In a post 9/11 world the relations of different races and peoples of the world have become tenser despite, or maybe because of, the increasing amount of immigration and globalization. Naturally, the theme has been examined in films as well, for example in Paul Haggis' Oscar-winning Crash (2004) and, say, Richard Linklater's 2006 film adaptation of the non-fiction book Fast Food Nation. Like Haggis' film, Wayne Kramer's Crossing Over aims to present a wide image of the subject, and succeeds easily better than the heavy-handed Crash.
The film features an ensemble cast with numerous characters whose lives intertwine with each other in various ways. The most central characters are arguably Max Brogan (Harrison Ford), a goodhearted immigration agent, and his colleague Hamid Baraheri (Cliff Curtis) who has an immigrant background himself. Other characters include a teenaged Muslim girl Taslima (Summer Bishil) who catches the attention of security officials with her controversial views about Islamic terrorism, a British musician Gavin (Jim Sturgess) pretending to be devoutly Jewish in order to obtain a permission to stay in the US and an aspiring actress Claire (Alice Eve) who gets blackmailed by a corrupt official Cole Frankel (Ray Liotta) regarding her working licenses. One of the most dramatic scenes deals with a South Korean teenager Yong (Justin Chon) who is being pressured into participating in a dangerous robbery by an Asian gang.
As the story lines unwind, it becomes clear that illegal immigration to America is more diverse than it often seems; people from wealthy Western countries can also run into troubles while trying to obtain licenses or to become naturalized citizens. Of the many story lines, my favourite was probably that of Taslima, thanks to the strong performance of Summer Bishil who was also good in Alan Ball's directorial debut feature Towelhead (2007). I also liked Jim Sturgess as the sympathetic Gavin whose interrogation with an elderly Rabbi provides the funniest scene in the movie. However, some characters are left without enough attention, notably the protagonist Max Brogan himself, who remains a pretty uninteresting goody-goody hero throughout. Cole Frankel's change of mind also comes across as a bit too sudden. While it is understandable that it is difficult to squeeze so many characters and story lines into a movie this short, I feel they really should have given at least a big-name actor like Harrison Ford a meatier role to play.
The plot lines stay mostly down to earth, which emphasizes the realism of the characters. The robbery scene is somewhat stretching the credibility, and Taslima's emotional final scenes come dangerously close to overt tearjerking, but for the most part the stories feel real. It is also good to see that the movie doesn't force a happy ending for every story and contents itself with trying to understand how things have come to that point. The visual style looks nice too; I liked the yellow hues of many interior scenes and the geometrical establishing shots of the streets of Los Angeles from bird's-eye view. In any case, whilst the film is not flawless in my opinion, I enjoyed it alright and think it is worth a watch to those who find the subject interesting – I guess it can be called either uneven or diverse, depending on one's personal tastes.
The film features an ensemble cast with numerous characters whose lives intertwine with each other in various ways. The most central characters are arguably Max Brogan (Harrison Ford), a goodhearted immigration agent, and his colleague Hamid Baraheri (Cliff Curtis) who has an immigrant background himself. Other characters include a teenaged Muslim girl Taslima (Summer Bishil) who catches the attention of security officials with her controversial views about Islamic terrorism, a British musician Gavin (Jim Sturgess) pretending to be devoutly Jewish in order to obtain a permission to stay in the US and an aspiring actress Claire (Alice Eve) who gets blackmailed by a corrupt official Cole Frankel (Ray Liotta) regarding her working licenses. One of the most dramatic scenes deals with a South Korean teenager Yong (Justin Chon) who is being pressured into participating in a dangerous robbery by an Asian gang.
As the story lines unwind, it becomes clear that illegal immigration to America is more diverse than it often seems; people from wealthy Western countries can also run into troubles while trying to obtain licenses or to become naturalized citizens. Of the many story lines, my favourite was probably that of Taslima, thanks to the strong performance of Summer Bishil who was also good in Alan Ball's directorial debut feature Towelhead (2007). I also liked Jim Sturgess as the sympathetic Gavin whose interrogation with an elderly Rabbi provides the funniest scene in the movie. However, some characters are left without enough attention, notably the protagonist Max Brogan himself, who remains a pretty uninteresting goody-goody hero throughout. Cole Frankel's change of mind also comes across as a bit too sudden. While it is understandable that it is difficult to squeeze so many characters and story lines into a movie this short, I feel they really should have given at least a big-name actor like Harrison Ford a meatier role to play.
The plot lines stay mostly down to earth, which emphasizes the realism of the characters. The robbery scene is somewhat stretching the credibility, and Taslima's emotional final scenes come dangerously close to overt tearjerking, but for the most part the stories feel real. It is also good to see that the movie doesn't force a happy ending for every story and contents itself with trying to understand how things have come to that point. The visual style looks nice too; I liked the yellow hues of many interior scenes and the geometrical establishing shots of the streets of Los Angeles from bird's-eye view. In any case, whilst the film is not flawless in my opinion, I enjoyed it alright and think it is worth a watch to those who find the subject interesting – I guess it can be called either uneven or diverse, depending on one's personal tastes.