Graham is a police detective whose brother is a street criminal, and it hurts him to know his mother cares more about his ne'er-do-well brother than him. Graham's partner is Ria, who is also his girlfriend, though she has begun to bristle at his emotional distance, as well as his occasional insensitivity over the fact he's African-American and she's Hispanic. Rick is an L.A. district attorney whose wife, Jean makes little secret of her fear and hatred of people unlike herself. Jean's worst imaginings about people of color are confirmed when her SUV is carjacked by two African-American men -- Anthony, who dislikes white people as much as Jean hates blacks, and Peter who is more open minded. Cameron is a well-to-do African-American television producer with a beautiful wife, Christine. While coming home from a party, Cameron and Christine are pulled over by Officer Ryan, who subjects them to a humiliating interrogation (and her to an inappropriate search) while his new partner, Officer Hansen, looks on. Daniel is a hard-working locksmith and dedicated father who discovers that his looks don't lead many of his customers to trust him. And Farhad is a Middle Eastern shopkeeper who is so constantly threatened in the wake of the 9/11 attacks that he decided he needs a gun to defend his family.

They all live in Los Angeles. And during the next 36 hours, they will all collide…

The movie asks a question and it presents a view that is both stark, and enlightening at the same time. No matter what you think or what you believe deep down inside of us all we are a little bit racist whether we realize it or not. The question is what do you do when presented with this stark reality, do you face up to it and try and be better and fight racism or do you hide from the fact and try and go on like you didn’t have your eyes opened by such enlightenment. Each of the characters in the movie must come to their own decision on how they will decide what do with racism when confronted with it just like you as an audience must deal with the reality that you may be racist in ways you never imagined. No matter how far we think we have come as a country if you were to see two black men with baggy pants and bandanas across the street from you, you would clutch your purse or wallet tighter and try to hurry on past them. The two thugs in the movie make this enlightening statement then they back it up with their own hypocrisy. They don’t want to be stereotyped nor viewed through racial eyes but at the same time for those they come in contact with they reinforce those stereotypes. How many of us our like that, we fight to destroy stereotypes and racism but at the same time we create it.

There is no perfect world, the movie makes this clear we probably will never escape racism and stereotypes but we can still make the world a better place by educating ourselves on the harms of racism. The most racist character in the movie is played by Matt Dillon and he is also the glimmer of hope in the movie because when he realizes what harm his actions have done it’s almost like a ray of sunshine shining through the storm clouds. There is hope, we can change, we can make the world a better place, we are not monsters and if the worst character in the movie can find his humanity then we should be able to. The movie is powerful, it is provocative and it will make you take a new look at yourself and how you deal with people around you. There isn’t enough praise in my humble words for this film as it will move you, and it may even change you.

It’s really hard to break down any one performance in this movie as this movie is truly an ensemble cast and each character and each actor is so very important to the movie. And while some may have put in lesser performances, others in the cast make up for it by putting in fantastic ones. Matt Dillon stands out in my mind because its his character that is forced to change the most and the character effected most by his actions. Ryan Phillippe is another that jumps out at me because he believes he is not racist and then must come to grips and reality with the fact that he is and what that costs him as he almost seems to lose his humanity because of it. Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock and even Brendan Frasier each add something to the movie. The idea is that in a city as big as L.A. and the fact that they might never run into each other their actions, their views and their racism in someway like ripples in a pond after a pebble has been thrown in it effect everyone around them. They cannot escape those ripples and someday they may have to face them and it will change them forever when they do. Marvelous movie that shows us all we are not who we may think we are and engrosses you so fully in its story.

Grade: A