The moral improvements wrought by the unexpected obligations of childcare are a thematic staple of literature and drama. George Eliott’s gloomy 19th-century novel, Silas Marner, Damon Runyon’s comic 1930s racetrack story, Little Miss Marker, and this year’s winner of the best foreign film Oscar, the South African entry, Tsotsi, all revolve around children redeeming the blighted lives of their new custodians.

Reviews of the film American Gun inevitably seem to frame it in comparison to Crash, which isn’t fair. The similarity is that both movies examine a social issue though a large number of characters, most of whom are unrelated to each other. But Crash was hardly the first film to use that structure: Robert Altman has often employed it, most notably in Nashville, and it’s been a staple of independent films of the last decade. Besides, American Gun was in production well before Crash was released.