Western Oregon Journal

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            Looking for a profound, gripping and meaningful film to watch at the theater? The fact of the matter is that movie corporations have not been providing the general public with any of these lately. But fret not, there is always hope. That is when an incredibly moving film titled Crash, directed by Paul Haggis, decided to grace its presence in theaters.

            Starring a variety of talented actors, Crash follows a group of strangers within 24 hours time in the city of LA while they struggle to understand the world around them and where they belong in it. As a series of tragic event events occur (a murder, a shooting and murder of a police officer, a car hijacking, a car accident, a vandalism and many more events…), the strangers’ lives slowly begin to weave together and they merge with one another.

            The trailer for Crash is vague and definitely does not do justice to this groundbreaking film. Crash is beautifully and artistically filmed anddeals with some of the most important issues of our time: racism and crime. However, what makes this movie so clever is it is not one sided with these issues. For instance, in one scene viewers may see a black man jacking a car and one may think of him as bad, but the audience is forced to empathize later on when he shows his good side.

            What really makes this film so powerful is the character development. Not one character in this movie is flat, or in other words, all of the characters are not a stereotype or copy of every other character seen in the typical movie. The characters are well-rounded, lovable and unique. A viewer gets the sense that he/she has known these characters at some time and instantly feels compassion and toward each and every one, no matter what they have done. It’s amazing because in this movie, just when one thinks that they just might hate a character, that same character commits a heroic or humane act which makes the viewer directly forget their feelings of hate.

            The shining star of Crash has got to be awarded to smalltime star Michael Pena, who plays the incredibly amiable character of Daniel. Although he has not played a leading role in any movies yet, he is on his way to stardom after his performance in Crash. The character of Daniel that Pena so effortlessly plays is unbelievably realistic and human that viewers start to forget that he is just an actor doing his job.

            Aside from Pena’s shining performance, Ryan Phillippe, Thandie Newton and Don Cheadle make equally good performances as a cop just trying to use the good of his heart, a victimized black woman in the racist streets of LA and a confused investigator who is attempting to deal with his drug addict mother and wild brother. The other actors in Crash also played notable roles (there are just to many to name off), which leads one to think that there couldn’t possibly be anything bad about this movie, which is sure to win some awards in the future.

            Crash is a flick that must not be missed; it is just too moving to pass up. Be aware that it is shocking and dramatic, but it is done in such a wonderful way that viewers will not want continue on ad infinitum. Go see it. End of story.

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