The H-Bomb: How in the hell did a movie starring Harrison Ford, Ashley Judd, and Ray Liotta get dumped straight to DVD? Isn’t Harrison Ford one of the most bankable stars working today? Why then, have you (most likely) never even heard of this film? Sadly, there is a very good reason…
South African born writer/director Wayne Kramer made a big splash a few years ago with “The Cooler”, a casino set drama that starred William H. Macy and got Alec Baldwin a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. After that, he came out with the wild-as-fuck, acid trip crime thriller “Running Scared”. While that one wasn’t received very well, I personally had a blast with it, and Mr. Kramer became one of my rising directors to keep an eye on. He showed true promise… unfortunately, much of that promise has diminished with the release of his latest; the self-important, preachy, half-baked “Crash”-wannabe “Crossing Over”.
Much like “Crash”, “Crossing Over” is set in modern Los Angeles, boasts a large ensemble cast with many different story threads that intersect, and deals with clashing cultures and race relations. Specifically, the overall theme is immigrants in the U.S.; how we treat them, how their cultures often clash with our own, what they have to go through to become Citizens, how we respond when they present a world view different from our own.
This would all be well and good, except Kramer’s approach is so heavy handed, and his examples of differing cultures and ideologies are so extreme, that the film is ultimately rendered ridiculous. Among the story threads are an Iranian family who commits an “Honor Killing” because it’s part of their culture, a Bangladeshi teenager who gives an over-the-top speech to her class that sympathizes with the 9/11 terrorists and more or less condones their actions, a Korean youth whose forced onto the path of becoming a gang banger, and the most idiotic of them all, an Immigration Official who agrees to help a struggling Australian actress get a green card… if she agrees to meet him regularly for sex.
If your overall impression of America came simply from watching “Crossing Over” you’d think it’s a mean, unwelcoming place and that immigrants would be better off staying where they came from. Well, for one thing, that’s bullshit since the United States is a country of immigrants. And for another, if that is the impression Kramer is going for, then he seems to be constantly undermining it with his own plot.
Take the Bangladeshi girl, for example. After her speech she’s reported to Homeland Security and is put on the fast track to deportation when it’s discovered that her parents are illegal immigrants. Now the film wants me to be on her side, it wants me to feel bad for her, but after her little introductory monologue, I’m not and I don’t. In a big scene where she’s weeping and saying goodbye to her siblings, I’m supposed to be weeping right along side her, feeling her pain. But, instead, I was thinking, “Fuck her! They can’t kick her ass out of the country fast enough, as far as I’m concerned!” In fact, this is the character that the film puts most of its emotional weight behind… big mistake.
When the film isn’t shooting itself in the foot like that, it caves in on itself from being obvious and overly simplistic. When we meet Harrison Ford’s Immigration Officer at the beginning, we see him rounding up Mexican illegals. The film makes it clear, Ford feels bad about that, he doesn’t like his job, he doesn’t believe in it. Well, that’s understandable, but we do have immigration laws for a reason.
Despite its obviousness, “Crossing Over”‘s message is a mixed one. On one hand, it seems to be saying, “can’t we all just get along?” But on the other hand, it seems to say that some customs just can’t be tolerated (like… um… “Honor Killings” for example).
The film wears its sincerity on its sleeve, and the game cast does the best it can, but dramatically it just never gels. Aside from getting me to actively dislike some of the characters (Ray Liotta is a fucking slime-ball in this), its emotional impact was nonexistent. Kramer tried to make a significant social drama here, but since the most significant thing I can think of about this movie is the fact that Sean Penn’s supporting role was left completely on the cutting room floor, I think it’s safe to say he failed. This one isn’t even worth a rental.
