A prequel to season 8 of the office, Crash depicts Robert California's descent into bizarre fetishism as he... Joking, obviously. Crash is an extremely twisted and difficult watch that I could only appreciate once it had ended, when I could stop intermittently looking away from the screen and my stomach finally stopped sinking in the way it does when you witness something truly disturbing. To summarise the film in an undignified way - it's a car crash sex film. Our main character, James Ballard (James Spader), is a pretty kinky guy from the start; him and his wife get off on telling eachother about their sexual experiences with other partners. However, his extreme fetishes evolve dramatically after he's involved in a head on collision which kills the other driver, an event that ultimately introduces him to an omnisexual group of car crash victims who gain sexual pleasure from violent and often fatal road collisions. The narrative leaves a lot to unload but, to be honest, I don't think I'm fully equipped to unload it. I didn't enjoy this film, I endured it. Roger Ebert admired Crash and essentially called it pornography devoid of anything a viewer could consider remotely erotic, therefore creating a pure and abstract observation of the human mind and sexual compulsions. I was able to gain a greater understanding and appreciation of the film after reading his insights, allowing me to make some sense of the sickening sequence of events I'd just reluctantly witnessed. The cinematography and script was impressive but definitely didn't make it easier to stomach; again, this is a far cry from a conventionally enjoyable viewing experience.
Crash completely disturbed me as I watched it and when the credits finally rolled I had no idea how to feel about the challenging weirdness of it all. I probably wouldn't recommend this film to anyone I know. That being said, once my initial shock and disgust wore off, I was able to better appreciate its boldness and production. Cronenberg is a one of a kind director who never fails to evoke a perverse excitement from a viewer through his presentation of the grotesque.
Crash completely disturbed me as I watched it and when the credits finally rolled I had no idea how to feel about the challenging weirdness of it all. I probably wouldn't recommend this film to anyone I know. That being said, once my initial shock and disgust wore off, I was able to better appreciate its boldness and production. Cronenberg is a one of a kind director who never fails to evoke a perverse excitement from a viewer through his presentation of the grotesque.