Crash Movie Review 2005

From the writer of "Million Dollar Baby" comes this racially charged ensemble piece, which follows numerous lives intersecting over a 36-hour period in the volatile melting pot of L.A. Opening with a car-jacking, a central event that connects most of the characters, Haggis' drama meditates on the levels of class conflict between cops, criminals, showbiz types, and various ethnic and racial groups. A bit preachy at times, but the cast is so uniformly strong and the characters so multi-layered, you won't care. Cheadle, as always, stands out, but even the ensemble's typically bland Hollywood actors (Bullock, Fraser, Phillippe) acquit themselves nicely.

Distribution

CinemaNow, 4553 Glencoe Ave., Ste. 200, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292, URL: http://www.cinemanow.com, Remarks: Formerly known as Lions Gate Home Entertainment

Available on DVD
Running time 100 minutes.
Originally from United States.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Crime Drama, Mystery & Suspense, L.A., Homicide, Interracial Affairs, Police Detectives, Anthology, Urban Drama, Culture Clash

Screenplay

Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco

Cast

Ludacris, Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser, Terrence DaShon Howard, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe, Larenz Tate, Nona Gaye, Michael Pena, Beverly Todd, Keith David, Shaun Toub, Loretta Devine

Cinematography

James Muro

Director

Paul Haggis

Music

Mark Isham

Other

Richard Van Dyke, Hughes Winborne, Brandee Dell'aringa, Linda Bass, Laurence Bennett

Producer

Cathy Schulman, Bob Yari, Mark R. Harris, Don Cheadle, Bobby Moresco, Paul Haggis, Harris Communications, Apollo Proscreen, Bull's Eye Entertainment, Lions Gate Films

Awards

Oscars 2005: Film, Film Editing, Orig. Screenplay; British Acad. 2005: Orig. Screenplay, Support. Actress (Newton); Ind. Spirit 2006: First Feature, Support. Actor (Dillon); Natl. Bd. of Review 2005: Breakthrough Perf. (Howard); Screen Actors Guild 2005: Cast; Writers Guild 2005: Orig. Screenplay.