I saw "Crash" at an advanced screening. I love the idea of advanced screenings, seeing a movie for free, and seeing it before it's officially released in theaters. Unfortunately, what usually happens is that the theater fills up with some of the biggest assholes on earth. Groups of people talking loudly, others laughing at inappropriate moments, and of course, the idiots who talk on their cell phone. Sometimes, I get lucky, and I'll see an advanced screening with a well behaved crowd, like when I went to see "The Girl Next Door." Unfortunately, I didn't get a well behaved crowd when I went to see "Crash." The theater was filled with rude, loud, disrespectful, inconsiderate assholes. It was enough to make me think that I might never go to an advanced screening again.
Despite having to see the movie with a theater full of idiots, I liked "Crash" a lot. I might have to see it again to truly appreciate it, though, because some really dramatic moments were interrupted by cackles from certain people in the audience, and I was often distracted by some of the obnoxious behavior in the crowd. Still, it's a testament to the film that I enjoyed it despite all that.
"Crash" is similar to "Magnolia" and "Short Cuts" in that it's a bunch of intertwining stories set in Los Angeles. "Crash" isn't as good, nor is it as ambitious, as those two films, but it's entertaining while also making a lot of interesting points about people, racism, and society in general. I liked it, but it was at times a little too heavy-handed, and some of the comedic scenes fall flat. Still, I enjoyed it, and it had some very powerful scenes, but I think I'll like it a lot more when I watch it a second time (probably on DVD).
The title of this movie kinda irritates me. It's an appropriate title for the film, but "Crash" was the title of a fairly well known David Cronenberg film nine years ago that starred James Spader. It was a weird movie about people who got turned on sexually by car crashes (watching them, being in them, whatever), and it was rated NC-17. I saw it theatrically when it was released, and I thought it was pretty decent. Anyway, I just think that if a movie title is reused for a completely different movie, there should be about twenty years of space between them. I had similar issues with "Bad Boys" in 1995. The Will Smith/Martin Lawrence movie used the same title as a really cool Sean Penn movie from 1983. Anyway, that's just petty bitching, I suppose.
"Crash" (I'm now back on the 2005 film) was written and directed by Paul Haggis, a guy mostly known as a TV writer (though he also produced, and directed TV shows also). At least, that was until recently. Now he's known as the guy who wrote "Million Dollar Baby," so he's a big deal right now. This is actually his second feature film directorial effort, his first being a little known film called "Red Hot" in 1993. With "Crash," I think he did a decent directing job, but he relied a little too heavily on close ups. His screenplay is excellent, but I'd be remiss if I didn't say that he had some help from Robert Moresco, whose work I'm not familiar with.
Paul Haggis rounded up a great cast for the movie, and they all do a great job. Sandra Bullock is probably the biggest name in the movie. She plays a character completely different from what she usually plays, and she's excellent. She's totally believable, and it's probably one of her best performances ever. Don Cheadle, one of my favorite actors and probably one of our best living actors, gives a powerful and subtle performance. Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito (who is kind enough to show us some nipple), Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Larenz Tate, William Fichtner, Terrence Howard, Thandie Newton... they're all great. Tony Danza and Keith David each have one scene, but they're very memorable scenes because of the power they bring to them. I expected it from Keith David, but Tony Danza surprised me. Someone else who surprised me was Ryan Phillippe. I've never been a fan of his, I've been critical of his performances in "Gosford Park," "Cruel Intentions," and "54." In interviews, he seems like a nice enough guy, I have nothing against him, but his acting never worked for me. In "Crash," he was actually really good. I'm happy for him. The one who probably stood out for me the most was Michael Pena, who I don't think I've ever seen before. He plays a locksmith who has to deal with a lot of assholes (even worse assholes than the ones I had to deal with in the movie theater). I really liked the character, and Michael Pena did a great job playing him.
"Crash" isn't a perfect movie, but it has scenes of great power that will stun you. The acting is excellent, writer/director Paul Haggis filled the movie with great multi-faceted characters, and at no point is it ever boring. I might have liked the movie more if the theater wasn't filled with so many assholes, but I ended up liking it despite them.
Scale of 1-10: 8