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.
Crossing Over (2009)
Tomatometer
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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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Reviews for Crossing Over
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.
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.
San Crash (2005) grammeno ap' to tmima peri metanaston toy amerikanikoy Ypoyrgeioy Eksoterikon
If you thought the Oscar-winning 2004 drama Crash was heavy-handed, just wait until you see Crossing Over.
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.
There are good performances here, but the sheer number dilutes their power, leaving the movie a bit of a mess.
Crossing Over 'Crashes' the gates of illegal immigration with little new, or insightful, to add to the debate.
You see, it's all a bit too interlocking, a cable series jammed into a couple of hours.
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.
The film is so choppy, especially in the final going, it appears that entire reels have been cut.
There's more genuine conviction in Ford's face, more complexity, honesty and ability to incite compassion, than everything else in Crossing Over combined.
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.
All we get is a mess of good liberal intentions loosely anchored to a mass of pure Hollywood hokum.
Crossing Over has been surrounded by controversy ever since it wrapped up shooting way back in 2007...
Maybe if he [director Wayne Kramer] had kept Crossing Over simpler, he would have made a less simplistic movie.
A completely disingenuous slice of awful storytelling, one-note performances, and manipulative melodrama that should not only not be seen, it should be boycotted.
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. ![]()
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 ![]()
More...
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