Crash (2004)

Written and directed by Paul Haggis, Crash is the story of people whose lives in Los Angeles are interconnected through their experiences with racism. It was set in the multicultural city of Los Angeles, California.

It is safe to say that a quote by Graham (played by Don Cheadle) in the film’s first quarter, sums up the story. He said “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.”

The movie portrays the lives of a white retiring cop providing for his sick father and training his young idealistic partner; a white district attorney and his angry wife; a black detective with a sick mother and a thief brother who steals cars with his black friend; a successful black Hollywood director and his wife; a Persian shop keeper and the Hispanic locksmith who tries fixing his door.


The inspiration behind Crash is most probably the Rodney King trial which happened in the early 1990s. King was assaulted by LA police who were possibly triggered by racial issues.


Racism interlinks all the characters and their stories. Each character deals with some form of racism that is either resulted from circumstances or experiences. Some of the characters who seemed like they were too fixated on racial issues and would never change their attitudes, changed in the end. Sandra Bullock’s character Jean for example was always critical of her Hispanic maid, but in the end realized that she was her only true friend.

The screenplay was written by Paul Haggis, who also wrote Million Dollar Baby. The characters all seemed well rounded and close to reality because the screenplay was well-written. The dialogues were smooth and easy to comprehend making the audience capable of relating to the characters. Some of the movie’s quotes left a mark on me as I kept thinking about them for days later.

Sandra Bullock and Don Cheadle lead an outstanding ensemble cast and delivered performances that were moving and sincere. The film was further dramatized by the soundtrack or choice of music. In the scene where the Persian shop keeper decides to take justice from his Hispanic locksmith, we hear a gripping song with Persian sounding lyrics sung by a dramatic female voice.

Editor Hughes Winborne managed to weave all the stories together in a way that made sense to the viewer. The stories’ turning points were clear by the way the film was edited. Some of the most powerful scenes in the film were when Officer John (played by Matt Dillon) rescued Christine’s (Thandie Newton) life; and when the Persian shopkeeper realized the horrible crime he almost committed when attempting to shoot his locksmith.