Review: Crossing Over

Several stories centring on immigration to the US. Harrison Ford (perhaps a tad too old) plays a veteran ICE agent who agrees to help illegal immigrant Alice Braga get reunited with her son before she is to be deported. Unfortunately, he doesn’t act quickly enough and she has already been sent back, the woman’s plight now haunting his conscience. Summer Bishil plays a proud 15 year-old Muslim who in addition to being an illegal immigrant, unwittingly announces herself to the FBI (represented by Jacqueline Obradors as a woman with a vaguely Arabic-sounding name) as a possible terrorist threat after she indicates in an essay that she understands (but doesn’t condone) the actions of the 9/11 hijackers. Oh, and her bedroom is ‘austere’, which is apparently code for: This bitch be Jihad crazy, ‘yo! Ashley Judd is the immigration lawyer attempting to help her, whilst also working on the case of a young African orphan. Her husband is Ray Liotta, an immigration official who attempts to help struggling Aussie actress Alice Eve, who doesn’t have the correct paperwork to stay and work in the US. His solution? He’ll see she stays in the country in exchange for being his sex slave for two months! Meanwhile, a British musician/teacher (Jim Sturgess) tries to acquire residency by claiming to be a very religious Jew, and not the casual atheist that he actually is. Cliff Curtis is Ford’s co-worker who comes from a proud and traditional Iranian immigrant family. His dad is about to get his US citizenship, whilst his wild and family black sheep sister continues to shame her family’s good name with her promiscuous behaviour. Oh, and then there’s the young Korean dude who starts hanging out with the Asian equivalent of Doughboy etc. in da hood, ‘yo. Aussie export Tammin Sursok appears briefly as Eve’s friend, whilst Lizzy Caplan is a Jewish school teacher who catches Sturgess’ eye.

 

The promise South African-born filmmaker Wayne Kramer showed in his feature debut “The Cooler” doesn’t come to anything much with this extremely clichéd, exaggerated, and rather silly 2009 film (shot in 2007) about immigration and the American Dream. Or something. It’s attractive to look at, and I can sort of see what Kramer is trying to get at, but well-intentioned or not, this is just as clichéd, overblown, and heavy-handed as the overrated “Crash”. In fact it’s even worse than that undeserving Best Picture Oscar winner, because of how incredibly silly it all is in the execution. Yes, even sillier than “Crash”, the film where Sandra Bullock putting her back out helps her be less racist to her Hispanic maid.

 

Nothing about the film convinces as remotely real here, Kramer and co-writer Kevin Brodbin (who wrote the tedious and clichéd Steven Seagal flick “The Glimmer Man”, oddly enough) have totally botched it. There’s something to the Alice Eve character, an Aussie aspiring actress who resorts to degrading herself to try and stay in the country, but even this subplot doesn’t work. In one scene, Ray Liotta is bribing her for sex (and rear entry at that), next scene she’s acting like his mistress, then he develops feelings for her, and all of a sudden she’s cold and cruel towards him. What? Jarring and unconvincing, and as hot as Alice Eve is, why would anyone cheat on Ashley Judd in the first place? You’ve already won the lottery you stupid, greedy bastard! Eve is hot, but Judd is clearly and infinitely hotter to anyone with a working set of eyes. Liotta’s character is more convincing than Eve’s, and quite multi-layered. He’s a creep and yet he’s genuinely willing to help Eve out at the same time. So creep or not, he has at least a hint of a second dimension to him.

 

The least convincing story by far, however, is that of Summer Bishil as a strident high school student and Bangladesh-born Muslim who finds herself in trouble with the Feds for writing an essay and speaking in class on the topic of the 9/11 hijackers in which she openly agrees that their methods were incorrect but that they weren’t actually cowards for doing what they did. Say fucking what now? Taking on a point in an essay in school gets you in trouble with the Feds now? Um, no, that’s insane and would never happen, even for an already illegal immigrant like Bishil’s character is. She also wouldn’t stand up in class and say any of the things she said in the strident and scrunchy-faced manner she does in the film, either. It’s ridiculous, as is the federal agent character played by Jacqueline Obradors (whose entire dialogue calls attention to the screenwriters’ message) in a manner that suggests she thinks it’s all a teeny bit bullshit, too. I mean, I know America has become a bit paranoid in this post 9/11 world, hell most nations and governments have, but this is laughably absurd melodramatics (and don’t tell me her illegal status was the issue. If so, why do they keep harping on about her beliefs? Please…), not helped by Bishil’s terrible acting. She wasn’t quite so bad in the deeply offensive “Towelhead”, but typecast in an already unconvincing role, the poor girl is helpless, given no choice but to overact. Aside from her, the performances are generally fine here, though Cliff Curtis and perhaps Harrison Ford, are the only ones who actually come out of it positively (with one overblown scene excepted). The rest are stuck with unconvincing characters and/or situations, though British actress Alice Eve (and her absolutely perfect arse) deserves credit for putting on a mostly pretty good Australian accent. It occasionally ventures towards Kiwi and Eve’s own native England, but you’ve heard a lot worse (People who already mistake her for Aussie actress Rachael Taylor will be extremely confused here). In fact, her overall performance is as good as possible under the circumstances. As I said, there’s something to her story, you really feel bad for her, but I think I had more sympathy for her than Kramer seemed to. Ashley Judd is perfectly convincing in her role, but the film doesn’t seem terribly interested in her. And what a waste of the charismatic Alice Braga and Lizzy Caplan!

 

How did they get this all so horribly wrong? (I highly doubt the removal of scenes with a character apparently played by Sean Penn are to blame. The film would’ve been longer, not better) How in the hell does this film help anyone? Like “Crash”, it only reinforces negative ethnic stereotypes. Meanwhile, take a look at the ultimate fate of both the Alice Eve and Jim Sturgess characters and tell me what happens is fair. It ain’t. Not even a bit.

 

The climax is utterly ridiculous, featuring a confessional taking place at a citizenship ceremony. “Star-Spangled Banner” and all, and boy does the National Anthem singer overdo it big time. The only scene in the whole film that works is where Sturgess is being grilled over his ‘Jewishness’. It’s actually a brilliant little scene. The rest? Not even close, and as much as Alice Eve looks absolutely sensational nude (earning the film most of its still very poor grade), that’s what internet screen caps are for (Or so I’ve heard…)

 

With this cast, Kramer’s previous success, and heavyweight producers Frank Marshall (a long-time producer of Spielberg films and an occasional director) and the Weinstein’s behind it, this film is a massive disappointment, and just all-round pretty badly done.

 

Rating: C-