In a March 6 column published on his Web site, famed movie critic Roger Ebert questioned why lovers of the film Brokeback Mountain seem to be upset by the fact that Crash, a film about racial tensions and interplay, walked off with the Best Picture Oscar at the 78th Annual Academy Awards.
In the article, entitled ‘The fury of the ‘Crash’-lash,’ Ebert wrote that ‘ [o] ne of the mysteries of the 2006 Oscar season is the virulence with which lovers of Brokeback Mountain savaged Crash.’ He added that ‘ [w] hen the film about racism actually won the Oscar for best picture Sunday, there was no grace in [Brokeback supporters’] response. As someone who felt Brokeback was a great film but Crash a greater one, I would have been pleased if either had won.’
Ebert quoted Ken Turan of the Los Angeles Times, who wrote: ‘So for people who were discomfited by Brokeback Mountain but wanted to be able to look themselves in the mirror and feel like they were good, productive liberals, Crash provided the perfect safe harbor.’ However, Ebert contended that Crash was a film that showcased ‘raw confrontation.’
The Pulitzer Prize-winning critic also stated that the other Best Picture nominees—Good Night, and Good Luck; Capote; and Munich—were also risky pictures. He called Capote ‘a brilliant character study of a writer who was gay, and who used his sexuality, as we all use our sexuality, as a part of his personal armory in daily battle.’