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The movie is set in Los Angeles over a period of about 36 hours, and it starts with Detective Graham Waters (Don Cheadle) and his partner Ria (Jennifer Esposito) in their car, which was just rear-ended. Ria gets out to check on the other passenger, an Asian woman (Alexis Rhee), who is yelling at the on-site policeman that it's Ria's fault. Ria calmly protests but when insults start flying from the Asian woman, Ria retorts with some semi-racial accusations of her own, such as mocking the Asian woman pronouncing the word "brake" as "blake". As this ensues, Graham steps out of the car to check out a crime scene on the side of the road, which they had just arrived at when they were rear-ended. There's been a dead body found. Graham is checking around the scene when he suddenly stops and stares at something...or someone.
We flash back to "Yesterday" to begin the chronological journey that will bring us up to that point. Shop owner Farhad (Shaun Toub) is at a gun shop with his daughter Dorri (Bahar Soomekh). Farhad isn't sure exactly what to buy and the clerk gets impatient, calling him "Osama". Farhad objects, saying he's an American citizen, but the clerk gets belligerent and has Farhad removed from the store. Dorri was against buying the gun but she defiantly finishes the purchase, choosing a random red box of bullets for the gun. The clerk asks her if she realizes what that box has in it, but she just buys them and leaves. Elsewhere, Anthony (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges) and Peter (Larenz Tate) are walking. Anthony complains about the restaurant service, saying the whites got better treatment. Peter says their waitress was black. Anthony says that's even worse. A white couple walk by them. They are Rick and Jean Cabot (Brendan Fraser, Sandra Bullock). Jean uneasily looks at Anthony and Peter as they pass. Anthony tells Peter that's typical of white people, seeing two young black men and getting scared. Then Anthony and Peter carjack the Cabots.
When the Cabots get home later, Jean tells Rick that she wants the locks changed tomorrow morning. That is, changed again. They're being changed at that moment already by Daniel Ruiz (Michael Peña). Jean fears that this locksmith--because he's Hispanic and has a shaved head and tattoos--is going to sell copies of the key to his gang friends in the morning. Rick tries to talk her into calming down but Jean, having just had a gun pointed at her a short time earlier, isn't budging. Daniel has overheard her rant and puts two keys on the table, the job finished. He says nothing as he leaves. Rick also has problems as he's the city District Attorney, and he's running for re-election, and he has no idea how to spin this carjacking story, which will undoubtedly make the papers, without losing the black vote.
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| Yeah, there's nude art in the background. Sorry. |
Graham and Ria arrive at the scene of a shooting between two men in a parking lot. The surviving shooter is a white male, identified as an undercover police officer. The dead shooter, a black male, is also revealed to be an undercover police officer. This is the third time the white officer has shot and killed a black man. There were no witnesses to the shooting, only several who heard the two gunshots.
We've still got more characters to meet, and next is Officer John Ryan (Matt Dillon). He's on the phone with a doctor's office trying to get help for his father's health issues, but he doesn't feel the doctor is prescribing the right medication. When he learns the woman at the office is named Shaniqua (Loretta Devine), he says it figures and laughs, implying it in a racial manner. John hears a call over the police radio about the carjacking, so he and his partner Tom (Ryan Phillippe) start off on the road. However, John winds up following a different vehicle and turns on the police lights. Tom questions this. John says the people in this vehicle were doing SOMEthing. John walks to the driver's side window, and inside the car are married couple Cameron (Terrence Howard) and Christine (Thandie Newton), who are giggling about something. Christine also seems to be wiping lipstick from around her lips. John hands Cameron's ID cards to Tom for him to check on them, and then John asks Cameron to step out of the car. John gets a bit lippy and Christine then steps out as well. Tom can see things are escalating as John waves for him to come out for backup. Cameron and Christine aren't sure why but John has them both pushed against the car and frisked. Tom checks Cameron and he's clean. John checks Christine...very slowly. In fact, he flat out molests her right in front of Cameron, telling Cameron during this that her having gone down on him in a moving vehicle is a felony. John implies that it can be overlooked or Cameron can continue to argue. Cameron apologizes, and John says they're free to go. Christine glares at Cameron angrily, and when they return home, Christine yells that Cameron let that officer feel her up and chose to do nothing about it. Cameron rebuts that they had guns and were threatening to throw them both in jail. It turns into an ugly argument.
At this point, we've met all the principal players.
Daniel returns home from his day's work. His daughter Lara (Ashlyn Sanchez) is hiding under her bed, frightened by a noise she heard that sounded like a gunshot. Daniel tells her they moved out of that bad neighborhood into this nice suburban area so she doesn't have to worry about that anymore. Daniel then acts like he made a boneheaded move and forgot to do something, explaining that he's never gotten shot because he always wore an impenetrable cloak he was given as a child, and he was supposed to give the cloak to his daughter on her 5th birthday but forgot to do it. Lara comes out from under the bed and Daniel "removes" the cloak from his person and "puts" it on Lara.
Anthony and Peter are still driving around the stolen vehicle. They debate about music. Anthony thinks hip-hop is music that blacks demean themselves with. Peter says he likes country music even though he says it's music whites used to lynch blacks to. As this debate ensues, Anthony hits an Asian man getting into his white van. Anthony thinks they should just leave, but Peter tells him they can't because the Chinese man is still under the van and alive, just badly hurt. They drag him out and drop him off in front of the hospital.
Tom goes to Lt. Dixon (Keith David) requesting a new partner on the force. Dixon knows that John is a racist prick but implies that he, a black man in a high position within the predominantly-white LAPD, isn't keen on putting his own career at risk to try and discipline John for it. Tom then says he requests the change for personal reasons. Dixon tells Tom he can have a one-man car but it's going to be because of Tom's apparent flatulence problem. Tom begrudgingly accepts the deal.
Daniel replaces the lock at Farhad's store, but he tells Farhad that the door itself needs replacement. Farhad thinks Daniel is trying to cheat him and yells for him to fix it, but Daniel doesn't do doors. Farhad won't pay. Daniel crumples up the invoice and leaves despite Farhad's objections.
Several quick scenes move things along. Anthony and Peter bring the stolen vehicle to a chop shop, but the owner doesn't want it since there's blood all over the inside of it. Meanwhile, Graham and Ria are more than just partners on the force, as it turns out, and as they're getting biz-zay, Graham's mother calls him. He says he doesn't know where "he" is and then hangs up, saying he's having sex with a white woman. Ria loses her mood because first off, she's Hispanic, and second of all, who talks to his own mother like that? John's father is having trouble urinating and John decides he needs to visit the doctor's office personally.
So ends "Yesterday".
The next morning, John visits the doctor's office and sees Shaniqua. He apologizes for his mouth but then proceeds to demean her anyway, saying people like her are able to have these jobs because people like his father paved the way. John knows he's a prick but his dad isn't and he deserves the right treatment for his urinary tract infection, which he doesn't feel he's getting from this doctor. Shaniqua says if his dad was here, she'd sign anything, but since it's John here, she kicks him out. Elsewhere, Farhad arrives at his store to find the door busted in and the place ransacked with racial graffiti, and everything destroyed. He calls the locksmith company but is told by the receptionist that the tech told him he needed a new door, so they're not liable. She refuses to give out the tech's name. Insurance also won't cover the damages since it was negligence on Farhad's part. Farhad, at the end of his rope, later retrieves the paperwork from the dumpster and finds Daniel's name on there.
Graham checks on his mom, who's all coked up and talking in circles. She asks Graham if he found "him" yet, and it turns out she's asking about his brother. Graham says no each time she asks, as she keeps forgetting she'd asked already. Elsewhere, Cameron is directing his television show and gets visited by Christine at lunch. She says she was upset about yesterday because she felt Cameron let the cop take away his dignity. Cameron doesn't accept this explanation and walks away, leaving Christine upset.
Tom is reassigned. He and John shake hands and John tells him in time, he (Tom) will have the same prejudices he (John) already does. John heads out with his new partner and they come across a motor vehicle accident. One car is upside down, and both cars have leaking gasoline. John goes to the upside-down car and talks to the female inside. As he climbs in to help her, he sees its Christine. Christine freaks out and tells him to leave, but eventually both calm down and John promises her he will help her. John needs to reach over her lap to get the safety belt off and asks permission before doing so. The belt won't unhinge so he calmly tells her he has to cut it open. As he starts to cut, the gasoline ignites both cars and John is pulled out by other cops. Christine screams for him and John eventually breaks free and goes back in to pull her to safety just before her car explodes.
Graham goes to meet with Rick Cabot before Rick's press conference about the white-cop-shot-black-cop situation. Turns out there's a snag. The black cop apparently had $300K in his trunk, and the vehicle he was driving wasn't his. They haven't been able to contact the right owner yet. Rick's representative tries to spin this as if the money could be anybody's, and then he tells Graham they have a cushy position in the DA's office they were considering him for, but then they discovered his brother's criminal record. Graham is told that record could be wiped clean if Graham chooses not to throw a $300K wet blanket over this press conference. Graham isn't thrilled but he decides to tell Rick that the situation is just as it looks, a white cop shot a black cop. Rick's press conference goes smoothly. Meanwhile, Farhad has tracked down Daniel's residence and waits outside in his car. He's brought his gun.
Cameron stops at an intersection and is thinking, twisting his wedding ring. Anthony and Peter come up and point guns at him to steal the car. They then realize Cameron is black and recoil briefly. Cameron throws open his door, knocking Anthony to the ground. It turns into a streetfight with Peter threatening to shoot and Cameron not caring. A police car comes onto the scene. Peter runs off. Cameron and Anthony both get into the car, Anthony still threatening with his gun and Cameron still not caring. Cameron even takes the gun as a police chase ensues. Tom is one of the chasers and he recognizes the vehicle from the traffic stop the day before. Cameron eventually dead-ends in a cul-de-sac and the cops all draw their guns. Cameron exits the car yelling at the police, not caring if he gets shot. Tom eventually takes control of the situation and gets the police to let Cameron off with a warning. Tom tells Cameron he needs to get out of here, and now. Cameron leaves. He drops off Anthony somewhere, and even gives him the gun back as he does so. He also tells Anthony he's an embarrassment to both he and himself.
Daniel returns home. Farhad approaches him and draws his gun. Lara runs out of the house because Daniel "doesn't have his cloak" and she winds up jumping in front of Daniel as the gun fires. Daniel and his wife both scream in horror. Farhad, stunned, also is horrified. But after a few seconds, Lara says that Daniel is OK because she protected them both with the cloak. Daniel checks Lara, who's completely unharmed. Daniel and his family go inside. Farhad, stunned and amazed, pockets the gun and leaves the area, having no idea what just happened and how he wound up letting himself get to this point.
Moving the action along once again. Graham brings groceries to his mom, who's passed out. Jean is on the phone with her friend Carol, not knowing why she feels angry all the time lately. After Carol has to hang up for her massage, Jean slips and falls down the stairs. Peter hitches a ride and winds up in Tom's civilian car with country music playing on the radio. Peter says he loves country music and hockey. Tom snickers, not believing that for a second. Peter laughs to himself. Tom gets lippy and pulls over, telling Peter to get out. Peter wants to show Tom something from his pocket. Tom thinks Peter's about to carjack him so he shoots Peter just as he sees Peter actually was pulling a religious icon from his pocket. Peter dies in the passenger seat. Tom panicks, pulls Peter out of the car and leaves him in the grass on the side of the road before heading off.
And here we are again back to the opening scene of the movie. Graham sees the dead body in the field, and it's Peter, his brother. Anthony, meanwhile, is taking a bus home but gets off the bus when he sees the white van with its keys still in it from when he accidentally hit the Asian man. He takes the van. Elsewhere, in the hospital, an Asian woman frantically goes to see her husband, who was the man Anthony hit, and his wife is the one who rear-ended Graham and Ria. The man's battered but he'll live. He tells his wife there's a deposit in the room locker and to take care of it immediately. She nods. Going back to Anthony, he brings this white van to the chop shop. The owner opens the back and is stunned, as is Anthony, to see about 12 or so Chinese illegal immigrants in the back, obviously a part of human trafficking. The chop shop owner offers $500 per immigrant and Anthony can even keep the van.
Graham, Ria and Graham's mom are at the hospital. Dorri works as a nurse there and is leaving for home just as this happens. Graham's mom breaks down upon seeing Peter's body. Graham tells his mom he'll find out who killed Peter. She says that Graham killed him because he didn't go and find him. She also tells Graham that Peter did indeed come home last night and even brought groceries that she found the next day. Graham leaves, dejectedly having given up on trying to reason with her.
Dorri returns to her father's store. Farhad says he shot a little girl, but she's OK. Everything's OK because he has an angel that is protecting them all. He gives the gun to Dorri and tells her to get rid of it. He also says they'll rebuild the store. Dorri puts the gun in a drawer. We see the red box of bullets. In large letters on the box is the word "blanks".
Final quick action as we get one last look at our primary players. Jean calls Rick and tells him she's back home after a visit to the ER. Their housekeeper, Maria, drove her there, and she's fine. Jean hugs Maria and thanks her for being her best friend. Tom sets his car ablaze and leaves it. Cameron comes upon the burning wreckage as it begins to snow outside and joins the teenagers who are throwing trash onto the fire. He then gets a call from Christine, and they reconcile. Daniel stares out his daughter's bedroom window reflecting on the events from earlier. John does his best to help his father. Graham finds Peter's religious idol when he returns to where he found his body. And Anthony? Well, he takes the white van that he was given back by the chop shop owner to Chinatown. After parking, he opens the back and tells all the trafficked that they're free to go and discover America. Anthony gets back in the van and smiles, justifiably feeling good about his decision, then drives off.
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Crash did well at the box office, although it was never a blockbuster. The film's best numbers came on VHS and DVD, especially since it was already commercially available when it received its 6 Oscar nominations. The film lost out in the categories of Best Director (Ang Lee won for Brokeback Mountain, becoming the first non-Caucasian to win that award), Best Original Song (Kathleen York's "In the Deep" fell to the infamous Three-6-Mafia's "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp" from Hustle & Flow, and let's not speak any more about it) and Best Supporting Actor (Matt Dillon lost out to George Clooney for Syriana). Wins came for Best Original Screenplay (Haggis and Robert Moresco), Best Film Editing (Hughes Winborne) and Best Picture. That top award was won over Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Munich and Good Night, and Good Luck.
As mentioned above, all expectations were for Brokeback Mountain to take top honors, but Crash wound up doing so. It was a stunning upset and one not without controversy. With Brokeback's story of a homosexual love affair between two cowboys, many believed that the Academy just was too afraid to admit that they may have felt the best film had that story, and perhaps the awarding of Best Director to Ang Lee was their way of "making up for it". I can understand that argument, but I don't agree with it. Brokeback is a great film. I just happen to feel Crash is better. Actually, for what it's worth, I also felt that Good Night, and Good Luck was better too. This Oscar ceremony had plenty of love spread around, as a total of 16 different films won at least one of the 24 Oscars awarded that night. No film won more than three, and in fact four different films did that. Why should there be controversy? It was just a night where there were a lot of different films and performances and whatnot that deserved to win. And yes, I think Crash was the best film of the year. I've seen it 7-8 times and I love it every time. I think the ensemble performances are exceptional, especially Bridges, Peña and Bullock. Why this movie keeps showing on "Worst Best Pictures of All Time" lists is beyond me. I just think people refuse to get over the fact that Brokeback Mountain was snubbed for the top prize. Crash is outstanding. Go watch it.
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