The polarization of "Crash"

[LSPoorEeyorick]

I guess I just find the whole thing so stilted that I can't get over it. It smacks of "weighty." iSm, I know you had the same problem with Million Dollar Baby last year (i.e. it was a tearjerker with "give me a shiny phallic statue" all over it)-- to me, this film was a "let's repeat racial insults back and forth for two hours and pretend we actually address the problem and people will shout hurray, they're talking about race, and not notice we're not addressing the problem, and give us a shiny phallic statue."

I know it wasn't that way to everyone, but then, I was touched by MDB-- and to me, it didn't cry out as Oscar-yearning, but rather as a lovely depiction of truly interesting characters in a moving situation. Tohmaytoh, tohmahtoh.

[MouseWife]

I agree with Ponine. I wouldn't have reported it. It was more than just what had happened but also that her husband was present. And to prove it? I mean, talk about date rape and people doubting your story, would they believe your husband was standing right there and saw what happened and that you didn't object and he didn't stop it?

Prejudice in L.A. I may not find the right words to explain it. It seems like there are a lot of labels. It seems there are very seperated communities. I don't know if they consider this living with their cultures and being respected for it but I would think prejudice follows.

As far as the quality of the movie, I loved it. But, since MDB was brought up, I thought that movie was very well put together. Smooth. Like reading a great book or watching it happen.

Perhaps was the style of 'Crash' but it didn't go smoothly and some of the characters seemed flat. To me. But I still got a message from it.

[Stan4dSteph]

I just watched the movie on DVD tonight. I found it very thought provoking. It makes me think about my own attitudes toward people of other races - how I act and what I say to them or about them. I know I have some thoughts similar to the characters in this film.

I don't think that because the director was white, he can't make a movie about racism. So white people don't experience racism? The point I got from the movie is that we all have prejudices.

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by Stan4dSteph

I don't think that because the director was white, he can't make a movie about racism. So white people don't experience racism?

I don't think anyone's saying that. I don't think this director ever experienced racism directed at him.

iSm ~ My dad's an ex-cop of about 33 years. I know about cops and their skeleton filled closets...

[Gemini Cricket]

Here's my summary of my take on 'Crash' and I'll let it speak for itself:

'Crash' is a poorly made film about a very important subject. One can dislike 'Crash' and not be a racist. If a person dislikes 'Crash', it does not mean he/she is not experienced on the subject of racism.

[MouseWife]

Maybe it was such a hit because it was poorly done. That it didn't go too deep. Maybe this movie was enough to open eyes but didn't go deep and raw so that it didn't turn people off? Sometimes if it is too much people just go into denial. This was enough for those who would never admit to/realize any prejudice to watch it and say 'Well, maybe...'

That it wasn't too strong in anyones favor kept everyone balanced?

[innerSpaceman]

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

I don't think anyone's saying that. I don't think this director ever experienced racism directed at him.

Here's another point I believe you are missing ... the director experienced racism eminating from HIMSELF. He experienced a carjacking, which was the gestation point of creating the film. If he himself experienced racism in his heart and soul, he has plenty of knowledge with which to create a film.


The film has polarized the critical community as well as many audience humans. Love it, hate it. Both going on. As one who loves it, I can disagree with - but understand - some of the criticism lobbed at the film. I would hope that those in the hate-it camp - seeing how the film is lauded by many as one of the year's very best - can acknowledge that they can't be completely "right" about the film having no merit.

[lizziebith]

Because I am ALWAYS late to the party:

Well, I finally rented and watched "Crash" yesterday -- I didn't really have an interest in doing so until reading this thread. I must confess that I have a bias against films that come out swinging in "I hate L.A." mode. So I wasn't all that interested in subjecting myself to this movie, and was fully prepared, as I set the disc in the player, to hate it. [/disclaimer]

I watched it twice, just to be sure I hadn't missed something, but I didn't hate it. I didn't like it either. It made me feel cold and alienated and depressed. It rang false to me from the git-go: we're so isolated and self-absorbed here in L.A. that we crash into each other to connect? Puh-leeze. That is an embarrassingly pretentious device to utilize at the beginning of a piece of freaking film.

I didn't see anyone I've ever met in this film: I wondered who all the fantasy people were. I was amazed at the phoney dialogue and the stilted feel of it. It looked so "staged" -- even the big scene with the fingering. I didn't buy it at all. I'm kind of shocked that I have this much of a disconnect with a representation of Los Angeles that resonates with so many others...

Still, I actually really dig the style of films like this: all the artificial intersections and threads...(Altman-esque! A director you either love or hate -- I love!) But I think the style was wholly inappropriate for the subject matter, and contributed to the sense of ummmmm what planet is this supposed to be taking place on feeling I had all through both viewings. Or maybe it was not inappropriate for the subject matter -- maybe it just plain wasn't well-executed. :shrug: It was pretty, though, I'll give it that! I loved the shots of the valley. Although I'm a sucker for pretty valley shots -- because I loves me my valley. All the people in it were pretty, too. Maybe a little too pretty? Again, I didn't find that realistic. This film maybe needed some gritty, not pretty. Only the Middle-Eastern shopkeeper looked real. Oh, and Matt Dillon's dad. More of that and less of Sandra Bullock's carefully-ironed hair, please. I know that was supposed to illustrate the rigidity of her character, but I just hate that visual hammer-on-the-head manipulation.

Bottom line for me: it didn't succeed. Two viewings. I tried. And I just felt "meh" about it. As I said to the Mr.: A Good Rental. I enjoyed the pretty. I was reminded that I miss Altman. I like my fantasy clearly labeled as such. Won't be buying it.

EDIT: The next post better be all about how I'm wrong, wrong, WRONG!

[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.

[innerSpaceman]

Talk about polarization. Love it or hate it.

How 'bout love it, then hate it? Cause, that's where I'm at right now. Sure, maybe it's a Brokeback disappointment backlash, but I think I've actually seen the light about Crash.

It's trash.