June 14, 2002
Crash
Crash, a movie by David
Cronenberg, is a disturbing, erotic, and yet ultimately pointless
look at some self-absorbed nihilists (are there any other kind?), out
getting their kicks with car crashes. Cronenberg managed to drag in
some really good actors (players like Holly Hunter, James Spader, and Rosanna
Arquette), but the film seemed very disjointed and it never found
its voice for me.
Crash centers around a sexually charged couple: he's a film producer, she's taking flight lessons, and they both will sleep with whoever is handy, then talk about it later. But he gets into a car accident, hitting the car driven by Holly Hunter's husband head-on, sending her husband flying through the window and slamming, head first into Spader's front seat. As Spader weaves in and out of consciousness, he glances at Hunter in the other car, just as she exposes a breast. And yes, it is that odd! I'm not sure what the point of that was, except to somehow bind the two into a secret society of crash lovers, in more ways than one.
Indicative of a lack of inventiveness, strange in a movie so bizarre, is the fact that James Spader's lead character is called "James Ballard", using his own first name along with the author of the novel it was based on last name. Character motivations were completely missing, and it ended on an even more bizarre note, with Spader forcing his wife's car off the road and then making love to her while she lay sprawled out of the wreck!
I watched the NC-17 version, and I suppose it might be interesting to see what kinds of cuts were needed for the R rated version, also included on the DVD. The actual film was pretty nice looking, although there weren't any real memorable shots. Debroah Unger, who played Spader's wife, was new to me, and I thought did the best job of a bad lot. In general, not a recommended movie!
Buy Crash at DVDPlanet
Rosanna Arquette, Holly Hunter, James Spader, Elias Koteas, Deborah Kara Unger
Bored film director James Ballard explores new realms after a near fatal car accident introduces him to a world of sexually obsessed car crash enthusiasts. Based on J.G. Ballard's 1973 cult novel. Posted by jdarnold at June 14, 2002 09:00 AM
