Crash (2004 film)
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Crash is an acclaimed Academy Award-winning drama film directed by Paul Haggis. It premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2004, and was released internationally in 2005. The film is about racial and social tensions in Los Angeles. It won three Oscars for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing of 2005 at the 78th Academy Awards.
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Reaction
Crash opened in wide release on 6 May 2005, and was a box-office success in the late spring of 2005, with mixed reviews. The film's budget was $6.5 million (plus $1 million in financing). Because of the financial constraints, director Haggis filmed in his own house, borrowed a set from the TV show Monk, used his car in parts of the film, and even used cars from other staff members. It grossed $53.4 million domestically, making back more than three times its budget (roughly 60% of the box office takings of a movie do not return to the financiers but instead pay for distribution costs). Despite its success in relation to its cost, Crash was the least successful film, at the domestic box office, to win Best Picture since The Last Emperor in 1988.Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert named Crash the best film of 2005 [Ebert's Best 10 Movies of 2005]. LA Weekly critic Scott Foundas named it the worst film of the year, touching off a debate between the two critics [Roger and Me: Scott Foundas responds to Ebert's critic-bait].
Director Paul Haggis has mentioned work on a sequel to the film, involving the continued story of Anthony — Chris "Ludacris" Bridges' character.
Plot summary
The film depicts several characters living in Los Angeles, California and brings them together through car accidents, shootings, and carjackings. Most of the characters depicted in the film are racially prejudiced in some way and become involved in conflicts which force them to examine their own prejudices. Through these characters' interactions, the film attempts to depict and examine racial tension in America.Cast of characters
Crash features an ensemble cast:
- Rick (Brendan Fraser) is the white district attorney of Los Angeles. He and his wife Jean are carjacked by Anthony and Peter; subsequently he tries to save his political career by persuading voters that he is racially sensitive. His character is never depicted as a bigot, which makes his racial stance ambiguous. The use of ambiguity by the filmmakers likely asks whether people who make such actions are racially positive or just discriminatory in pursuit of goals.
- Jean (Sandra Bullock) is Rick's white wife, whose racial prejudices escalate after the carjacking. At the end of the film, following an accident in her home, she realizes that the person who is most nice and most helpful to her is Maria, her Hispanic maid.
- Anthony (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges) is a black car thief. He believes that society is unfairly biased against blacks. At one point in the film he justifies his actions by saying he would never hurt another black person. Yet, after he and Peter mistakenly try to carjack a car driven by a black man, Cameron, and when Cameron attacks Anthony during the carjacking, Anthony's response is to call on Peter to shoot Cameron.
- Peter (Larenz Tate) is Anthony's friend and partner in crime. Like Anthony, he is African-American, but he scoffs at Anthony's paranoia over racism. Peter is killed by Officer Hanson, who picks him up in the valley hours after their failed carjacking and mistakenly shoots him after assuming he is drawing a gun, when in reality he was reaching into his pocket to show the cop a figure of Saint Christopher.
- Graham (Don Cheadle) is Peter's brother, and a detective in the Los Angeles Police Department. He is disconnected from his poor family. He promises his mother that he would find his younger brother, but is preoccupied with a case concerning a racist white cop who shot a possibly corrupt black cop. Flanagan offers him a furthering of his career and a clearing of his brother's record, for leaving out what is controversial evidence. Graham, offended and opposed at first, is convinced with some arguments for affirmative action in a private conversation with Flanagan. In the end he makes a very tough decision to leave out the information, putting a possible innocent man behind bars, although important to note, that the man in question had just barely avoided charges on two previous race-related shootings as well. Ironically, Graham withholds evidence, clearing the name of his brother, who is later killed.
- Flanagan (William Fichtner) is an aide to Rick who talks Graham into accepting a corrupt deal, by arguing in strong favor of affirmative action. The corrupt deal outlined by Flanagan was that of furthering of his career, and the clearing of his brother's charges. Although the deal is corrupt, Flanagan plays a small but incredibly important role for the discussion of the theme on positive discrimination, and takes a moral highground to justify his actions. In the end he leaves the decision up to Graham by suggesting that "you're the closest to all of this, you tell us what needs to be done!" (paraphrased), to suggest that maybe enough substantive inequality in a systematically equal society, is justification for the actions taken.
- Ria (Jennifer Esposito) is a Latina detective, Graham's girlfriend, and Maria's daughter.
- Officer Ryan (Matt Dillon) is a white police officer who molests Christine, a black woman, during a traffic stop. This causes his partner, Officer Hanson, to believe his partner has racist tendencies. Meanwhile, Ryan is trying to get help for his father, who may possibly have prostate cancer but seems to have been misdiagnosed with a bladder infection. Ryan's racist remarks to a black insurance representative prevent him from getting his father the treatment he needs. His racial prejudices seem to stem in part from the negative impact that local affirmative action-style policies that favored minority businesses had on his father's business, family, and life. Ryan later saves Christine from certain death in a fiery car wreck.
- Cameron (Terrence Howard) is a black television director who becomes distraught after witnessing Officer Ryan molesting his wife and realizing that the very show he produces is propogating racist stereotypes about black people. In an emotional moment, he fights off Anthony and Peter when they try to steal his car, takes away Anthony's gun, and gets himself into a harsh argument with armed white police officers, no longer afraid of losing his Uncle Tom image - or, seemingly, his life. Just when it is very likely that he will be shot to death, Officer Hanson intervenes on his behalf and prevents any outbreak of violence.
- Christine (Thandie Newton) is Cameron's wife. She is molested by Officer Ryan after she and Cameron are pulled over. She becomes very angry with her husband because he does not act while she is being molested, and the next day is trapped in an overturned car due to a highway accident. Her life is saved by Officer Ryan, the very man who molested her.
- Officer Hanson (Ryan Phillippe) is Officer Ryan's partner who is disgusted by his partner's racism and the city's inaction. After trying to get another partner after seeing Ryan molest Christine, Hanson accepts a solo patrol vehicle. Hanson saves Cameron during his confrontation with the police, yet shoots Peter when Peter reaches for what he suspected was a weapon, but was actually a statue of Saint Christopher in his car after picking him up and giving him a ride. He dumps the body and burns his car in an attempt to hide evidence.
- Daniel (Michael Peña) is a Mexican-American locksmith who faces discrimination from Jean and others because he looks like a "gangbanger" (has tattoos, shaved head) to them, when actually, he is a devoted family man. He is seeking a safe environment for his young daughter, who had a bullet go through her window in their previous home. That is why he moved to a safe neighborhood and enrolled her in a private school. He and his daughter are shot at by Farhad but did not get hurt because the bullets were blanks.
- Farhad (Shaun Toub) is a Persian store owner who is afraid for his safety. He is depicted as a man frustrated by the racial harassment he experiences in the United States as well as deterred with difficulties with speaking English. Blaming Daniel for the invasion and racially-motivated destruction of his store, he confronts him at his house and is about to fire a gun at him. Daniel's daughter wears a "special" cloak that, her father has told her, was impenetrable and thus will protect her from bullets. She runs to protect him. Farhad means to shoot at Daniel but accidentally shoots at his daughter in front of him. However, unknown to Farhad and Daniel, it is a blank. The fact that the daughter is not hurt is a great relief, also for Farhad, who thinks an angel intervened, and he leaves without further attacking Daniel.
- Dorri (Bahar Soomekh) is Farhad's daughter, and is more acclimated than her father to the American culture. She also (perhaps accidentally) selects the blanks (instead of bullets) to go with her father's new gun from the pawn shop. She is also the doctor at the morgue who escorts Graham and his mother to Peter's body after it is discovered in a field. She purchases blanks randomly; overwhelmed with ammunition choices, she asks for "the ones in the red box" and cuts off the gun store owner when he tries to make sure she knows she's purchasing blanks - it is unclear to the audience whether or not she knows what they are.
Other cast members
- Fred (Tony Danza)
- Lt. Dixon (Keith David)
- Shaniqua Johnson (Loretta Devine)
- Shereen (Marina Sirtis)
- Karen (Nona Gaye)
- Lara (Ashlyn Sanchez)
- Elizabeth (Karina Arroyave)
- Motorcycle Cop (Sean Cory)
Opposing viewpoints on Crash
The majority of criticisms of the film have come from those who found its characters highly stereotypical and two-dimensional, its dialogue melodramatic and unconvincing, and its plot clichéd and unbelievable. Los Angeles film critic Scott Foundas described the film as "the worst movie of the year", while a few have called it one of "the worst Oscar winners of all time". These views have been shared by a few film critics, with the notable exception of critic Roger Ebert, who has vehemently opposed such claims. [link] Many critics, especially those representing minority publications, have claimed that the film is, ironically, highly ignorant and bigoted in its portrayal of its racially diverse set of characters.As well, the film has been criticized by conservative commentators who feel the movie is not an accurate reflection of race relations in contemporary Los Angeles, particularly with regards to the film's portrayal of police and racial tension.[link]
The film has likewise been criticized by liberal commentators who feel that institutionalized forms of white supremacy and white racism are far more destructive than individual prejudices, and feel that the movie is "self-indulgent" for white Americans who "want to feel victimized too".[link]
In addition, the film has been criticized by members of the Asian community, regarding its reinforcement of Asian stereotypes, and its apparent lack of character development of Asian characters.[link]
Nevertheless, some individuals already consider Crash to be an American film classic. On an episode of her talk show, Oprah Winfrey stated that the film should be in everyone's personal movie library, along with Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane, and Casablanca.
Academy Award criticism
There has been much criticism over Crash winning the Academy Award for Best Picture, as an underdog, over the front-runner Brokeback Mountain. The day after the awards, some journalists wrote articles expressing their dislike over what, in their opinion, was one of the biggest shockers in Oscar history. Brokeback Mountain led the pre-Oscar award season by winning most of the key precursor awards, particularly the Golden Globes as well as earning the leading number of Academy Award nominations (8), and its place on 314 critics top ten lists - more than any other film in 2005. Crash, although critically acclaimed was less so, with Roger Ebert and several other critics calling "The Best Movie of 2005".MSNBC journalist Erik Lundegaard criticized the AMPAS by stating that "The Academy is 78 years old and acting every bit of it, and last night they took another doddering step towards irrelevancy" and "This is the worst best picture winner since The Greatest Show on Earth in 1952."[link]
LA Weekly writer Nikki Finke wrote "Hollywood showed tonight it isn't the liberal bastion it once was. That's pitiful if you're a progressive, and pleasing if you're a conservative." She also accused the Academy of being homophobic, writing "Turns out Hollywood is as homophobic as Red State country. In touch, not out of touch." [link]
The fact that Crash was the least financially successful Best Picture winner in nearly 20 years also raised controversy - although its takings in 2005 were still higher than the four other nominees (Brokeback Mountain later passed Crash in 2006). Another point of criticism is the fact that no Best Picture winner has won fewer than four total Oscars since Rocky in 1976.
Awards
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Crash upset frontrunner Brokeback Mountain, as well as Munich, Capote, and Good Night, And Good Luck to the best motion picture Oscar. Crash collected a total of three Oscars, the most of the night, along with Brokeback Mountain, King Kong and Memoirs of a Geisha.
78th Academy Awards
- Won: Best Motion Picture
- Won: Best Original Screenplay
- Won: Best Achievement in Film Editing
- Nominated: Best Performance by a Supporting Actor (Matt Dillon)
- Nominated: Best Achievement in Direction (Paul Haggis)
- Nominated: Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (In the Deep)
Trivia
-->- Arnold Schwarzenegger's governatorial picture appears in the police station.
- Crash contains more profanity than any other film nominated for the best picture Oscar over the prior five years with 182 expletives, 99 of which are "fuck," according to a report by Family Media Guide. http://www.familymediaguide.com/specials/Oscars_2006.html For Entertainment Purposes Only: [FamilyMediaGuide.com Analyzes the 2006 Academy Award Nominees for Best Picture] The only Best Pictures with more expletives are Platoon and Deer Hunter.
- Before Ryan Phillippe signed on, Heath Ledger was in talks for the role of Hanson. Ledger's film Brokeback Mountain would go on to compete as the favorite for the title of Best Picture against Crash. Other first choices include John Cusack as Rick Cabot and Forest Whitaker as Cameron.
- Terrence Howard and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges both appear in the 2005 film Hustle and Flow, for which Howard received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
- Crash, a self-described passion piece for director Paul Haggis, was inspired by a real life incident where his Porsche was carjacked (mentioned on the DVD commentary track) outside a video store on Wilshire Boulevard in 1991. Shortly after his personal incident, the Rodney King Riots and O.J. Simpson Trial brought issues of racial tension to the front page of American media.
- A BusinessWeek article on product placement noted that the Lincoln Navigator SUV is featured prominently in the film. [link]
- The California Vehicle Code requires Authorized Emergency Vehicles to have a steady-burning red lamp visible for 1,000 feet to the front of the vehicle. In scene 4, Matt Dillon's character does a car stop on Terence's character. The patrol car has the right kind of California light bar but the light bar is mounted backward with the steady-burning red to the rear. The patrol car in this scene appears in several others with the backward light bar. [[Citing sources citation needed]]
References
External links
- [Official site]
- [}}}] at Rotten Tomatoes
Academy Award for Best Picture: Winners (2001– )
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2001: A Beautiful Mind |
2002: Chicago |
2003: |
2004: Million Dollar Baby |
2005: Crash
[Complete List] | [ Winners (1927–1940)] | [ Winners (1941–1960)] | [ Winners (1961–1980)] | [ Winners (1981–2000)]
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