Bryne Westwood
Professor Bomboy
Arts and Humanities 101
4-28-2015
A
Crash Course in Crash
The film I chose to critique today is Crash. Written and directed by
Paul Haggis, this film brings some of the most realistic stories into light. I
have chosen to critique the music and it's relationship with the emotions felt
by the different characters. Here are my thoughts one music note at a time.
The film Crash was created to make people aware of the ways of the
world. People, in some way or another, are judgmental of each other. Some
people vocalize their thoughts and opinions, while others just display their
feelings on their faces. Crash is trying to say that presuming about
others is wrong and can indeed, cause consequences. Using Los Angeles as the
perfect setting, the director was hoping to show California in every aspect
that it has to offer. It proves that people are quite similar regardless of
location. The opening scene even provides us with a quote that helps predict
what life is going to be like: “It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you
walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody
touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that
touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something.”
Crash
follows the lives of several
characters, Graham, Jean, Officer Ryan, Cameron, Christine, Anthony, and
Daniel. Based in Los Angeles, California, Crash introduces us to this
unique and surprising set of people. This film takes place during present day,
which at the time of the film's birth, was 2004. However, there was no evidence
of well-known music playing in the film. It mostly consisted of dark and
mysterious, modern sounding music. It was definitely used to set the mood
during each scene.
The
music featured in Crash paved the film's atmosphere from the very
beginning. Music slowly seeps into the introduction of the film easily making
the viewer feel a sense of content, but questioning what could possibly come
next? It is almost as if the music is tiptoeing into something bigger. However,
it continues in an ominous manner into the opening credits until finally coming
to a stop. Each time we prepare to meet a new character or a new storyline, the
same song plays revealing more mysterious feelings that the characters might be
experiencing. When something takes an exciting turn, the music becomes slightly
louder and quiet, opera-like vocals are heard. This theme seems to be
consistent throughout the film, leaving the viewer to question what the mood
will be like or become.
Crash
does feature a lot of dialogue with or without music in the background. The
scenes in which only conversation is held, allows natural sound to be heard. If
we listen closely, we can hear the sounds of a city such as car horns, sirens,
and trucks driving by. The director did a fantastic job with making the viewer
feel like they are really in Los Angeles with the actors themselves. It just
makes the movie easier to relate to. Some of the most important topics occur
when the music is cut and the viewer is forced to understand the meaning behind
this film. There is a scene where Anthony and his friend decide to hi-jack a
car from Jean and high-tail it out of the area. Both Anthony and Jean, separately
discuss the stereotypes about one another and "their type of people."
Another issue we face is when officer Ryan pulls over a married couple for no
apparent reason and makes them step out of their vehicle. We then witness
officer Ryan and his partner pat the couple down to check for weapons. However,
officer Ryan sexually assaults the female (Christine), as her husband looks on
in fear of the police officers shooting them. Both of these scenes are
extremely powerful and display their messages loud and clear. Both scenes also
created an uncomfortable feeling for the viewers because of the direct
conversations taking place. With no music swallowing up the actor's voices, we
get the raw conversations whether they are sad, angry, or happy in this film.
While
hearing the conversations taking place in Crash, with or without the
aide of music, it is clear to see how realistic the situations displayed really
are. I felt my emotions go up and down like a rollercoaster. I was never quite
sure how the scene would play out, but I would make my best guesses. I felt
anger during the scene in which Christine was sexually assaulted and felt my
own sense of hurt. I wanted to step in and help her! I was also filled with
tears and sadness whenever anything was said that was racist, biased, or
misogynistic. One scene in particular, was when Daniel returns from work to
find an angry customer pointing a gun at him. Daniel's small daughter then runs
outside to try to protect her father and then we hear a gunshot. My heart was
pounding as I watched the entire scene play out. I felt as though I was losing
someone extremely close to me because of a miscommunication with another
person.
Nearing
the end of the movie, we start to see how lives really can "crash"
together at any time. Some people are changed, while others tried their hardest
to change. All of the characters had their own experiences with the same ending
result: you get what you give and be kind to others. The movie fades out with
the same mysterious, modern sounding music, but ends on a positive note. While
the ending credits are rolling, there is finally a different song playing! We
now hear a more upbeat song, which pulls the viewer out of deep thought while
watching this film. Crash can really be an eye-opener for people and has
made me stop to think time and time again. People just need to remember that
everyone has feelings and their own stories to tell. As stated before,
"... I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other,
just so we can feel something."
__________________________________________________________
Works
Cited
Crash. Perf. Sandra Bullock,
Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Nona Gaye, Ludacris, and Michael Peña. Lions Gate
Entertainment, 2005. DVD.
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