But while Crash depicted a flawed cross-section of L.A. society that “clashed together,” as Don Cheadle’s jaded cop Graham Waters tells us in its opening minutes, many felt it prioritized the perspective of its white characters too much. ”[They] “They have an interiority, and they’re dealing with just these stereotypical brown characters,” Denby says, referring in particular to Dillon’s twisted cop character, who stops Newton’s character Christine in front of her husband Cameron during a highway raid and sexually assaults her, only to rescue her from a car accident in a later scene. Newton himself said it. vulture In 2020, he said that the storyline “neutralizes the very real anger that African Americans feel” and that he was not “convinced” by Dillon’s character’s redemption story. In fact, the treatment of Newton’s character is the element that has generated the most outrage since then. “She was meant to be played in that movie, she was Matt Dillon’s saving grace and mechanism, and we [also] spend more time with cameron [feelings of] castration [following her assault than her own]” Denby says.
Film journalist Stacey Wilson Hunt – host of the podcast “My Hollywood Story” and An oral history of Crash’s 2016 Oscar win. – She appreciated the film’s unfiltered depiction of sexual assault – a moment she says is even more powerful in a post-#MeToo world. “As awful as that scene is, it doesn’t seem unrealistic to me,” she says. But she, too, questions the way movies ennoble violent criminals. “We’re in this culture that’s been going on for thousands of years, where someone can say, ‘Oh, I did this terrible thing, but if I do this amazing thing again, would you put me back in your prayer circle?'”
In 2022, Haggis himself was found guilty in a civil court of raping film publicist Hayley Brest. ordered to pay $10 million in damages. Mr. Haggis denies all charges and was not charged criminally. Brest said he was inspired to come forward after what he witnessed. Mr. Haggis publicly condemns Harvey Weinstein.
The current state of victory
Reevaluating the film from the perspective of 2026, Denby says, “It feels even more jarring now because of race and policing.” [linked to] “What’s going on with ICE,” he says, “in ‘Crash,’ you see the seeds of this moment,” but at the same time he believes the story doesn’t offer any meaningful commentary on the issue. [systemically flawed]. I don’t think of these things as disasters. it makes them [personal] Drama. ”
So would a movie like Crash still win Best Picture? Films based on obvious “problems” continue to do well at the Oscars, but ultimately Searles and Daniels don’t think that’s the case. ”[At the time] “It seemed forward-thinking and a way to bring together a bunch of actors from different backgrounds into one story. So it was hitting a benchmark for representation, but I don’t think it can be beaten today,” Searles says.
Source: BBC Culture – www.bbc.com
