"Crash" Richly Deserves Best Film Oscar

Following its well deserved Oscar win for Best Picture of the year, the recent rerelease of "Crash" offers audiences another wonderful opportunity to see this incredible film for the first time or even for an encore viewing. "Crash" is a complex mosaic of multiple intertwining, interlocking lives and events which characteristically collide in an often unexpected and shocking manner, mercilessly laying bare our preconceived racial and gender stereotypes and prejudices. The result is a mindand heart-altering vision and experience which haunts us long after the film ends.

Written and directed by Paul Haggis who also wrote the screenplay for "Million Dollar Baby", this film, which features several prominent actors, is a model of ensemble acting at its best. All the actors are of equal importance as they successfully combine their individual talents to create the end result--a dynamic, unforgettable film.

Sandra Bullock and Brendan Fraser are a politically prominent white couple (he is the Los Angeles District Attorney) who experience crime "up close and personal" when they are the victims of a violent carjacking. The political and personal consequences of this event reveal their previously hidden, deep-seated biases.

Terrance Howard and Thandie Newton are an African-American couple whose middle class affluence provides them no immunity from the ethnic prejudices of some members of the L.A. Police Department. As a consequence, their marriage is seriously jeopardized while they struggle to recover from their traumatic encounter with police.

Matt Dillon (Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actor for this role) and Ryan Phillippe are white L.A. police officer partners who each in his own way struggles to handle the overwhelming stress of his job. Dillon, a 17-year veteran who appears to be burned out and suffering from stress fatigue, does eventually reveal a glimmer of the compassion for humanity he once had in a dramatic encounter with Thandie Newton. Phillippe is a rookie officer who views Dillon's actions and normally biased attitude as reprehensible, but soon finds himself in an untenable confrontation which ends tragically and reveals his own failure in response to stress. Don Cheadle (also one of the film's producers) is an African-American detective who struggles with daily prejudices on the job, problems with a sick mother, a delinquent younger brother and a Latino girlfriend.

Other significant characters include a Latino locksmith who becomes embroiled in a misunderstanding triggered by a language difference with a Persian store owner which leads to a potentially fatal incident involving the locksmith's young daughter.

A complementary backdrop to the film, the riveting musical score, which includes the song "In the Deep" (Oscar nominee for Best Original Song), helps to create a haunting and often mesmerizing effect on the viewer.

"Crash" is a must-see film and should be required viewing for every resident of every city in America.