Crash

Crash is a 2004 drama film directed by Paul Haggis. It premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2004, but it wasn't released internationally until the following year. more...

The film is a social commentary on racial and social tensions in Los Angeles, and has often been compared to Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, Collateral starring Tom Cruise and Changing Lanes with Ben Affleck. It was a critical and box-office success in the early summer of 2005. The movie was filmed with an incredibly tight budget, just $6.5 million (plus $1 million in financing). Because of the financial constraints, director Haggis filmed in his own house, borrowed a set from tv show Colombo, used his car in parts of the film, and, even used cars from other staff members. The movie has been extremely profitable, grossing more than $53 million, making more than 8 times its budget.

Plot summary

Several car accidents, shootings, and, carjackings bring together a group of strangers in Los Angeles. The film switches between different storylines in a style reminiscent of Paul Thomas Anderson's 1999 movie Magnolia. Characters are from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, and racism and sexism feature in many scenes.

Tagline: Live your life at the point of impact.

Characters

• Jean is the wife of Rick, the district attorney of Los Angeles. The Brentwood housewife is paranoid of people who are of other races.
• Graham is a black detective in the Los Angeles Police Department. He wants to prevent his brother, Peter, from going to prison.
• Officer Ryan is a racist police officer who molests Christine during a traffic stop. This causes his partner, Officer Hanson, to realize his partner's racist tendencies and ask to have his own beat. Officer Ryan is also trying to get help for his father, who has what the viewer is led to believe is prostate cancer misdiagnosed as a bladder infection.
• Ria is a detective and Graham's girlfriend.
• Flanagan is an aid to Rick who talks Graham into accepting a corrupt deal.
• Rick is the district attorney of Los Angeles. He was carjacked with his wife Jean, and he spends the movie trying to save his political career by showing that he is racially sensitive and still tough on law-and-order issues.
• Cameron is a Los Angeles television director who witnesses his wife getting molested by Officer Ryan and is mentally shaky for most of the movie as a result.
• Anthony is a carjacker who sells stolen cars to a corrupt business. Anthony perceives racism in almost everything around him. Anthony's partner in crime is Peter, Graham's younger brother.
• Christine Ghram is the wife of Cameron, the Los Angeles film director. She is molested by Officer Ryan after she and Cameron are pulled over. She become very angry with her husband because he does not say anything while she is being molested, but later has another encounter with Officer Ryan.
• Officer Hanson is Officer Ryan's partner. Officer Hanson asks for a solo patrol after witnessing Officer Ryan molesting Christine. He cannot complain about Officer Ryan because of the risk that it would pose to his career.
• Daniel is a Mexican-American locksmith who faces discrimination from Jean and others. He is seeking a safe environment for his young daughter.
• Farhad is a Persian store owner who is afraid for his safety. He quickly becomes angry when he believes that people are cheating him.

Read more at Wikipedia.org