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Movies / On DVD / Crossing Over
Crossing Over

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Crossing Over (2009)

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12 %
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Reviews Counted: 81

Fresh: 10

Rotten:71

Average Rating: 4.1/10

Consensus: Crossing Over is flagrant and heavy-handed about a situation that deserves more deliberate treatment, and joins its characters with coincidences that strain believability.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for pervasive language, some strong violence and sexuality/nudity.

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Feb 27, 2009 Limited

Box Office: $402,469

Synopsis: The struggle to achieve resident alien status, or gain full-blown citizenship in the United States, provides some thought-provoking material in this feature from director Wayne Kramer(THE COOLER).... The struggle to achieve resident alien status, or gain full-blown citizenship in the United States, provides some thought-provoking material in this feature from director Wayne Kramer(THE COOLER). CROSSING OVER is an ensemble piece that contains many overlapping storylines, most of which revolve around Max Brogan (Harrison Ford), a law enforcement official who specializes in arresting people who break stringent immigration laws. Joining Ford is Ray Liotta, who plays a corrupt immigration official who forces a wannabe Australian actress (Alice Eve) to sleep with him in exchange for a green card. The film also focuses on the rigorous guidelines laid down in post-9/11 America, with Kramer detailing the shocking maltreatment of a teenage girl who faces deportation after giving a misguided high school presentation on terrorism. These tales, and several others, all combine to present an intricate overview of the desperate and often overwhelmingly sad lengths people will go to so they can remain in the United States. Kramer’s film closely mirrors other harrowing ensemble pieces such as Paul Haggis’s CRASH (2004) and Richard Linklater’s FAST FOOD NATION (2006). CROSSING OVER carefully presents many different sides of this complicated issue and also examines how coincidence and good fortune can play a part in achieving resident status. Ford is perfectly cast as the downcast lead character who battles with the moral and ethical ramifications of his job, and frequently gets too close to the people he is required to prosecute. Kramer skillfully interweaves each tale and allows just enough screen time to each of his characters, with Cliff Curtis leading the excellent supporting cast by playing an Iranian-American immigration official whose life is irrevocably altered by a series of tragic personal and professional occurrences. [More]

Starring: Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd, Cliff Curtis

Starring: Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd, Cliff Curtis, Jim Sturgess, Alice Eve, Alice Braga, Justin Chon, Summer Bishil

Director: Wayne Kramer

Director: Wayne Kramer
Screenwriter: Wayne Kramer
Producer: Frank Marshall, Wayne Kramer, Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein
Composer: Mark Isham
Studio: Weinstein Company

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Release:

Jun 9, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region 0
  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital Surround - English, French
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Crossing Over

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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I get what Kramer was trying to say about immigration and nationalism (though it's been said before and better), but if I had my way I'd edit the film down another hour. At least.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
07/03/09
Keith Breese
Filmcritic.com

The subject of immigration is much too substantial to be treated as kitten play, leaving such thespian promise out to rot with material that suggests great intellectual stimulation, but only delivers yawns.

Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
06/10/09
Brian Orndorf
DVDTalk.com

The kind of issue-oriented film that will make you angry, mostly because it eschews any thought of serious debate in favor of liberal dogma.

Full Review Source: Tulsa World | comment Comment
05/11/09
Michael Smith
Tulsa World

San Crash (2005) grammeno ap' to tmima peri metanaston toy amerikanikoy Ypoyrgeioy Eksoterikon

Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | comment Comment
05/10/09
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses

Less like watching a movie than solving an equation.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
04/24/09
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

If you thought the Oscar-winning 2004 drama Crash was heavy-handed, just wait until you see Crossing Over.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
04/02/09
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Some will win and some will lose their encounters with unbending American bureaucracy, but all deserve better, which should leave viewers eager for an even-handed take on this issue crossing over into disappointment.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
03/27/09
Marc Mohan
Oregonian

There are good performances here, but the sheer number dilutes their power, leaving the movie a bit of a mess.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
03/25/09
Bill Goodykoontz
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Crossing Over 'Crashes' the gates of illegal immigration with little new, or insightful, to add to the debate.

Full Review Source: PajamasMedia | comment Comment
03/23/09
Christian Toto
PajamasMedia

You see, it's all a bit too interlocking, a cable series jammed into a couple of hours.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
03/20/09
Lisa Kennedy
Denver Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Crossing Over] has a paint-by-numbers quality.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
03/20/09
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Part of the reason why Crossing Over doesn't work is that too many of the hurdles [director] Kramer places in front of his protagonists often feel like the product of a writer's imagination instead of real-life experiences.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
03/19/09
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald

The film is so choppy, especially in the final going, it appears that entire reels have been cut.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
03/13/09
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There's more genuine conviction in Ford's face, more complexity, honesty and ability to incite compassion, than everything else in Crossing Over combined.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
03/13/09
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The performances are strong and everybody works hard to establish that his character isn't all good or all bad, but in the end you never quite care.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
03/13/09
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

All we get is a mess of good liberal intentions loosely anchored to a mass of pure Hollywood hokum.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
03/13/09
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Crossing Over has been surrounded by controversy ever since it wrapped up shooting way back in 2007...

Full Review Source: AskMen.com | comment Comment
03/13/09
David Nusair
AskMen.com

Maybe if he [director Wayne Kramer] had kept Crossing Over simpler, he would have made a less simplistic movie.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
03/13/09
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A completely disingenuous slice of awful storytelling, one-note performances, and manipulative melodrama that should not only not be seen, it should be boycotted.

Full Review Source: Movie Retriever | comment Comment
03/13/09
Brian Tallerico
Movie Retriever

Parental Content Review

Full Review Source: Screen It! | comment Comment
03/13/09
Jim Judy
Screen It!
 
 
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Latest News for Crossing Over

June 08, 2009: RT on DVD: Gran Torino, Crossing Over, Nobel Son Exclusive Look
This week on DVD, celebrate the big screen heroics of two former movie heroes (Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino, Harrison Ford in Crossing Over) or watch Clive Owen and Naomi Watts... More...

March 01, 2009: Harrison Ford does a very different sort of reluctant, discombobulated thinking man's action hero this time around, a kinder, gentler immigration cop not into raids, and mocked by his colleagues as an INS girlie guy. Opens in new window
More...

February 26, 2009: Critics Consensus: Jonas Brothers Fizzles
This week at the movies, we've got teenybop pop (Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience, starring Jonas Brothers) and a video game adaptation (Street Fighter: The Legend of... More...

November 26, 2008: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
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