Having experienced the vagaries of US immigration law first hand, Wayne Kramer’s twisting, multi-thread account of illegal immigrants and jaded official-dom was an enticing prospect. There are so many things that it gets right that, on paper at least, it promised to be an Oscar-baiting drama full of intrigue and human suffering.
Harrison Ford puts in one of his finest performances in years, playing his age as hardened immigration cop Max Brogan. His hardened respect for the law juts uncomfortably against deep compassion for the sweatshop workers he arrests and deports. Ably partnered by Cliff Curtis, a younger officer breaking down after experiencing a robbery, the two have a fine dynamic backed up by clever, involving dialogue that anchors the movie.
Unfortunately for Ford, he’s anchoring a sinking ship. Taking its storytelling cues from the multi-threaded likes of Crash, Crossing Over strives too hard to deeply involve us with each narrative, coming across as crude, painting characters (Ford’s aside) in the broadest of strokes, with some uncomfortable stereotypes arising as a result. This failure to connect with lesser characters means that their dialogue comes across as overbaked, while attempts to convey multiculturalism results in a ridiculously large number of races and religions making pointless cameos.
The films central piece – Brogan arresting a Mexican woman, then trying to return her son to his grandparents – jars roughly with other vignettes revolving around smug lawyers swapping Green Cards for sex, a Bangladeshi girl with leanings toward Al-Qaeda, and other Soap Opera elements, all piling up, creating an almighty mess and leaving the central theme under-addressed. What’s more, it’s replaced by a badly-handled mystery killing halfway through.
While Kramer’s writing can be great, this stinks of over-cooking. Too many elements spoil what could be a powerful, sensitive look at a huge problem, but instead it comes across as an outdated pot-boiler with no clear message. The whole thing appears ill-researched and overly earnest.
