Crash Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

Title: Crash
Year: 2005
Director: Paul Haggis
Country: US
Language: English

Webster's Dictionary defines racism as, "prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior." It also defines condescending as "to do something in a haughty way, as though it is below one's dignity or level of importance". With those two definitions in mind, we can proceed in reviewing Crash.

 Over a thirty-six hour period in Los Angeles, a handful of disparate people's lives intertwine as they deal with the tense race relations that permeate among life in the city.

Crash, along with Driving Miss Daisy, is perhaps the worst picture about race relations that I have ever seen. It's a heavy handed film in approach, never ceasing to be a preaching mess. Containing all the subtlety and nuance of a napalm enema, director Paul Haggis depicts racism as upper class white people see it, not how it really is. Racism is more than just "I'm a white woman who is sometimes scared of black men!", racism is complex & institutional.

Relying heavily on sentimentalism, Crash is Do the Right Thing dumbed down for pre-schoolers. The careless handling of such a serious and important topic is pretty insulting. The characters are dull & uninspired, which ultimately makes their eureka moment not worth much. I can't find much, if anything, positive about this flick. It's an attempt to be humanist gone wrong, an interweaving train wreck that constantly pats itself on the back. 

Ultimately Crash takes a reserved politically correct stance when addressing America's biggest problem. Poor dialogue, stiff acting and troublesome technique make this picture a failure in every sense of the word. I wouldn't watch it again. 0.5/5