In Los Angeles we witness as people with very different and separate lives collide in interweaving stories looking at the issues of race, loss and redemption.
Best Picture 2006
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Crash manages to highlight the truly worst nature of humans towards those who are different, we get a lot of different races and background wound into the story and none of them really treat the others with much respect or grace. We get some turnaround moments and defining moments, but someones skin colour and/or background caused others to judge them instantly and think they were better than them. At times because they worked harder, or just because they believed they were higher up in society. I feel this is the best way to explain the overall plot as with so many characters and stories running across each other it would take over the review trying to explain them all. So many backgrounds and issues fused together to show the very worst of what we do to each other, the pain and suffering we can easily cause someone without even noticing at all. If you do notice though will it be early enough to change and do something about it?
It had been many years since my last viewing of Crash and in all honesty could only remember little bits of it, made me wonder if I was actually a little bit young when first seeing it to truly understand a lot of it. Life experience really does play a big part in how we see and view films in my opinion. I found this extremely hard hitting at times, especially the sexual assault. That is so extremely difficult to watch, especially given how the characters meet again when he must save her from the car after a crash, her reaction is haunting and its truly heartbreaking.
One of the most controversial Oscar Best Picture winners as everyone really thought Brokeback Mountain was going to win, I urge you if you have not seen it before but find the clip of Jack Nicholson presenting and his "woah" before saying Crash sums it all up. However, after rewatching this film I really do think it is an incredibly thought provoking film, given that after all of this time the issues caused by race is still going on and happening all around the world. It is powerful experience and really highlights so many issues faced in society.
In terms of performances with so many characters and amazing actors involved it is quite difficult to get into talking about them all. I will highlight Thandie Newton though who I really thought was exceptional in her role, something very special about her reactions to the assault and what happened after. Michael Peña is another who is phenomenal and you could not help but feel sorry for him, all he was doing was working hard for a better life for his family and he put up with so much abuse. Matt Dillon was nominated for an Oscar in a supporting role and he was very good as a truly horrible character and we believe that from his performance.
