All of the plot threads deal with racial issues: A District Attorney and his paranoid wife (Fraser and Bullock) are carjacked by two black teens (Bridges and Tate). A pair of very different cops (Dillon and Phillippe) surprise themselves during tense situations. A wealthy couple (Newton and Howard) endure a horrible incident, then have their worldview challenged even further. Two detectives (Cheadle and Esposito) find their interracial relationship strained to the breaking point. A Latino locksmith (Peña) copes with slurs and a terrifying assault. And a Middle Eastern family (Toub, Soomekh and Sirtis) feels oppressed by everyone around them.

This film can't help but get under our skin, thanks to extremely strong production values and transparent, raw performances from the entire cast. Director-cowriter Haggis (Million Dollar Baby) tackles the race issue from just about every conceivable angle; each scene snaps with life and energy, tapping into the emotions and highlighting the issues in extremely insightful ways. It's impossible to pick a standout cast member--they're all astonishing. But the strongest scenes are the two shocking encounters between Newton and Dillon. While Peña has perhaps the film's most engaging and involving character.

This is clearly meant to be provocative and challenging, wrestling with difficult issues and approaching the themes from all kinds of angles. The script keeps things nicely grounded in honest reality, avoiding obvious flashpoints for something much more meaningful and resonant. But this means that it's also extremely over-constructed, relying heavily on coincidence and emotional manipulation. Essentially, it's an examination of the symptoms, never touching on causes or solutions. And it gets increasingly heavy and pessimistic as it goes. But the film is so well shot and edited, with such complex dialog and acting, that it still has the power to change the way we see the world.