Movie Review - Crossing Over

Like the Oscar-winning Best Picture "Crash", this movie is based in Los Angeles, has a lot on its mind, a truckload of characters/storylines to juggle and a rather heavy handed approach in making its points. Harrison Ford stars as Max Brogan, a weary but compassionate immigration officer who's clearly overdue for retirement. He's surrounded with an impressive cast, including Ray Liotta as Cole Frankel, a corrupt immigration worker who demands sexual favors in exchange for green card status for a desparate Aussie actress (Alice Eve); Ashley Judd as Denise Frankel, Cole's clueless but noble wife who works with immigrant children; Jim Sturgess as Gavin Kossef, a British Jew trying to make it as a singer; Summer Bishil, a Middle Eastern girl whose provcative school presentation on the 9/11 terrorists lands her family in trouble; Justin Chon as Yong Kim, a kid who falls in with the typical gangbangers and Cliff Curtis as Hamid Baraheri, Brogan's partner who's an Iranian American with a murdered sister and sinister secrets. And that's just a partial cast/character list. Some of the storylines work, some don't but there's melodrama to spare with extreme situations that overload the audience's involvement level.


Writer/director Wayne Kramer obviously means well in trying to bring multiple immigrant issues to light and casting a wide spectrum of ethnic actors for pivotal roles. I wish he'd put as much effort into his script, however, and whittled the character list down to a minimum with more focus and depth. There are too many predictable elements, too many tragic events, too much of everything, resulting in a dizzying kaleidescope that's almost numbing. One scene towards the end of the film really stretches credibility when a character is exposed for criminal acts during a large naturalization ceremony attended by many of the leading characters. Gimme a break. Though "Crossing Over" has its heart in the right place, its approach is all over the map, causing even the best elements in the story to be crushed under the weightiness of it all.

Things to love about this movie: Harrison Ford manages to create an interesting character despite the mediocre script; a pleasure to see little known performers like Summer Bishil and Justin Chon given considerable screen time; good to have Ray Liotta back in a drama, even if his character is over the top

Things to hate about this movie: A repetitious series of raids on factories employing illegal immigrants becomes almost as wearying for the audience as it is for Brogan; too many characters without enough depth; Alice Eve's limited acting ability; the sad but completely predictable ending

Pleasant surprises: Brogan has a pet cat! Los Angeles looks real and gritty

Unpleasant surprises: Jim Sturgess, an interesting actor and singer, seems miscast here