Crash 2005
Crash ★★★½ 2005 (R)
From the writer of “Million Dollar Baby” comes this racially charged ensemble piece, which follows numerous lives intersecting over a 36hour period in the volatile melting pot of L.A. Opening with a carjacking, 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 multilayered, you won't care. Cheadle, as always, stands out, but even the ensemble's typically bland Hollywood actors (Bullock, Fraser, Phillippe) acquit themselves nicely. 100m/C DVD, Bluray Disc, UMD . US Ludacris, Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe, Larenz Tate, Nona Gaye, Michael Pena, Beverly Todd, Keith David, Shaun Toub, Loretta Devine; D: Paul Haggis; W: Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco; C: J.(James) Michael Muro; M: Mark Isham. Oscars '05: Film, Film Editing, Orig. Screenplay; British Acad. '05: Orig. Screenplay, Support. Actress (Newton); Ind. Spirit '06: First Feature, Support. Actor (Dillon); Natl. Bd. of Review '05: Breakthrough Perf. (Howard); Screen Actors Guild '05: Cast; Writers Guild '05: Orig. Screenplay.