Crash*

In the last ten years, there has been a clear correlation between Best Picture nominees and late theatrical releases. With the exception of Erin Brockovich (released in March of 2000) and the occasional summer blockbuster (Moulin Rouge, Gladiator, and Seabiscuit come to mind), the films nominated for Best Picture are usually those that hit theatres in November or December. The reason for this should be obvious. Staying fresh in the minds of the Academy voters is necessary in order to ensure Oscar recognition. That is, unless, the film is absolutely unforgettable. Some stories, characters, and images of a film are so powerful that months, even years can go by and people will still remember what they saw. No film illustrates this better than Paul Haggis’ Crash.

Many small yet controversial movies received Oscar recognition this year but only one carried the dreaded stigma of being released only a few months after last year’s Academy Awards. And that was just the American release. The film had its international premiere in Paul Haggis’ native Canada at the Toronto Film Festival, and that was in September of 2004. Talk about longevity. Knowing that Crash was competing with a plethora of extraordinary films all of which were released in the past few months, I was hoping that the Academy would simply remember Crash and give it at least a screenplay nomination. Yet, the Academy shocked me by rewarding the film with a whopping six nominations including Best Editing, Best Original Song, Best Supporting Actor (Matt Dillon), Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture. For something that’s been out of theaters and out of the news for nearly a year, that’s pretty impressive.

When I sat in the theater back in June watching the closing credits of Crash roll by, I knew that if there was any justice in the world, I would see all of the brilliant individuals responsible for this film inside the Kodak Theatre on Oscar night. It was not the mere fact that Crash shook me to my very core, it was the way it shook me. There were moments when I felt as though something had physically grabbed me and put me through the very same situations the characters were put through. After one scene, my heart would be racing, and after another, I would have to stop and catch my breath. You know you’ve experienced something special when, after the lights come up and it’s time to leave the theater, you feel almost too drained to stand. The film not only produced some of the finest performances in recent history, it was also expertly written and beautifully photographed. Taking advantage of every compelling capacity cinema possesses, Crash is truly filmmaking at its finest. If the Academy should reward anything, it is this kind of motion picture that illustrates why cinema is so magnificent in the first place.

Even though I consider myself a major Oscar buff and have never missed a single ceremony, I realize that to the rest of the country these awards have become sort of passé and hackneyed. This year’s show is even expected to be the lowest rated in history. Yet, I consider there to be one very big reason to watch the Oscars this year and that is to root for Crash. Despite its Spring release, Crash made a strong enough impression to garner nominations for some of the Academy’s most coveted prizes, which suggests that Paul Haggis’ little passion piece might actually be a force to be reckoned with come March. Maybe it doesn’t have the controversial genre-defying characteristics of Ang Lee’s “gay cowboy movie,” but it has proven to possess something even greater: staying power. As hopeful as I am, however, I am not naïve to the system. I have been watching the Academy Awards for a long time and I know that when a film generates the kind of industry buzz Brokeback Mountain has been pumping out for the past two months, it is practically guaranteed to reign supreme on Oscar night. Yet, I was also there on March 23rd of 2003 when a young and fairly unknown actor from Queens beat out the highly favored screen veterans Daniel Day-Lewis and Jack Nicholson to win the coveted Best Actor Academy Award. Most people remember him for laying a big kiss on Halle Berry before accepting his prize, but what I remember is how he defied the odds. Yes, Brokeback Mountain is expected to prevail in most of the categories for which it is nominated, but I’m hoping for a few upsets from the little movie that could.

*2006 Academy Award Winner for Best Editing, Best Original Screenply, and Best Picture