Rent Crash (1996)

One of the most provocative, controversial, messed up & weirdest films I've ever seen - Crash review by TB

In many ways, I cannot work out how to talk about this film. It is completely off the wall, batsh*t crazy & unbelievably sexually transgressive. But as much as I've given it 4 stars, that is mainly for its boldness, originality & sheer provocativeness. The film itself is actually quite unlikeable & I certainly didn't ever "enjoy" it in the sense of the warm feeling you get when watching a film you really connect with. It is full of cold, unrelatable characters who are completely disconnected from both the real world & you as the viewer. However, I also couldn't take my eyes off it.

The film follows, in the loosest sense of the word, a man called James & his partner Catherine. From the opening shots, both of them are shown to be extremely sexually deviant & transgressive, having sex both with each other & other people, in places where they could be walked in on/disturbed. However, they are both relatively unsatisfied with their lives. One night, James has a head-on crash with another car, seriously injuring himself & the female passenger in the other car, and killing the driver. The two then meet in the hospital, then are approached by an enigmatic man called Vaughan & realise that all of them become aroused when involved in/witnessing car crashes.

From there, the film takes a deep dive into an unbelievably strange, weird & idiosyncratic world. Car crashes are staged & caused deliberately, followed by frantic & graphic sex. And all whilst this is happening, the group of them, including a stuntman and 2 other women, keep pushing the envelope further, trying to outdo the horrific accidents they find themselves in.

Huge praise must go to the actors in this film. Bearing in mind it was released in 1996, when controversy was not as celebrated as it is now (if a film today is provocative & causes offence, it tends to propel it to great success & box office receipts,) this would have been seen by many as career suicide, especially for the explicit nudity & sex scenes. Every single one of them commits fully & completely to their roles. For me, the most "interesting" (said in quotes because none of them are really likeable,) and certainly the most courageous is Deborah Kara Unger as Catherine. She is, certainly to me, much more the protagonist than James is, simply because you watch with total fascination how she evolves over the course of the film. James Spader is also good, as is Holly Hunter.

The level of enjoyment you will get out of this film will depend completely on how much you want to buy into this world that Cronenberg creates, as well as how far you enjoy/are interested in extreme provocativeness. I like films that push boundaries, simply because in today's film/media, we are mainly given the same old turgid movies with slightly varied storylines. This film is totally unashamed in it's revelling of showing unacceptable acts, whilst at the same time being completely unrelatable & cold.

I didn't enjoy watching it, but my god did it leave an indelible impression on me and I'll never, ever forget it.

Controversial Sex Film - Crash review by NO

Rather weird-People having sado masochistic feelings re car crashes-ends up with everyone having sex with all

genders on car back seats.No real story line but the actors play their parts very well.Not my cup of tea!Warning-do not watch with your mother in law!