At the time many seemed to object to the combination of sex and violence, a combination that has given film censors a headache since filmmakers first put it to celluloid. Some people even said it promoted dangerous driving. Behind the sensationalist tabloids, is actually a very good film. Crash is dark, still shocking and strange. The sex scenes are much tamer than what can be shown today - check out the unrated version of Shortbus for proof. Crash deals with fetishistic sex, although a very obscure fetish of car crashes and the details which go with them. David Cronenberg and writer of the novel, J.G. Ballard managed to capture the obseesive nature of some fetishes perfectly, this can be seen in a scene were the crash fans watch footage of car crash-impact testing and get turned on. Surprisingly, the film is quite sexy in places in its own way. James Spader playing the role of new recruit, with wide-eyed naivety, observing a subculture which gets stranger and drags him in more and more, until he's too deep. Rosanna Arquette sizzles as the petite blonde woman with a caliper and a huge leg scar which makes her even more appealing. A worthy mention goes to Elias Koteas who is superb as Vaughn, the hardcore, masculine, but also slightly cold, heavily scarred crash obsessive. All the acting in the film is very good to be honest. The cinematography is dark and moody, almost noir-esque. Yet, despite it arguably being a future classic and possibly one of Cronenberg's best film, it still got out shadowed by its own controversy, which at the time detracted from the film itself and put many off seeing it. Now that the controversy has worn off, now would be a good time to see it, if you haven't already and the uncut version is the one to go for. The book is also very well-written and well worth reading.
0 comments:
Post a Comment