Kimputer's Weblog

For Paul Haggis, the future looks bright. With this one, he definitely has another Oscar contender after writing Million Dollar Baby (technically, Million Dollar Baby got off the ground after Crash was already finished filming). Going behind the camera also, he has total control over this special pet project. There’s a certain unique story telling that makes quite a few things happen. First of all, we have actors flocking in, happily doing it without pay (pretty much keeping production costs at a measly $6.5 million). Not only that, it also brings the best out of them. When you think some of them slumbered into mediocrity because fame got to their heads (for instance Sandra Bullock, Ryan Phillipe), their performances here validates their job as actor/actress for another few years. Then there’s the character writing. With so many characters around, Haggis is still capable of bringing psychologic twists to it with a minimum of screen time. The story itself is very racially charged, but he is still able to infuse other certain elements in it, so it functions as a breeding ground for other social issues. And while the drama keeps pressuring your mood, after this grim outlook on things, he keeps a few rays of light shining through, subtly suggesting there’s still a bit of hope and faith left.
All this combined, makes this crash resonate far beyond the movie theatre, making you ponder over it for some time to come.8½.

This entry was has posted on Thursday, October 20th, 2005 at 21:39 and is filed under Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.