21 Grams - 2003 (R)

Actors:   Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Naomi Watts
Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Reviewed: 11 October 2004



21 Grams is a film that I had heard much hoopla about, and when I saw it on sale for $7.99
on DVD I decided to pick it up. It started off a bit slow, introducing all of the main
characters in short 10-second segments throughout the opening. The movie is split almost like
Pulp Fiction, with events happening in non-chronological order and sequences rapidly cutting
around. The viewer is slowly told of the plot, although the films opening scene is actually 
the story's ending. The plot follows three people: Paul (Sean Penn) is a man who suffered from 
a bad heart and is lingering sickly through the opening parts of the movie. Christine 
(Naomi Watts) is a woman who's husband and two children are killed in a car accident. 
Benicio del Toro plays an ex-con who has found God and goes around preaching, until he hits two 
girls and a man with his truck... the movie takes an hour to explain that Watts' husband is 
the heart donor who saved Penn's life, and Penn decides (eventually) to kill del Toro because 
he is in love with Watts, whose husband and children del Toro killed.. Confused? The movie is
very confusing in the early parts, and it is only slightly less later on. I guess you could 
call the ending 'poetic'; it is not until then that Penn explains the meaning of the title 
(supposedly you lose 21 grams instantly when you die), which has no real relation to the plot.
The movie is certainly well made, but its a bit unusual for the casual viewer. I know that 
the ending was a little to deep for me at 1 in the morning, and I was too tired to attempt to
analyze it. I usually like movies that make me think, but this one was not really my 
cup of tea. Strange? Kind of. Captivating? Moderately. Not one of my favorites, but eh. See 
it if you like Sean Penn, but since I don't, it has slipped from my memory.

SCORE: 6/10

GOOD QUOTE
-If someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn your other to him also. 

BAD QUOTE
-There are so many things that have to happen for two people to meet. 
-Whoever looks for the truth deserves punishment for finding it.