Saturday, July 30: Mississippi Mud
NEITHER NOIR NOR NEO-NOIR
by John M. Floyd
Even though this is a blog about mystery/crime/suspense short stories, I sometimes veer off into the area of mystery/crime/suspense fiction in general, which includes movies. Among those I have written about in the past are Double Indemnity, Witness, The Spanish Prisoner, Dial M for Murder, Blood Simple, In Bruges, Psycho, and L.A. Confidential — and most seem to fall into the noir category, or in some cases (if there is such a thing) present-day noir.
“Organized” crime
The movie I’m covering today is neither. It’s a combination of totally different storylines about people in the Los Angeles area that interconnect during the course of the film, and the result is outstanding. I’m talking about Crash, the movie that won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2006 (defeating the critically-acclaimed frontrunner Brokeback Mountain), and will — like Chinatown — probably still be taught in film schools fifty years from now. For some reason it’s not well known, but believe me, it’s worth your time. (NOTE: This should not be confused with another feature film with the same title that came out in 1996, with Holly Hunter and James Spader, or with the 2008 TV series starring Dennis Hopper. Completely different shows. Enough said, there.)
This one stars Matt Dillon, Brendan Fraser, Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Ryan Phillippe, and many others, and takes chances that usually do not result in a hit film. It’s extremely slow-paced and moody, for one thing, and it features no superstars except maybe Bullock, and — as I mentioned — it jumps around and follows the stories of a lot of seemingly unrelated players. As always with great movies, however, the characters are well written and well acted: racist cop, immigrant shopkeeper, Hollywood director, pampered wife, carjackers, aging parents, drug addicts, etc.
Crash course
I can’t say enough about the construction of this movie. Paul Haggis’s direction and writing were top-notch (Crash took the Oscar that year for best screenplay as well), and I wasn’t surprised to learn that Haggis had also written Million Dollar Baby, which won Best Picture in 2004. Among other things, Crash includes two stunning plot twists that are perfectly set up and executed (they’ll make you want to stand up and cheer) and an absolutely satisfying ending, but the biggest and best thing about this film is the use of “arcs” that completely change the attitudes and the lives of almost a dozen different characters. That’s the kind of thing we as writers should strive for — and stories like this one can teach us that.
Crash is one of those intelligent crime films that manages to entertain as well as “illuminate.” (I love it when that happens, whether it’s a movie or a novel or a short story, and it seems to happen less and less these days.) Even its commercial tagline is clever, and appropriate too: “Moving at the speed of life, we are bound to collide with each other.”
John,
Until this morning, I’d never heard of Crash, but you’ve intrigued me. I’ll seek it out.
Do you recall a movie entitled Suddenly Last Summer? I believe it was a Tennessee Williams story. My question is was there a lobotomy involved in the plot?
fran
Fran, I recall the movie but nothing about a lobotomy. But since my own my memory has not been reliable. However, I do remember a remarkable murder scene, that while gruesome by suggestion, takes place entirely off-screen. It was based on a Tennessee Williams play, I believe.
Fran, as I remember, the plot revolves around the threat of a lobotomy, but I don’t think it’s ever completed. I think the patient, Elizabeth Taylor, winds up recovering (?). And David, I think the murder involved cannibalism, etc., and the lobotomy would’ve been a last-ditch means of erasing the memory of that murder. But I saw that movie a LONG time ago.
A different kind of plot, for that day and age. Tennessee WIlliams, a Mississippi boy, came up with some crazy stuff now and then.
Thanks, Gentlemen,
I spent my middle school and high school days cutting school to see movies. Someone asked me about lobotomies, and that movie popped to mind. Now I remember that the aunt wanted the lobotomy for her niece to wipe out memories of the murder. I didn’t realize that Tennessee Williams was from Mississippi. Good stories must run in the blood (or is it the mud?)
Fran, if you watch Crash, please let me know what you think–I really enjoyed it. (And I’m glad to hear you didn’t allow high school to interfere with your education.)
I can’t think of the word ‘lobotomy’ without thinking of the evil Dr. Walter Freeman, the huckster who traveled America in his Lobotomobile, dishing out brain damage to thousands.
I’d forgotten all about the lobotomobile!!! Leigh, only you can be counted on to remember this kind of crazy stuff . . .
It’s because they keep my brain in a jar.
John, I have put ‘Crash’ on my list of must-see movies and look forward to watching it.
Though I wouldn’t decribe the following as illuminating, ‘A Simple Plan’ and ‘A Shallow Grave’ are awfully good noir pieces. I recommend them for their high production value, great acting, and more twists and turns than a Philly pretzel.
John, I’m surprised nobody has commented to you about CRASH, which was among the most controversial films ever to win a best-picture Oscar. Viewers seemed to be divided between those who found it a classic and those who thought it dreadful (and the worst best-picture winner since THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH). I am in the latter group, but I know there are plenty of smart people with generally good taste on your side.
David, I liked both of those movies. I didn’t like The Ruins, though, which I believe was written by the same guy who wrote A Simple Plan–go figure. And yes, both Plan and Grave had a LOT of plot twists.
Jon, you’re right, folks seemed to be almost equally divided on Crash. It’s actually a movie I didn’t think I WOULD like, and the kind I usually DON’T like, and I had to watch it twice to completely make up my mind. But once I got past the slow pace, I found I really enjoyed the way it was put together and the “lessons” it taught. Wasn’t it Jack Nicholson who announced the winner that year, and was visibly shocked that Crash won? I think a lot of folks were, so you’re in good company!
I adored this movie.