Movie report!
I recently saw Crash, which won the 2005 Oscar for Best Picture. Whoa. No wonder. Paul Haggis, in his directing debut, gives us a story the explores the themes of race and violence in Los Angeles, but I think the story could be easily translated to any city peopled by a mix of ethnic citizens. The name comes from the idea that different people leading different lives can collide, and that, in some cases, these collisions represent the only times people truly connect in our society, an environment where people design their lives to minimize contact with others.
The cast reads like a attendance list of Hollywood glitterati: Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Terrence Howard, Ryan Phillipe, Brendan Fraser. Many of the scenes are little acting studies in tone, gesture, and facial expression. All characters have very different roles: Dillon and Phillipe are cops with different values, Cheadle is a detective, Fraser is the D.A., Bullock is his wife, and Terrence Howard is a television producer. Other key figures include a Mexican locksmith, two African-American car thieves, and a Persian couple and their daughter.
I really loved how the film was engaging, riveting, but that it explored a topic that really mattered. Crash takes a hard look at some thorny issues in our society, things that people don't tend to talk about without becoming emotional or further inflaming the situation. I also liked that the film didn't pretend to have all the answers. Instead, it showed the complexity of the problem and provided much food for thought. It illustrated how those with the best intentions sometimes find themselves the architects of the injustices they despise in society, and how those who are up to no good sometimes end up accomplishing quite alot of it. The film also spoke to me regarding self-definition: how we define ourselves, how we let others define us, what we think makes us who we are, what we think betrays our identities.
Paul Haggis' previous credits include the screenplay for Million Dollar Baby, another film that I loved that dealt with unpopular social issues. Haggis is definitely proving himself as someone who says things that we are all thinking, but afraid to verbalize. I can't wait for his next film. Projects currently titled Honeymoon with Harry and The Last Kiss are in the works.
The cast reads like a attendance list of Hollywood glitterati: Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Terrence Howard, Ryan Phillipe, Brendan Fraser. Many of the scenes are little acting studies in tone, gesture, and facial expression. All characters have very different roles: Dillon and Phillipe are cops with different values, Cheadle is a detective, Fraser is the D.A., Bullock is his wife, and Terrence Howard is a television producer. Other key figures include a Mexican locksmith, two African-American car thieves, and a Persian couple and their daughter.
I really loved how the film was engaging, riveting, but that it explored a topic that really mattered. Crash takes a hard look at some thorny issues in our society, things that people don't tend to talk about without becoming emotional or further inflaming the situation. I also liked that the film didn't pretend to have all the answers. Instead, it showed the complexity of the problem and provided much food for thought. It illustrated how those with the best intentions sometimes find themselves the architects of the injustices they despise in society, and how those who are up to no good sometimes end up accomplishing quite alot of it. The film also spoke to me regarding self-definition: how we define ourselves, how we let others define us, what we think makes us who we are, what we think betrays our identities.
Paul Haggis' previous credits include the screenplay for Million Dollar Baby, another film that I loved that dealt with unpopular social issues. Haggis is definitely proving himself as someone who says things that we are all thinking, but afraid to verbalize. I can't wait for his next film. Projects currently titled Honeymoon with Harry and The Last Kiss are in the works.
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