Crash is one of the stupidist, most moronic movies I have ever seen. I am sure that I would have found the movie pretty deep when I was nine or ten, but at 22 I am pleased to report that I have the intelligence and good taste to proclaim the movie to be the garbage that it is.
I found this movie so insulting that I'm having a hard time sorting through my emotions enough to write this review. Usully, I only have feelings like this when I find a movie offensive ethically in some manner. When I think about it, I do think it's offensive- to the intelligence of anyone whose going to see this movie.
The dialouge is unbeleivable. It's as if Paul Haggis was intentionally trying to telegraph every single point to make sure that the stupidist person in the audince could follow along. I think that what my friend Kristen wrote about Match Point applies to this one: We know what every character is thinking at every moment, because they tell us. Worse, they exist for no reason except to tell us. These characters have no lives outside of this movie, no psychological background, no spark of life- there sole purpose in life is to discuss their veiws on racism.
And also, the movie tries very, very hard to tell us that racism is bad. It reminded me of Elia Kazan's Gentleman's Agreement an okay message movie from 1947 about how anti-Semeitism is bad, except that that film at least had some interesting characters and atmosphere. This movie has almost nothing to reccomend in it.
The sole strong point is the acting, which proffesional, despite the fact they are given unbeleivably banal things to say. Everything else sucks. The movie is unimaginiativley photographed, and edited like a bad thriller. Worst of all is the music, which sounds like it's from a planitarium show.
How in the world did this godawful movie become so well respected. Again, I have quote my friend Kristen, this time referencing Million Dollar Baby (which, in a bad sign, was also written by Paul Haggis)- "the worst thing is that the movie fools people into thinking it's good". Roger Ebert, my favorite film critic who I defended to my film friend numerous times, called it the best film of the year, and accused a fellow critic who agrees with me of minimizing the racial problem of America. He also compared the film to the works of Charles Dickins, implying that this could help race relations in the same way Dickins' novels helped the poor. There are major racial problems in America, and indeed, the world, and this movie will do absolutley nothing to help it. Somehow, Ebert never learned the fact that you can agree with what a movie says and still think the movie sucks, because it has no artistic value at all. It is, amazingly enough, possible to not be a racist, and still dislike the movie. Even more (and this would probably shock him)- if a KKK member watched this movie- he STILL BE A RACIST WHEN HE FINISHED! Amazing.
Finally, I just want to say that it's a bad, bad sign when the most enjoyable part of the movie is the cameo apperance by Tony Danza.
Crash (2005)