aura of blunt realism not been dispelled by a toxic cloud of dramaturgical pixie dust." Others noted how the film had nothing new or insightful to say on racism, with Stephanie Zacharek of Salon writing Crash "only confirms what we already know about racism: It’s inside every one of us. That should be a starting point, not a startling revelation." A.O. Scott of The New York Times described it as "a frustrating movie: full of heart and devoid of life; crudely manipulative when it tries hardest to be subtle; and profoundly complacent in spite of its intention to unsettle and disturb." Much criticism focused on how the film presents racism and its origins, with many noting its depiction of race relations as too simplistic and tidy. The redemption arcs of the white characters, particularly of Sergeant Ryan, drew controversy for their execution. Many opined that Ryan's redemption by way of his heroic rescue of Christine felt unearned. Others pointed out the implausibility of Jean Cabot softening her racist attitudes because of an ankle sprain and the care of her Latina housemaid. Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent wrote, "By presenting racism as nothing more than a personality issue in need of a fix, Crash absolves its white audience of any sense of collective responsibility." Retrospective In a retrospective review, Tim Grierson of The New Republic opined, "Haggis has characters hurl nasty epithets at one another, as if that’s the most corrosive aspect of discrimination, failing to acknowledge that what’s most destructive aren’t the shouts but, rather, the whispers—the private jokes and long-held prejudices shared by likeminded people behind closed doors and far from public view." The film was also criticized for depicting the Persian shopkeeper as a "deranged, paranoid individual who is only redeemed by what he believes is a mystical act of God." In the years since the film's release, criticism and debate about the film has grown alongside ongoing cultural dialogues about race and social movements in the United States. In 2009, cultural critic Ta-Nehisi Coates criticized the film as shallow and "unthinking", naming Crash "the worst film of the decade". The film has been described as using multicultural and sentimentalist imagery to cover over material and "historically sedimented inequalities" that continue to affect various racial groups in Los Angeles. The film ranks at #460 in Empires 2008 poll of the "500 Greatest Films of All Time". In 2010,