Crash (1997)

Instant Favorite.

A Masterpiece!

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Director David Cronenberg took a wrong turn with this failed sex-melodrama about car crashes and climaxes. A young movie producer is involved in a violent two-car smash-up which leaves one man dead and his wife briefly hospitalized--and yet aroused. The producer and the woman begin a sexual relationship with car wrecks as their aphrodisiac--and they're not alone; the producer's wife is already a player in this ungainly game, and so is a local performance artist who is sexually charged by recreating celebrity crashes. Cronenberg, who also adapted J.G. Ballard's novel, was allegedly attracted not to the eroticism prevalent in the material, but rather the opportunity to delve into his characters' scarred and warped psyches (Roger Ebert called the film "A pornographic movie without pornography in it"). Unfortunately, the characters are a heavy-breathing group of hedonistic (or is that nihilistic?) freaks, pale and vacant-eyed like horny zombies, who seem to have the time and the energy (and the insurance!) to engage in such a lifestyle. What is Cronenberg's point--that death behind the steering wheel represents the ultimate orgasm? If eroticism wasn't Cronenberg's primary objective in tackling this tasteless project, that pretty much leaves everyone involved bumping and grinding without a purpose. Shaken but not stirred, if you will. *1/2 from ****

I know it had big stars such as Holly Hunter before she was widely known as Mrs.Incredible in Disney's "The Incredibles" and James Spader before he did his second romantic erotic movie "The Secretary". However, I thought the movie wasn't that great because I didn't really understand the whole story line, I felt it was too rushed and all over the top!I really didn't think Hunter and Spader's characters weren't really the match for each other and it was like, they were forced to do the sex scenes rather than enjoying them in a passionate way. Maybe it would've been better if he was partnered with Maggie Gyllenhaal 6 years earlier, then it would be better in my opinion. Not really a movie that I would find the best erotic movie out there but rather a boring one :/

David Cronenberg is known for his disturbing mixture of psychological and body horror, his films are always slickly made but with a real seediness to them that actually gives them a unique edge. For all of his work however Crash is the film that most people think crossed the line because it is simply too sordid and repulsive, causing massive controversy on release and still carrying infamy the this day. The fact its based on the novel by JG Ballard (whose work is always deeply unsettling) should give you a clue about the films nature. I think the film is very gripping, not just because it is extremely well made and acted, but because the ideas behind the film are a lot smarter than most give it credit for. Firstly the biggest issue people have with the film which is the plot. It is effectively about people who are turned on by car crashes or the thoughts of being in a car crash. A young TV director named James Ballard gets involved with a group of people into this form of fetishism when he himself has a car crash. I will admit that the premise is very far out there and yes Crash is very disturbing at times, but its no more as troubling in a graphic sense than most films based around sexuality and I think people are more troubled with the idea itself that the film. The sex scenes are extremely graphic and unnerving, the scene with the scar tissue is downright horrible, but I think that they do work given the context of the film.Then you have to look at what the film is trying to say. Cronenberg's works (and Ballard's) have always had links to the loss of human feeling because of the technological world we live in and that plays a large role here. The film is certainly a comment on the human condition, how people have become so empty that the only way to feel intimate is to risk ones life doing something so dangerous. Many of these very simple ideas work fantastically, the fact that something as everyday as the car plays such an important role or that the fetishes of these people are something completely out of the ordinary. There is also the way in which the car is used to stalk people and used for sexual fantasies that links into this clever idea. I also don't understand the anger towards the more graphic areas. Violence, sex and drugs are put together frequently in films with little fuss made, yet add something different to the mix and people lose their minds. If you swapped out car crashes for heroin or cocaine addiction then nobody would even bat an eyelid. I think the cast deserve a massive amount of praise given some of the stuff they have to do. For me James Spader has always been a very interesting actor and here he is very effective in a brilliantly understated performance as Ballard. Deborah Kara Unger is also excellent as his wife, between this and The Game she really deserved more starring roles, and her chemistry with Spader is surprisingly believable. The groups de-facto leader Vaughn is excellently played by Elias Koteas, especially given the difficult borderline nature of the character. The always great Holly Hunter and Rosanna Arquette give solid supporting performances too. The characters here are extremely distant and cold, which understandably turns off many, but they are made that way to reflect the story and not because of a lack of character development.One area where the film truly excels in is with Howard Shore's score. This is easily one of the most atmospheric and haunting scores of its time, fitting the film so perfectly it is hard to believe. The opening title song is just incredible, the jagged dissonant guitar is so powerful and is used to underpin the score throughout. The film looks fantastic. The colour scheme is impressive, with the daytime scenes having a mechanical grey look that adds to the dullness of the world and the night scenes having an icy sheen that gives them a strange beauty. The car crashes themselves are very well done and look like you'd expect real car crashes too. There are many memorable moments littered throughout, the car wash scene is very well shot and the cryptic ending is actually quite profound.So for me Crash is a film that gets unfairly hated on, mostly because its premise is daring and very out of the ordinary. It is frequently disturbing and at times bordering on repulsive, but it carries itself in such an unflinching manner and with such great ideas that you understand why. Its comments on the world are deceptively brilliant, whilst I think to acting and score are both superb. Cronenberg shows himself as a truly talented director once again, as he knows from the very start what he want to achieve and everything that takes place leaves an impact because of that. It is a film that is difficult to like, but one that almost has to be admired.

How do you like idea of having sex when cars are crashing? My friend asked me to watch this movie posing the question. I fell in love with the movie not with the idea though.I loved the taking and the bottom line "to what extent one can go to have a fantasy fulfilled". The fetish is abnormal and is named paraphilia. I don't know if any body does that in real life or even has such fantasy but David Cronenberg the director seems to be fantasised by such a fetish and made a film out of it. Extraordinary situations demand exemplary acting and thats what we have in here. Cronenberg stands all amidst directors in terms of boldness, bringing surrealism and making us believe that somethings may exist. He just makes me succumb to the believability of his themes and therein lies the greatness of Cronenberg. Now, this film is more like a fantasy fable and even the way it is presented is such. The interesting part comes when this fable seems to be a reality. Yes, paraphilia exists, yes people want to have fun in absurd and weird circumstances and this reality is married with a fable making this a really wonderful film. James Spader seems to be holding a bunch of sex driven films to his credit. Be it "Sex Lies and Videotape" or "Secretary" and is aptly cast as James Ballard. I do not think, Cronenberg might have been rejected by many other actors, to whom this role was offered. Nevertheless, Spader seemed to be in the right shoes for the role and he has done a commendable job. The film is a challenge coz it marries, the psychology of the brain to the physical desire, a dire necessity of many humans and creates a layered and textured form of a fantasy which is rare and yet so absorbing. David Cronenberg took this challenge from the novel of the same by James Ballard. To write, anyone can write anything, but to make using a publicly accessible medium in a way that it is acceptable is one thing that Cronenberg should be applauded for above all. I stand by this film and admire many things which are extremely challenging and even introspecting and appreciate the courage of the writer-director David Cronenberg. The editing gives us the right dose or romance of romance and action. The cinematography sets the right environment. The music creates the right mood. Now, in such a film what more can you ask for. Thus, I suppose it's one of the most challenging assignments that was accomplished with an aplomb by a director.I thank my friend "Raghuveer" who acquainted me with the film and I am happy to have seen this. A big thanks to the master director David Cronenberg too. A 4/5 for this.