Crash, directed by David Cronenberg, has consistently split audiences since its premiere in 1996. Despite its flaws, it deserves praise for trying something new and tough, and for once again stretching the boundaries of cinema as we know it.
Erotica has the risk of devaluing something fundamental and wonderful. David Cronenberg, on the other hand, is an expert at manipulating challenging tales such that they become more entertaining while maintaining their almost-aggressive edge. He did the same with the immensely polarising 1996 film Crash. James Spader, who plays film producer James Ballard in the film, is a delightful lead. James and his wife Catharine have an open marriage. Their sexual lives are dull, and the only way they keep their marriage alive is by telling each other about their numerous affairs.
It would be an understatement to suggest that theirs is an out-of-the-box connection. What happens next, on the other hand, is unquestionably more controversial. After James gets engaged in a particularly horrific automobile accident in which the other vehicle’s occupant is killed, both he and his wife Catharine develop a desire for death (more specifically, car wrecks). Needless to say, Crash has a number of sex sequences, the most of them are triggered by a sense of approaching peril. On the surface, it’s all strange and upsetting, but with a closer look, it’s possible to see why a pair might engage in such behaviour to some extent.
Furthermore, the link between sex and death is an ancient one, as academics have pointed out in Shakespearean poetry. Shakespeare and other 16th century poets and authors were known to use the word ‘to die’ in order to allude to sex, or more particularly, an orgasm, according to multiple scholarly essays.
Despite Crash’s difficult and brave topic, director David Cronenberg occasionally loses sight of the purpose and prolongs a titillating moment in order to heighten that type of awareness in his audience. This strategy backfires spectacularly in the second part of the film. Crash, which clocks up at 100 minutes, might have been tighter. Where it shouldn’t, the camera stays too long. However, Spader, who is essentially carrying the most of the weight, is great in the starring role. At various times throughout the film, he looks to be magnetic, rational, insane, and deadly. When stripped of their superficial sophistication, humans are a complete complex whole.
