Crossing Over is a confrontational drama in the same league as films like Babel, Bordertown and Crash. Race relations are the subject matter, and immigration is the taboo that rises to the surface in this engaging story about the intersecting lives of Americans and immigrants seeking to be naturalised or granted status as American citizens. The characters come from all walks of life... including nationalities, colours and cultures that make the United States such a wonderful cross-section of humanity.
Director-writer Wayne Kramer tackles the issue by exposing his audience to the underbelly of the U.S. immigration service, where corruption and fraud are commonplace. Refugees seeking asylum, up-and-coming stars seeking recognition and children seeking new homes are the many facets to this diamond of stories. Crossing Over takes a cold, hard, honest look at the system, its grey areas and its shortcomings from a perspective that represents both factions. The film is endowed with a terrific cast starring Harrison Ford, Ashley Judd, Jim Sturgess, Ray Liotta, Cliff Curtis and Alice Braga.
So what makes Crossing Over worth watching? Well, apart from a solid cast, contemporary issues, intertwining stories and solid direction... it's the tension. The taut conflict between what's right and wrong, moral integrity and its relationship to immigration laws. Crossing Over keeps each of the stories on the stove, each involving a character-driven moral dilemna as each person decides to uphold or bend the law. The crossing over happens when the law enforcement officers cross over the line of the law and integrity to make their own call on the situation. In each case, the law inevitably catches up with them... offering a new set of circumstances, based on their motives.
The performances are solid, but there are no real stand outs from the vast array of characters. Kramer maintains a similar narrative structure to those employed in Babel and Crash as each taut story cuts across another like the poster's highway concept. The border crossing between Mexico and the United States is the home base, which is the central focus of Crossing Over's message, yet it treats its most severe case as an undercurrent... highlighting the issue through its absence in the form of a missing girl.
This is a fine film, however its performances and direction are not on par with Babel, it tends to drag to a final resolve and immerses itself in too much melodrama. Crossing Over is entertaining, insightful and absorbing, but feels like a rendition of films like Babel, Bordertown and Crash rather than its own expedition. People who enjoy films that harness diversity, offer thought-provoking situational drama and gritty performances will find Crossing Over engaging.
The bottom line: Absorbing.
