Frustrating in its refusal to dole out easy answers, Crash instead concerns itself with the metaphorical nature of the plot, all the while drawing us in with sympathetic and yet emotionally unfulfilled characters engaging in limitless eroticism. As it seemed to fetishize cars, scars, and handicaps, Crash never struggled to offend, causing one critic, Christopher Tookey, to recommend its banning despite its NC-17 rating.
This is drama filmed as pornography, well-lit and inescapable yet possessive of a notable absence of real sexual connection. A palpable sterility pervades the entire production, colors sapped of their saturation, a sickly dark tone eroding the already morally questionable material. The sex scenes, of which there are many, never seem erotic in nature, rather playing out like machines performing their function, sliding in and out of place before completing their set tasks. People as robotic as their vehicles, the characters in Crash fail to relate to each other as anything other than abstractions, unreal despite their material nature. Cronenberg is easily one of the most subversive film makers working today, and this seminal work will be the subject of controversy and discussion for years to come.
.jpg?t=20120527181101)
Article comments