Crash
— This ensemble drama about racial prejudice just manages to avoid the risk of oversimplification.”
- Director: Paul Haggis
- United States, 2004
Paul Haggis is one of those people who was obviously born to make movies. Already a decorated screenwriter of note, his mainstream directorial debut landed Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Editing at the Oscars.
Choosing Los Angeles to tell a series of interrelated stories (see also: Magnolia, Short Cuts), Haggis’ defining theme is the cause and effect of racial prejudice.
Some characters and their stories are less effective than others: Chris Bridges’ Anthony is rather too glib, Brendan Fraser’s Rick Cabot is simply there to glue a couple of stories together and his wife (Sandra Bullock) leaves it very late to make a useful contribution to the narrative. On the whole though, Crash is an emotionally powerful ensemble drama and hopefully a precedent for Paul Haggis as a director.
See also:
Parenthood
The film that taught us that every family is dysfunctional in some way!
- Originally published: 22 Jan 2007 in Film
In Bruges
Possibly the finest black comedy of the decade. F**king Bruges!
- Originally published: 21 Apr 2008 in Film
Howards End
Some great individual performances. A boon for Forster fans but a bit of a chore for everyone else.
- Originally published: 2 Apr 2007 in Film
American Beauty
Watching one of 1999′s best movies, it’s easy to forget the seriousness of the issues being discussed here.
- Originally published: 12 Feb 2007 in Film
The last night of Hobson’s Choice
Treading the boards is John Savident as the cobbler who must tread carefully.
- Originally published: 3 Dec 2007 in Theatre
Who you gonna call?
Hello you, I'm Mike Padgett. I'm not a Princeton curator, Knoxville mayoral candidate, Kentuckian pastor or Arizona journalist, I just share the same name. In fact, I am a consultant working in user experience and information design.
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I'm originally from Yorkshire, England but nowadays I live in Belgium. My current favourite Belgian beer is Black Albert.
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