Crash

Races, cultures, and classes collide in this film from “Million Dollar Baby” screenwriter Paul Haggis | Andrew Coffin

Crash begins, appropriately enough, with a car accident. An elderly Asian woman rear-ends two police detectives, one a black male, the other a Hispanic female. A minor fender-bender at the scene of a crime quickly devolves into a shouting match full of calculated racial epithets.

This early scene sets the tone for Crash (rated R for language, sexual content, and some violence), a mosaic of stories in which races, cultures, and classes collide. Set in Los Angeles, the movie defines every character—consciously or unconsciously—by his race.

Paul Haggis, screenwriter of last year's Million Dollar Baby, here both writes (with co-scripter Robert Moresco) and directs. Mr. Haggis takes an audacious, unflinching approach to modern race relations. The result is sometimes lyrical, sometimes tortured. The film deals intelligently with difficult issues, but contains a steady stream of profane and graphic language and one scene of brief nudity.