review by Owen Hughes Patron
Crash 2005
Watched Dec 16, 2012
Owen Hughes’s review:
Wow what a revelation. Apparently black people can be racist of white people, white people can be racist of black people, black people can be racist of black people, black people can be racist of hispanic people, white people can be racist of middle-eastern people, middle eastern people can be racist of hispanic people, hispanic people are nice, white people can't be racist of white people.
BUT.
Those same black people can be nice to white people, those white people can be nice to black people, the black people nice to those other black people, the black people can be nice to the hispanic people, the white people can be nice to the hispanic people, the white people can be nice to the middle-eastern people, the middle-eastern people can be nice to the white people, they can be nice to the hispanic people, the hispanic people are just nice.
Also, somewhere in this film, I'm sure the Chinese were offended too but I'm not sure how yet.
Thanks for clearing that up for me though, Crash.
And to you, Don Cheadle, an actor I'd always liked, I'm so sorry you were involved in this film.
And to you Paul Haggis, I say, congratulations on your academy award for writing like a white man pretending to be a black man with a chip on his shoulder. Quite the achievement. I'm sure not many others could handle such a sensitive subject so haphazardly. Well done.
@ Owen Hughes- I mean, I'm sure the whole gay aspect fueled a good amount of the praise for some, but the movie itself is actually REALLY good. Great acting all around too. I'd definitely give it a rental. With Crash, I felt I had seen that type of shit about a million times and overall it just wasn't that good of a movie....and we gave it the Best Picture Oscar...REALLY?!
Hmm maybe I will then. Cheers, I'll keep an eye out for it on tv / usual rental places.
Woah, wait. Just because the message a film conveys is one that you already understand doesn't make it a poor film.
That just reeks of hypocrisy. The author of this review thinking they are too good for this movie, something he accuses the movie of believing about it's audience.
Your review totally disregards the way the film is shot, the delicately picked soundtrack, the interwoven stories that almost perfect hyperlink cinema IMO. Yet, you disregard all of this because the overriding message is one you are fortunate enough to have been taught already.
P.S. HOW CAN YOU RATE THE HAPPENING 4 TIMES BETTER THAN CRASH?!
If you want a film that is entirely nonsensical (hey guys, lets out run the wind) and has the most ridiculous message (the plants are trying to kill us) and yet still attempts to maintain an illusion of sophistication then look no further.
I didn't disregard the cinematography/acting/soundtrack/lighting/etc when deciding on the rating I gave the film, I just didn't discuss it in my "review". I merely took the piss out of the biggest issue I had with the film, which was the overbearing patronising tone of the whole film. I meant for it to be a bit jokey and hopefully make a few people chuckle :-)
Maybe if I ever re-watch it I'll do a "proper" review (I won't rewatch it - at least, not through my own free will!) But just to pick up on a couple of the points you made; the stories aren't even "delicately" interwoven. It's about as hamfisted as Lady Gaga's gloves. Pulp Fiction delicately interweaves lots of characters stories to create this enormous tapestry of lives and genuinely interesting tales. Crash just goes "here's some people and this is the extremely contrived and ridiculous way that they are linked".
The soundtrack wasn't anything special. If anything, it sounded like it had picked tracks from a made-for-tv ITV drama. It may have complimented the film, but then when the film is trash, that isn't really a positive association.
I hated the horrible dialogue and the cringe-worthy performances that accompanied it. The characters were so obvious that ultimately it rendered any potential interest in their stories null and void.
Whilst the overriding message is commendable, I don't think it was told in a particularly delicate, intelligent or (crucially) entertaining way. The Help, for example, was much, much better at getting the same message across.
As for The Happening being better? Well... hell yes! It's a "so-bad-it's-good" sci-fi film that is as hilarious as it is crap. I rate my films mostly according to how much I enjoyed the experience of watching them. I'm not a film maker, I'm not a professional critic, I'm not academically educated to a level where I feel I could give a fair and helpful assessment of how "good" a film is or isn't. So the 4 stars for The Happening is based on how much fun I had whilst watching Marky Mark fight the trees, the generous one star for Crash is based on how much it made me want to stick pins in my eyes.
But if you have a review posted that could make me change my mind, please feel free to share it. I'd be happy to read your opinions on it.
Nice review (and funny). The problem with Crash is just besides its message, everything about its execution is borderline insulting to even the vaguely intelligent. They went for a "different" approach and it FAILED. Big time. Watch 'Do the Right Thing' if you want a great American film about racism.
I've not seen it, but there are loads of films that do it better. American History X, The Help, even Django Unchained!
Wait, wait wait -- Owen... White people and black people can be nice to each other? Wow. Crash sure taught me an important lesson.
Yeah it's full of revelations like that.
Mind=blown