Recalling the controversy over the Best Picture selection at the 2004 Academy Awards, I think it was much ado about nothing. Brokeback Mountain (***) had won numerous awards that year, including the Best Director Oscar for Ang Lee but I think Crash (****)- which was little known at the time – rightfully won the big prize.
Brokeback Mountain was very scenic and featured a very appropriate soundtrack, transporting viewers back to Wyoming in the 1960s. The film carried the positive message that love isn’t limited by gender or race but a far deeper emotion. But although the film was enjoyable, it had only one major theme and I think there is a lack of depth to the picture. Crash is far more multi-dimensional. The fact that it was seen by far few people doesn’t limit the style and substance that it shoes.
Crash talks about racial prejudice and the relationships between members of different ethnic groups. The stories of various African-Americans, W.A.S.P.s, Red-Necks, Persians, Cambodians, and Hispanics become intertwined during a forty-eight hour period and every interaction – even between family members – is coloured by racism. Nobody is totally good or bad and hardly anybody gets what they deserve; human relations are a lot like the many car accidents which occur on the streets of Los Angeles.
First impressions are inevitably wrong (and it’s not always the situation where they guy who seems to be bad turns out to be good but seemingly innocent victims are revealed to be slightly more malevolent than they first appear). In a scene between Graham Waters, a detective played by Don Cheadle, and Flanagan, a member of the District Attorney’s office, it is understood that they may get a situation wrong but they need to start criminal proceedings because the court of public opinion is already underway.
The screenplay is tragic at times, uplifting at others; there are insightful moments and humourous ones. By showing all the sides of a situation, the film shows how everyone’s perspective differs. At the end of the film, despite everything that happened – and continues to happen everyday – business continues as usual and humans continue to interact with each other. Paul Haggis directed an amazing ensemble cast in a film.