DVDs in Review

Crossing Over

Title: Crossing Over (2009)

Release date: November 23 2009

Certificate: 18

Format: Reviewed on DVD, available on Blu-ray

DVD RRP: £19.99

Rating: 3/5

Apparently this film had a troubled production, and it shows. 'Crossing Over' is the kind of story that is too long to be a fast, hard hitter and too short to really delve into its multiple character narrative strand.

Wayne Kramer's film revolves around border jumpers and illegal aliens in the US. Harrison Ford (in one of his most mature roles) is the immigration cop with a heart for the foreigners he is forced to apprehend, while Ashley Judd is the lawyer with a heart of gold who shows the illegals their best option. These characters are all good, which is a shame because the actors fronting them have plenty more to offer.

On the sleazier end of the spectrum is Ray Liotta's businessman who guarantees a green card for a desperate young actress (Alice Eve) in return for sexual favours for a month. Her on-off boyfriend (Jim Sturgess) is "playing the Jew card" to get work in the US.

More plot strands involve a woman who has disappeared leaving her son in Ford's care and a murder mystery to provide a few thrills and spills but for the most part, 'Crossing Over' is lacklustre affair that needs more time to flesh out the bones of the potentially great script.

The success of 'Crash' is obviously what really helped to get this film made, and there's been a lot of talking about 'Crossing Over' being an inferior rip-off. This is somewhat unfair.

Both are good, intelligent films that deal with social issues (specifically foreigners and racism) through a fragmented narrative, but 'Crossing Over' tries to be more specific and delve deeper, impaling itself on its own sword.

One particularly brilliant scene sees a Muslim teenager state that the 9/11 terrorist were anything but "cowardly" for their actions, and in doing so she manages to draw the attention of the FBI who promptly insist her family must leave "the land of the free".  

The trouble is that after all these good set-ups and strong casting choices, the plot lines swiftly fall into melodramatic and somewhat clichéd resolutions. A final confessional scene in front of a massive flag with the American anthem being blasted out is less than subtle conclusion, but one which fits on a cookie cutter template nicely. If the subject is for you, do check it out.