Matt Jones' Random Acts of Verbiage

Why didn’t someone hit me over the head and drag me to see Crash? I remember thinking that the film looked interesting and that I should probably see it. I never did. Until tonight. I was blown. a. way. What a powerful and emotional film.

I had no idea what it was about coming in and when the issue of race came up my first reaction was something along the lines of “oh great, more stereotypical images about race and racism.” I was shutup pretty quickly. This Oscar deserving (and winning) work delved into people, their relationships and the complex connections between them. The ensemble cast did wonderfully in their truthful portrayal of those dealing with tough situations. Each story managed to deepen the message that none of us are devoid of prejudices, whether our own or others’. One of the taglines says things very well:

It’s the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We’re always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something.

True for just L.A.?

I’m not really going to say much else about this film. I hightly recommend it to everyone. Relationships are difficult and we are all affected by race in one way or another. This film crashes head on with that in a brutally honest (and difficult) way. As a side, I appreciated that there was no one star. Everyone had their role, and filled it well. Mad props to Paul Haggis.

Jean: Do you want to hear something funny?
Maria: What’s that Mrs. Jean?
Jean: You’re the best friend I’ve got.