The polarization of "Crash"

[Alex]

I finally saw it as well. I liked it without loving it. It was simply too blunt and I really don't understand why Matt Dillon is the one who got picked out of the cast to represent the ensemble acting. I'd far prefer several other cast members.

I love the format of the movie and generally do when used in movies (unfortunately, this one too strongly echoed Magnolia even including something unusual falling out of the Los Angeles sky).

I try not to criticize people for making the movie they wanted to make rather than the movie I wanted them to make. A couple of the storylines were compelling (the carjackers, the locksmith, the D.A.) but this was counterbalanced by stories I hadn't much interest in (the shopkeeper, Ryan Phillippe, Dillon's involvement with dad).

I do wish that Haggis hadn't explained the ending of the locksmith storyline so explicitly. I knew immediately what had happened but leaving out the explicit camera shot would have retained a mystical edge that would have been better.