Movie review: Crash
This movie is NUTS! There's a huge cast and all sorts of overlapping storylines (think Traffic) focused on the collision of races in Los Angeles. It's about who you think you are, who others think you are, and the intersecting of those perceptions. Don Cheadle delivers as usual, as does Sandra Bullock, who for once plays an unlikeable character. Actually everyone delivers in this cast, there were no weak links, even the really minor characters were memorable (Tony Danza, if you can believe it).
The standouts were Matt Dillon and Thandie Newton. Dillon plays a racist cop dealing w/a crappy situation at home and taking it out on any black person he sees. He's a total a-hole and plunges the depths of ick when he molests Thandie Newton's character on a traffic stop. Newton plays a wealthy black woman living in the aftermath of the incident and its effect on her marriage. Later, Dillon responds to a traffic accident where Newton is trapped in a soon-to-combust car. She FREAKS when she sees him (as well she should) and he has to come to grips with what he did to her and save her life all at once. i don't think i breathed, blinked, or had a heartbeat thru the whole scene. And my mouth was hanging open. The two of them are flawless and it's crazy-powerful. Dillon's performance reminds me of Ed Norton in American History X, playing such an incredibly hateful character and yet allowing a turnaround that makes you hope for him, if not sympathize. Newton deftly plays the gamut- drunk snob, Dillon's victim, angry wife, repentant, and straight raw fear.
And that was just one story line among many! There were more points of breathless pure shock and hanging-open mouths, but i won't give them away. The movie ends with some story lines resolved and others wide open or hopeless, but thanks to Terrence Howard and Ludacris (yes, Ludacris!), you feel at least some peace. Thus- i highly recommend renting this movie: 5 out of 5 heartbeats.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I agree. Though I am not sure how I feel about how much of the cop/wife story you have given away here. I thought that the part of the movie which described in detail was one of the best and you kind of gave it away to the people who haven’t seen it. half of the emotion of the scene was realizing that these two people must interact with each other again (not "forget all about it") in order to save her life and now that won't be as effective.
Enjoyed your review and I liked the movie as well because as much as I hated to see the way people treated one another and tried to say to myself that “I am not like that!” I am still not sure that I can say that. There are many things that I probably would have done/felt if I were in similar situation (like walk closer to my husband if I saw two thugs coming my way) and I am not sure how I feel about that. I watched the bonus features of the DVD, and I think that the movie definitely accomplished its goal. Three cheers.
Make sure you see the pictures of the pumpkin that I emailed to mom. I am sure that you will appreciate the genre we chose for our pumpkin. Have fun at the potty.
yeah, really good movie. one of those types where at the end, you just kind of blink a few times and struggle to take it all in. seriously though, don't be giving plot lines away! my favorite character was the mexican vato-looking guy. maybe because he reminded me of so many guys i've worked with in the myriad of restaraunt jobs i've had over he years.
and yes...ludacris. what more needs to be said?
Post a Comment