Crash (DVD)

This is a powerful movie; the good guys are not all good and the bad guys are not all bad. Racism is present in many ugly forms, although some of the worst practitioners take advantage of their chance to repent and make amends. It a movie without a true leading role, although there are several movie stars in the cast. Some of the best scenes involve the machinations that people have to go through in order to get through their life, do their job or see that some justice is done. There is a district attorney concerned only with his re-election prospects and his overtly racist, self-centered wife, two partnered street cops and a black senior detective, a shop owner that is vandalized and seeks revenge against a locksmith and several other supporting characters that add a great deal of power. This is one of those movies where all are supporting characters and all performances are outstanding. The good do some bad and the bad do some good, the interconnections of all the characters makes for a story with surprises that are uplifting and then crash you down. Whatever your final position is, this movie will not leave you unchanged as it gives you perspectives on the racist undercurrent of American society.