Crash (1996)
Dir. David Cronenberg
Open marriage couple James and Catherine Ballard (James Spader and Deborah Kara Unger) have an active but unrewarding sex life together. A series of unplanned events introduce and lure the duo into a bizarre subculture of people who fetishise car crashes. The activities undertaken are consensual within the group, but their hidden world is hazardous to our world.
Reading the J.G. Ballard novel (1973) upon which Crash is based wasn't much fun for me, but it was essential to understanding the otherwise impenetrable aspects of the film. Somehow Cronenberg translated the insipid moments into filmic intensity.
He distorts the traditional role of the viewer by putting us too close for comfort, turning viewer into voyeur - a position of distanced participation. It's uncomfortable and I believe the main reason that most people shy away from even discussing the film in public. It's a shame, because it's a powerful work with some outstanding acting, but it'll take a very open-minded person to see past the taboo wall.
Reading the J.G. Ballard novel (1973) upon which Crash is based wasn't much fun for me, but it was essential to understanding the otherwise impenetrable aspects of the film. Somehow Cronenberg translated the insipid moments into filmic intensity.
He distorts the traditional role of the viewer by putting us too close for comfort, turning viewer into voyeur - a position of distanced participation. It's uncomfortable and I believe the main reason that most people shy away from even discussing the film in public. It's a shame, because it's a powerful work with some outstanding acting, but it'll take a very open-minded person to see past the taboo wall.
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