Crash (2004)

Crash has one move. Every character says the quiet part out loud, in full sentences, within a minute of showing up, and then the plot arranges a coincidence so they can learn a lesson about it. Los Angeles is a huge city and somehow the same handful of people keep running into each other. That’s the problem with a movie about racism that handles it like a series of speeches. The cast is stacked and trying hard. Don Cheadle holds the center with real weight, Terrence Howard plays a man swallowing his anger in a way that’s hard to watch, and Michael Peña’s locksmith gets the one storyline that lands with total honesty, a quiet moment with his little girl that I won’t spoil. Paul Haggis had a reported $6.5 million and real things to say. He just says all of them at once. A 5.4 because the big scenes hit hard and the connections between them feel forced. $36 says the locksmith scene is the one you’re still thinking about tomorrow.

What works: Don Cheadle, Terrence Howard and Michael Peña give the big scenes real weight, and the locksmith storyline is the most honest thing in it.

What doesn’t: Coincidence does all the heavy lifting, and characters announce their prejudices in speeches instead of acting like real people.

Who it’s for: Viewers who like ensemble dramas that crisscross a city, and anyone ready to argue about a movie afterward.