I work with a woman who honestly thinks that she's complimenting me when she says, "You're not really black." I tried to ignore it at first but then one day she approached me to complain about another coworker, a black woman. She needed to vent and actually told me - a dark-skinned, full lipped, can-tell-from-a-mile-a-way-that-I'm-a-black-woman -  that this co-worker was the reason why she didn't like black women. I told her that she was talking to a black woman and that I didn't appreciate the comment. She retorted with "But, Karyn, you aren't really black." But I am, and I told her so. I'm black all day long, but the fact that I'm an educated, literate black person means to someone like her that I'm an exception to her perception of a black woman: ignorant, neck-twisting, sassy attitude-having, evil-acting and uncouth. But if you were to ask her, she'll tell you flat out that there isn't a racist bone in her body.

Crash deals with these kinds of perceptions; the perceptions we have of others and the perceptions we have of ourselves. Like my coworker, we rationalize our prejudices and are often so myopic that we can't even begin to see our snap judgments and stereotypes for what they are. The rich, talented ensemble cast of Crash explore these ideas from every angle. A woman who fears black and Hispanic men (Sandra Bullock) and her district attorney husband (Brendan Fraser) are car-jacked by two black men (Larenz Tate and Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges). Meanwhile a Hispanic locksmith (Michael Pena) and devoted family man is branded a gang banger from both whites and Iranians. The Iranians are assumed to be terrorists when  they try to purchase a gun to protect their store. Then there are the black and Latina detectives (Don Cheadle and Jennifer Esposito) who are lovers. He doesn't bother to get her nationality straight, assuming that she is just another Mexican. Finally, there is the black television director (Terrence D. Howard) who is belittled when a racist cop (Matt Dillon) and his more idealistic partner (Ryan Philippe) stop him and his wife (Thandie Newton) for a minor infraction. He is forced to watch as Dillon abuses his authority with a highly offensive and inappropriate frisking of his wife. Through the course of a day, these people are forced to confront their prejudices in ways that many of us never do.

What I really liked about Crash is that we can see bits of ourselves in several of the many characters presented. Writer/director Paul Haggis, who wrote Million Dollar Baby,  has the characters saying things out loud that many of us are content to just think. For example, Matt Dillon's racist cop, also has a sick father that he cares for. He tries in vain to get his father's HMO to cover a visit to a specialist. He gets absolutely nowhere with the HMO administrator (Loretta Devine). When she tells him that her name is Shaniqua Johnson, he responds with a condescending,  "It figures."

That brings me to the one thing I really loved about Crash, despite the number of characters and the brief time we spend with them, these are real multi-dimensional characters, not just racist archetypes. Dillon's character might be a racist prick, but he is also is a man that can be reduced to tears by the sight of his ailing father. Terrence Howard is brilliant as a man who has slowly compromised his racial dignity and his manhood to get along and move ahead. Ryan Philippe works well as the liberal who has a sobering encounter with his own racist presumptions.

Sandra Bullock's role isn't a big one but I hope that this, and not Miss Congeniality 2, is the direction that she is going with future projects. I'm looking forward to seeing her in more dramatic roles. Of course, Don Cheadle was outstanding as the detective who is also grappling with his drug addicted mother (an excellent Beverly Todd).

Crash sets its characters on a collision course with their own convictions. And the impact is something to behold.