Crash (2004)

This is one of the best movies that I have ever seen, it is incredibly intense and emotional. In Crash, the lives of several characters become intertwined as they go through a series of traumatic events that force them to evaluate their ideas about race and equality. This is a terrific film; the first time I saw it, I was awed. It came as no surprise to me that it won the Best Picture Oscar. The cast of this film is incredible and is packed with recognizable and impressive faces. It would take too long to list them all, but there are several terrific performances. Don Cheadle and Sandra Bullock play great roles without which this movie would be lost. Brendan Fraser has a significant role in Crash, and he is alright, but it can be extremely difficult to take him seriously in roles like this. There are two amazing performances in this film. The first is turned in by Matt Dillon, who plays the role of his lifetime. He is at the point in his career where his options are limited, but in this role, he makes the best of it and was phenomenal. I would say the best performance in this film comes from Octavio Gomez, who plays an incredibly provoking character who is one of the most sympathetic people that I have ever seen on film. Crash is great in the way that films like Traffic, Snatch and Love Actually are great. One of the best devices that a lot of writers and directors have been using recently is creating several multidimensional characters that the viewer can invest in, whose lives are all dependent on each other's actions. I am always impressed by the way films like this come together in the end. The only negative thing I can say about Crash is that it was not quite as good the second time around. There are a few shocking, heart-wrenching moments in the movie that are not quite as shocking when you know they are coming. The film was still great, but this is the type of movie that does not get better every time you watch it. I own Crash, and my wife has not yet seen it, so I will definitely be watching it again at some point. I give Crash 4 and a half stars.