Is Paul Haggis coming into his own or what? Having written and directed some television shows and a few never-known movies
over the years, his last two projects have been in a league of their own. Not only did he write last year''s masterpiece "Million Dollar Baby," but "Crash," his racially-charged drama that is the only shining light so far this summer season, is a piece of art itself.
The movie, a collection of several overlapping yet distinct stories about racial tensions in Los Angeles, stars an ensemble cast that features the likes of Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, Brendan Fraser, Ludacris, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe, Larenz Tate and even Tony Danza of all people. No one actor stands out among the rest, but all are good - no, really good. Ryan Phillipe, in a smaller yet pivotal role, is especially impressive. Okay, so I just said "no one actor stands out among the rest..." So sue me. No, please don''t.
It''s hard to explain the complexities about the movie without giving too much away, but "Crash" basically takes a look at the lives of several people, some white, some black, and some "in between," and points out the glaring flaws in today''s "non-color-distinguishing society." Granted, the characters in this movie tend to be a little more extreme than the ordinary Joe. Bullock plays the wife of the District Attorney (Fraser), who gets robbed at gunpoint by a couple of black guys (Tate and Ludacris) and proceeds to freak out about a Mexican locksmith (Michael Pena), even though he''s a devoted father and husband who has just moved his family to a better neighborhood. Dillon plays a racist cop who molests women he pulls over (in front of their husbands, no less) but who is also willing to put his life on the line to save the same people he despises. And Cheadle plays a detective forced to choose between the truth and an easy scapegoat in a murder case.