Crash

I know I'm quite a bit late on this bandwagon, but I finally say down and watched CRASH tonight. I have to say that in all the movies I've watched in the past year (and that has been a hell of a lot) this one is one of the most powerful, touching, riveting and thought provoking I've seen in a very long time. Now I know why it beat Brokeback Mountain for the best picture of the year. Not to take anything away from Brokeback, it gave a message and it touched me. Crash was more than just a message, it made me think about who I really was. This movie is just not about racism, but about who we are as a society and how everything we do and say effects others without us even realizing it.

One of the most powerful lines was from the Sandra Bullock character to her housekeeper, "You're the best friend I've got." It's so true, sometimes the best friend we have is right in front of us but we are too blind to really see it. Or we refuse to see it because of our bigotry and racism.

Every performance in this movie was memorable; Don Cheadle, Terrance Howard, Matt Dillon, Ryan Phillipe, Thandie Newton, Sandra Bullock, each one of them was real, but by far I think the best performances besides Matt Dillon, was Beverly Todd who played Don Cheadle's mother, and Michael Pena.

Matt's portrayal of a bigoted, angry cop was phenomenal, and when he climbs into the burning car to save the woman and realizes who it is he is trying to save was unforgettable. Beverly Todd, who I felt was the best performance in the entire movie was just flawless. Her love for her son was so real and so true. How many mother's have we seen that sees no wrong in their baby regardless of what it does to them. I saw my own grandmother in that part, devoted to the "bad" son regardless of how it effected the "good" son. Michael Pena gave a moving performance of a father trying to do his best in protecting and providing for his family, and when for a split instant you think all that was for naught, your heart cries with him.

Buy this movie, it is one that belongs in every DVD collection. Watch it once for the story and then watch it again for the performance of every actor and actress, you will not be disappointed.