Crash. - movie reviews

Early in David Cronenberg's shocking

new film, Crash, James Ballard (James

Spader) lies in traction after totaling

his car. His wife, Catherine (Deborah

Kara Unger), begins to sexually arouse

him while whispering about blood and

broken glass. It's a typical moment in

this bizarrely sensual film, based on J.G.

Ballard's 1973 novel. And it's already

caused a scandal here and abroad.

Ballard, his

wife, and the only

other survivor of

Ballard's accident,

Dr. Helen

Remington (Holly

Hunter), entwine

themselves with

Vaughan (Elias

Koteas), a manic

scientist who

restages celebrity

car crashes in his

spare time.

Soon it's musical seat belts: Everyone's

either trying to wreck his or her auto

or get some action (look for same-sex

scenes between Spader and Koteas and

between Hunter and Rosanna

Arquette).

Sometimes the sex here is more

than mesmerizing--it's liberating.

Arquette is terrific as Vaughan's

leg-braced protege Gabrielle, who denies

herself nothing sexually, despite her

scarred, physically altered body.

On the surface Crash examines the

sexual psyche of emotionally detached

people. Below the surface it explores

the mechanization of human

emotion--it's no accident the

characters don't look at each other

during sex. The film also demonstrates

how the banal (cars) and the horrific

(car accidents) can come together in a

way that's strangely erotic. If you're in

the market for a thrilling ride, buckle

up and head for Crash.

COPYRIGHT 1997 Liberation Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group