Crossing Over

Wayne Kramer's third film Crossing Over combines an ensemble cast with illegal immigration subplots to mixed effect. Personally I prefer the character dynamics of The Cooler and the hyper cinematic excess of Running Scared to Kramer's latest. A superb cast keeps the intertwining story afloat and your final reaction may have to do with how one personally feels about immigration.
For instance do you side with the Harrison Ford character Max Brogran, an immigration officer who really cares (even though it earns him the jests of his fellow workers)? Or are you in the camp of another officer with the immigration division (Ray Liotta) who uses his ability to stamp a green card to coerce an Australian actress (Alice Eve) who wants to gain citizen status into a sexual tryst? This may be the first film I've seen where homeland security uses imdb.com as a background resource.
Sean Penn's role was edited out, probably due to time constraints rather than other reasons. There's a lot of person A meets person B who later interacts with person C going on, an effective narrative style that didn't start with Crash or Traffic or even The Player or Slacker. Brogan suspects fellow agent Hamid Baraheri (Cliff Curtis) of being involved in the honor killing of Baraheri's sister. Gavin Kossef (Jim Sturgess) also wants citizen status but can't fathom why his potential Aussie g.f. is giving it up to the immigration agent. Mireya Sanchez (Alice Braga) awaits deportation while Brogran tries to find her toddler son separated in the aftermath of a raid. Ashley Judd is married to Liotta, has no idea of his affairs, and is herself an immigration lawyer currently working on a case where the FBI arrested a high school student because she made anti-American remarks in class.
There's a lot on the plate and events resolve with the emphasis on reality rather than fantasy. Scenes range from intimate and personal to action packed, like a convenience store shootout where Curtis shows great emotional range.
After the initial characters are introduced the story rolls regularly. Occasional poignant moments give Crossing Over a passing grade.