Loved "Crash" then, rewatched it in 2023, still love it

I had always been irritated by the pro-"Brokeback" mob chasing "Crash" out of town with their torches and pitchforks. But as the years went by, I realized I no longer really remembered much about "Crash". So I rewatched. Here are the notes I took as I watched:

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Is it a real thing, that they have some cops drive solo while others have partners? If a partner isn't really needed, it seems like a waste to have them in any cars; if they *are* needed, why would they have any solo cars? Are those sent to investigate less serious crimes, maybe?

Interesting that both Rhodeys are in this movie.

Great shot, slowly zooming in on the dumpster.

Oh man, that scene with the fire approaching the car was super intense.

One fair criticism of the film is that sometimes characters fire tendentious ("frank") monologues at each other that just wouldn't happen IRL (like the white assistant DA talking to the Black detective). This is probably a Mamet influence, but Mamet is more skilled and even he doesn't always pull it off.

Beautiful shot near the end of the film when the daughter enters her dad's shop late at night: all the reflective surfaces and everything look gorgeous.

Nice callback to the earlier "Discovery Channel" exposition, when the young cop burns his car. I guess he will report it stolen? Hard to explain what happened to it otherwise.

Final thoughts:

Sure, it's not as good as *Magnolia* or *Short Cuts* but not many movies are. I appreciate having more filmmakers working in this subgenre, and this is a good one even if it isn't a masterpiece.

I don't believe it's the best film of 2005 (BTW, why do some sources say its release year is 2004?), as I ranked it fourth best of the year, after *Closer*, *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind*, and *Vera Drake*. But none of those were even nominated for Best Picture. I saw all the nominees except *Capote*, and none of them came close to *Crash* in my opinion.