“Crash”
Directed by Paul Haggis
Complexities of Man
List of Characters from Crash
Character’s Name
Graham Waters
Played by (Actor’s Name)
Don Cheadle
Brief Description of Character
Detective investigating
shooting of Detective Lewis
RiaJennifer
Esposito
Detective also investiaging the shooting of Lewis
Rick
Brendan Fraser
District attorney whose SUV is
carjacked near the beginning of the movie
Jean
Sandra Bullock
Rick’s wife
Maria
Yomi Perry
Rick and Jean’s housekeeper/nanny
Anthony
Chris “Ludacris” Bridges
Young man who steals
cars & tries to educate his friend, Peter, on
various forms of racism
Peter
Larenz Tate
Cameron
Terrence Howard
Graham’s younger brother & Anthony’s
friend
TV director who is has an encounter
with officer Ryan in a traffic stop
Christine
Thandie Newton
Cameron’s wife
Officer Ryan
Matt Dillon
Officer on the LAPD for 17 years
Officer Hanson
Daniel
Lara
Ryan Phillipe
Michael Pena
Ashlyn Sanchez
Rookie cop
Locksmith
Daniel’s 5-year-old daughter
Elizabeth
Karina Arroyave
Daniel’s wife/ Lara’s mother
Farhad
Shaun Toub
Storeowner who tries to shoot Daniel
but who ends up “shooting” Lara
Shereen
Marina Sirtis
Farhad’s wife
Dorri
Bahar Soomekh
Farhad & Shereen’s daughter.
.
Choi
Greg Joung Paik
Korean man who is hit by Anthony
and Peter as they are driving the
Lincoln Navigator
Kim Lee
Alexis Ree
Choi’s wife (She’s also the woman
involved in the car crash with Ria &
Graham at the beginning of the film.)
Shaniqua Johnson
Lorretta Devine
African-American woman who is the
supervisor of health insurance claims.
Crash involves the prejudices of a range of different groups in society, looking at how they
view each other and the consequences of this. It is not afraid to deal with the prejudices of
minority groups as well as the more dominant sectors of society.
Crash deals with race and our prejudices in a brutally honest way, forcing
us to confront thoughts and feelings that we may not be comfortable with. Don Cheadle
says that the film aims to uncover ‘what we don’t say, what is below the surface’.
The film is at times shocking because we see and hear things that we don’t usually
encounter on screen, whether in mainstream Hollywood film or even in independent
productions. The production team frequently stopped the action to ask themselves ‘can we
do this?’ If they felt that if it was what happened in real life then the answer was ‘yes’ and they continued
filming. They felt that the best way to overcome prejudice was to bring it out into the open and get
people talking.
After watching: Write a review that evaluates the effectiveness of the production team’s intention to
overcome prejudice. Do you think the film can help, even in a small way, to get people to overcome
prejudices? Why or why not? Your evaluation should be at least one typed paged, double-spaced, in 12pt
Times New Roman. It should be an honest evaluation and response to the film and how effective
you think it was or can be in overcoming prejudice. Your notes will be the basis of your review.
FCA 1: Clear, consistent focus
FCA 2: Reference to specific scenes, characters, film techniques to develop analysis
FCA 3: Review demonstrates careful thought and consideration about the topic of prejudice
FCA 4: Review is at least one typed, double-spaced page in 12pt Times New Roman Font
Rubric:
1 = Does Not Meet Expectations/Skill
2 = Approaching Expectations/Skill
3 = Meets Expectations/Skill
4 = Exceeds Expectations/Skill
*This scale will be how you will receive most of your feedback. Numerical grade will be given at the
discretion of the teacher, based upon this scale.
As you watch: Use the space on the reverse to jot down any interesting or powerful literary or cinematic
techniques used during the film so that you have a forum to use as your type your review. On the left, just
jot down what is happening, and on the right, ask yourself questions so you can come back and develop
this later.
Scene Description
Techniques to develop
Example: Opening Credits – Begins darkness and snow
– blurred spots and lights (headlights) colliding and
merging together – then there is a voice over and close
up on the detectives faces
Why the blurred lights? What significance can we take
away from the voice over?
As you watch: In the promotional commentary, the producer cites the film as containing ‘levity, beauty,
heartbreak, chemistry and tragedy’. Analyze the following moods and tones by filling out the table
below to one scene that connects with each word. Be specific and capture not only what is going on, but
the setting and film techniques (mise en scene) that contribute to the mood.
Descriptor and bullet notes
Levity (Think about dark
comedy)
Beauty
Heartbreak
Chemistry
Tragedy
Developed response to the scene