Paul Haggis first came into the Hollywood spotlight after being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Million Dollar Baby, a movie which could be said to presage his aspirations for pretentious noteworthiness. Taking on the role of director and working from his own script, the multi-award winning Crash certainly fits the bill. Featuring an ensemble cast of interweaving characters, Crash's pretensions of being a deep and meaningful portrayal of racism in present day Los Angeles were clear from the start. Described as a "passion piece" by Haggis, he somehow manages to cram in every possible cliche under the sun - Crash features a procession of one-dimensional characters all of whom exist primarily to crudely hammer home the "racism is bad!" message. Crash represents Oscar-baiting movie making at its most obvious, and sure enough the Academy lavished the film with awards across the board - after all, this is precisely the kind of self-congratulatory material that Hollywood loves to praise as a mark of its liberal aspirations. Far from offering a richly textured portrait of the vibrant multi-ethnic mix of L.A. life, all Haggis offers is simplistic avatars lacking in subtlety and depth.