ARTS& ENTERTAINMENT
Smith & Reeve at the Movies: Crash, 2 thumbs up

Iain W. Reeve and Steph Smith, Mostly Afraid of Other White People

 

The surprise winner of the Academy Award for best pic-
ture, Crash is an elaborately interlaced set of stories depict-

ing the effects of racism on people from many different
walks of life in Los Angeles. Dramatically charged, and
with an ensemble cast of Hollywood regulars and skilled
unknowns, Crash asks us to question how we contribute to
and are affected by the currents of racism still present in
modern society.

Reeve:

This year Oscar seemed destined to go to a film that
had a powerful message to deliver to the world. All the
nominees had powerful themes, covering such issues as
homosexual tolerance, moral opportunism, and racism.
Crash aggressively tries to challenge how we look at racism
both in ourselves and in the world. While it makes no
bones about where it’s going, and is as heavy-handed as
Cassius Clay in delivering its message, Crash is still an
extraordinary film deserving of the praise it has received.

The ensemble cast is always, in my mind, a double-
edged sword in a film such as this. On the one hand, this is
an extraordinary collection of talent. In the well-known
actor category, also-producer Don Cheadle leads the way
with a gloriously dualistic performance as a police investi-
gator coping with the difficulties of his job, as well as his
Alzheimer’s afflicted mother and his missing brother. The
film is coated with multi-layered, nuanced performances.
Good turns even come from less expected places, like
Sandra Bullock and Brendan Fraser, who were both great.
It is, however, distracting to be recognizing everyone from
Ludacris, to Deanna Troi, to that guy from The Shied in a
film that’s supposed to be about ordinary people.

The true beauty of the film is its rather gritty and real
“on the ground” feel of filming. The locales—a dusty con-
venience store, a bustling movie set, an upper class LA
home, and the streets of the big city itself—are all con-
vincing. You almost feel like you can smell and feel the
things on screen. The film also combines smart shooting
with well-conceived writing to tie together around ten dif-
ferent stories. The plotlines are intricately woven into a

 

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street. They then proceed to carjack the same white couple
at gunpoint. What message does that send?

The film has good intentions but they quickly go some-
what awry. People don’t like being bashed in the head with
things, and this film is two hours of it. Everyone in the
film is affected by racism and that is why I think it had
good intentions. Everyone, regardless of ethnicity, is
affected by racism at one time or another. But unlike the
portrayal in the film, not everyone is a racist. It showed
that everyone is apprehensive of someone else based first
on their race, and that everyone has preconceived notions
of people for the same reason. I simply don’t think that
this is the case.

But like I said, aside from being punched in the face
with the message, I did like the film. It was well-acted,
well-written, had a good point, and it did make me cry. I
think, however, that it is one of those films that one must
watch for oneself. It is very difficult to give advice on
whether this is a good movie or not. Crash is a difficult

movie for me to decide if I like or not.

 

complicated, but not overwhelming, narrative
web. It all seems somewhat contrived in retro-
spect. But hey, we’ve all had those moments
where you meet someone who knows some-
one you know, so maybe it isn’t all that unreal-
istic.

While lacking the thematic subtlety of
Brokeback Mountain ot Capote, Crash does a skil-
ful job of delivering a powerful, controversial,
and timely message. While it does seem heavy
handed when compared to other films on
racism, such as the classic In the Heat of the
Night, this is a powerful film with well-round-
ed, realistic characters and an engaging narra-
tive. Deserving, especially compared to win-
ners in recent years, of Hollywood’s biggest
prize.

Smith:

Crash won an academy award for best pic-
ture. It was a good film. It was well shot and
the acting was good. However, I think it only
won based on subject matter. While Brokeback
Mountain was controversial because it depicted
homosexual cowboys, I felt Crash was contto-
versial in its own way too. Throughout the
film, one was basically bombarded with the
message that each and every one of us is a
racist in some way. Sorry, what?

In one of the first scenes of the film, a
white couple is shown walking down the
street. The wife spies two young black men
walking toward them and clutches her jacket
closed. They then cut to the black kids, who
are talking about racism. They claim it’s all
unfounded fear. Not all black men are going
to rape you, rob you, or hurt you. They say
that they should be the ones who are scared
because they are two young black men walk-
ing down an affluent white neighbourhood