21 Grams
Cast
Sean Penn .... Paul Rivers
Naomi Watts .... Cristina Peck
Benicio Del Toro .... Jack Jordan
Charlotte Gainsbourg .... Mary Rivers
Melissa Leo .... Marianne Jordan
Directed by
Alejandro Gonz�lez I��rritu
Rater #2 has description and review.
Rater #1
Has Not Seen Movie
Rater #2
9/10. How do you accurately judge a movie that's not meant to be viewed as
it seems? 21 Grams, by Alejandro Gonz�lez I��rritu (Amores Perros),
is told in a non-linear storyline. Now that's nothing new�many movies
today are told like that, the most famous of which include Pulp
Fiction and Memento. I had rented Amores Perros recently so I could
understand I��rrtu's style, but it was worthless. The style of 21
Grams is like nothing I have seen in film before. I'll get into it
later.
Three very different people are brought together after a terrible
accident. Paul (Sean Penn) is a mathematician who needs a heart
transplant. Cristina (Naomi Watts) is a mother mourning over the
death of some of her family. Jack (Benicio Del Toro) is a born-again
ex-con. All three of them, like Amores Perros, are brought together
either directly or indirectly by a car accident. And, instead of
dealing with love and hate, which Amores Perros did, I��rritu deals
with life and death, and how imminent death is to each of us.
Instead of just holding our hands through the odd chronology
(Memento) or letting all hell break loose (Pulp Fiction), I��rritu
makes everything flow in a logical sequence. He shows events that
will happen: not just any, but pivotal events. Then, he takes time to
show us why those events happen. What makes it even more interesting
is how there no character development yet you still find yourself
feeling for each one of the three main characters. In the beginning,
before any of the three had met, there was probably not even four
minutes spent on one character at a time before switching over to
another. That's crafty filmmaking.
I enjoy narration in movies. I especially enjoy deadpan narration.
Although there are only a few instances of it, by Penn, it tied
everything together. Another little thing I liked was the opening
credit: it reminded me of older, foreign, moody movies, where the
mood was dark, setting the tone for this movie. Like the theory that
if you go back in time and ruin anything, it will drastically change
everything in the future, 21 Grams examines people's choices, and the
regret and grief that they must feel. It examines the human life.
Penn, as he also did in Mystic River earlier this year, is a strong
leading man. Watts is really the core of the movie. Although she
cried as much as Jennifer Connelly does in any of her movies, she's
the rock. However, the best actor is without a doubt Del Toro. His
various changes from hardened criminal to family man, and places in
between were so forceful and believable.
If Focus Features plays its cards right, they might be able to take
over the Oscars. They have acting for Lost in Translation and 21
Grams, along with directing, so maybe they'll knock Miramax out of
their winning streak.
Rated R for language, sexuality, some violence and drug use.
Running time: 125 minutes
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