big deal about having been carjacked by a pair of black men? That one of his aides is black and clearly uncomfortable with his comments is completely lost on him (and to add further irony, his relationship with this black woman may be more than just professional).
Many people will find the tone of the film brutally disturbing, because in this sanitized, politically correct world, we don't expect this from our movies. This is real life. This is what people really say and really think, so we go into the movies expecting to be sheltered and safe. Crash is not safe, and that will bother some people, but I think that people need to be bothered by a film like this.
Racism and hatred won't go away just because we invent nice sounding terminology to paint a pretty picture with. I would venture to say that everyone will find something from their own experiences in this film, something ugly and unpleasant that needs to be confronted out in the open before it can be made better. As for me, I found the unwarranted hatred of a little boy named Vu.
::Video
This is a rather dark and gritty film, though this is by no means a comment on the technical qualities of this disc. I believe the look is intentional. The colors are vivid and vibrant, and the palette is constantly changing to suit the mood of each scene. Contrasts and shadow details are very good. I didn't see any hints of compression problems or edge enhancement.
::Audio
The audio presentation for Crash is subtle, but effective. Most of the surround use is devoted to the haunting musical score, and a few minor actions scenes. Otherwise, most everything is in the front sound stage, with solid, crisp dialog coming from the center channel.
::Special Features
This presentation is rather light on extras, but what is here is pretty good.
First up is a feature length commentary by writer/director Paul Haggis, writer Bobby Moresco, and actor Don Cheadle (who also produced the film). I thought that this track got off to a bit of a slow start, as none of the participants really seemed to know what to say. Once the film took off, however, things got lively. The trio presents a ton of great back-story for how the film was made, how they assembled the cast, and even the intent of some of the scenes. I guarantee that there will be subtle, but strong moments in this film that you missed, and this track does a good job of pointing those out.
Next up is a Behind the Scenes featurette that runs about 10 minutes. I would have liked to have seen more about the production, including more cast and crew interviews. Still, this little tidbit is better than many longer featurettes on other discs.
A music video is included for a song that wasn't actually in the film, but inspired by it.
Finishing things off are an 18 second introduction to the film by Paul Haggis and theatrical trailers.
::Bottom Line
Crash is a film that does the job of shaking the audience out of its complacency. It is rude, it is intense, and yet it is also compassionate. Perhaps the most important point this film tries to convey is that, while racism itself is evil, there are very few characters in this film who are truly bad. Even those we think we can stereotype prove to have good in them. Buy this film now and watch it. Then watch it again. It is that good.
| Movie |  |
5 / 5 |
| Video | |
4 / 5 |
| Audio | |
4 / 5 |
| Extras | |
3.5 / 5 |
| Family Friendly | |
2 / 5 |
| I'm giving this film a higher Family Friendly rating than it probably deserves. It is definitely a film full of adult themes. However, I feel that it is an important enough film that teens should be made to watch it. And once they do, sit down and talk with them about it. | ||
| Overall | |
4.5 / 5 |
- Robert Wurth, ©2005
::Technical Specs
Studio:
Lion's Gate Home Entertainment
Year of Theatrical Release:
2004
Disc Format:
1 single-sided, Dual Layer
Image Format:
Anamorphic Widescreen
Aspect Ratio:
1.85:1
Region Encoding:
1 (North America)
Sound Format:
Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 (pro logic)
Running Time:
122 minutes
Director:
Paul Haggis
Stars:
Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Brendan Fraser, Jennifer Esposito, Michael Pena
MPAA Rating:
R
Disc Supplements:
- Introduction by Paul Haggis
- Commentary by Paul Haggis, writer Bobby Moresco, and Don Cheadle
- Behind the Scenes featurette
- Music Video
- Theatrical Trailers
