21 Grams Reviews

• The Weight of the Soul

  
  By A2GDEPPC8BAZRY on 2004-02-07
  My life's been awash in the pull of momentous turning tides, and I've faced countless daunting crises- The moment was boasting nighttime and quite frigid, (-7, actually: well amid the depths of one of the harshest Midwest winters immemorial). I went alone to see this film.

  Riveted to the screen, I was witness to raw nature and circumstance; I was witness to stark fate. Driving home the premise that it's pure ordained destiny that both joins human souls and tears them from each other, this movie is just devastating. Yet I had already sensed that this would be one of those rare films that tend to disturb the senses to a degree that sets the mind to thinking - haunting one's days and nights for weeks and months to come. Yes, by my troth I do live dangerously!

  21 GRAMS tells the story of three troubled yet essentially good people whose lives become deeply connected through a horrific accident: Paul Rivers (Sean Penn), an unhappily married and terminally ill mathematician who's in desperate need of a heart transplant - Christina Peck (Naomi Watts), a former drug addict who's since become wife of an architect and mother of two children - and Jack Jordan (Benicio Del Toro), a former convict become a born-again Christian, who's rebuilding his life with his wife, Marianne (Melissa Leo), and their two little children. One fateful evening on the way home, Jack's truck collides with Christina's husband, Michael (Danny Huston), and her two daughters- killing all three. Paul then gets an 11th-hour reprieve from death - as he becomes the recipient of Michael's heart. While he recovers from the transplant, he becomes obsessed with finding, and then getting to know, Christina- the living victim of the devastating tragedy that had served to give him this new lease on life. Meanwhile, Jack is tortured and wracked by guilt - he had panicked and left the scene of the accident. Despite the pleading protests of his wife, he turns himself in to police. (Melissa Leo. incidentally, is excellent as Jack's devoted & strong-willed wife, who in one scene is worked up into a passion reminiscent of Shakespeare's Lady MacBeth). It's the three leads, in fact, who turn out one of the most intense, outstanding dramatic performances by a cast I've ever seen. Penn, Toro, and Watts each put forth heart-wrenching depictions of grief, despair, love and rage. They were riveting to watch.

  Director Alejandro González Iñárritu is at the helm of this film, and he deserves significant credit too. The movie's shot with a sort of raw, gritty and real-to-life imagery, but sequenced non-chronologically and without much music. Furthermore, there's quite a lot of grainy artifact and symbolism present, harshly imbuing the sounds, the words and the images with an ominous gloom. It might indeed be easy to fathom that any film with such qualities embedded would ultimately surmount to a rather morose, distracting, and basically disjointed mess. Yet somehow this film's neither imposingly heavy nor wholly depressing. On the contrary, 21 GRAMS is a subtly beautiful, powerfully atmospheric, and hypnotically captivating work of art~
  
  

• Three intertwined lives

  
  By A3CH1KT8XQE8SA on 2003-12-06
  From the Mexican writing-directing team behind the Oscar-nominated Amores Perros comes this explosive, emotionally charged English-language drama, which interweaves stories about Christine, a single mother and former drug addict (Naomi Watts); Paul (Sean Penn), a terminally ill professor, who was (and may still be) Christine's lover; and Jack (Benicio Del Toro), a reformed ex-convict.

  21 GRAMS pertains to the cultural belief that when a human being dies, they weigh exactly 21 grams less which is attributed to the soul leaving the body. 21 GRAMS also pertains to the incessant questions of how individuals affect others, and what we take away with us at our death. It reveals the complex emotions of grief, loss, anger, betrayal, faith, and love of three strangers who are linked forever under unfortunate circumstances.

  Shot in non-chronological order, the beginning of this film is a jumbled mess that makes little to no sense. But patience and attention is awarded when various pieces started to come together towards the end. 21 GRAMS is a wonderful, powerful film which aims to rescue the audience from other theatrical offerings. Highly recommended.
  
  

• Good acting and excellent presentation.

  
  By A2EDZH51XHFA9B on 2004-02-06
  21 Grams (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, 2003)

  First, let's get this out of the way: the myth of the 21 Grams is exactly that, a myth. I was hoping Inarritu would cover that bit when he addressed the title within the scope of the movie, but he didn't. (Amazon doesn't allow outside links, or I'd point you to the evidence. But any debunking site should have a page about the 21 Grams myth.)

  Okay, now that that's out of the way, onto the movie. Inarritu, best known for Amores Perros, takes the same framework and makes another movie from it: freak accident, three main characters, intertwining lives. Our three characters this time are Cristina Peck (Mulholland Dr. and The Ring's Naomi Watts), whose family is killed in a hit and run accident; Paul Rivers (Sean Penn), whose life is saved when he receives the heart of Cristina's husband; and Jack Jordan (Benecio del Toro), who was driving the truck. The three of them are (forgive the pun) on a collision course with destiny, but as we all know, getting there is half the fun.

  Inarritu wants to make it all the fun, and turn what would otherwise have been a conventional drama barely worth a turn on the Lifetime Movie Network into an edgy, claustrophobic mystery. For the most part, it works; scenes cut back and forth in time, giving us small pieces to the overall puzzle and making us wonder "okay, now how did character X get into situation Y?" Which is all well and good, except that the payoff is stretched a little, and the whole thing goes on a bit long for the conceit to work with maximum effect.

  Ultimately, 21 Grams is bound to get compared to Memento, and it falls a bit short. But it's still well worth watching. *** ½
  
  

• Emperor's new clothes

  
  By ADCZGQE4AH9Y6 on 2005-03-14
  Load of boring pretentious crap! Tries to be arty by jumping around time wise but it only makes it more confusing. It may however hide the fact that the basic story is rather uninteresting, unimaginative and not at all original. I was expecting something powerful and deep that would have me thinking about it for days and all it got me thinking is how so many people can be fooled into finding something special in a movie that isn't there at all. I like movies that push the envelope and step outside the conventional but this sure aint it!
  
  

• Life, Death and Redemption.

  
  By A1Y87E22UVYCE6 on 2004-10-19
  This is a hard film to see and understand, nevertheless is outstanding and deserves to be seen.
  Film director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has developed a complex, tasty and compromised "film d'art". We may trace different stylistic influences on this movie: Quentin Tarantino's (Pulp Friction) non linear time sequence and some touches of Kieslowski's (The Double Life of Veronique) casual but most meaningful encounters between different characters.
  Inarritu transforms an ordinary everyday issue in a strange, tangled and puzzling drama.
  
  The story is as follows: there is a sick mathematician waiting for a heart transplant as last resort to survive; there is an ex-con trying to make a new clean life for him and his family; there is a family father taking care of his daughters. Tragedy and fate reunite all these elements into a griping tale.
  
  Main actress and actors in the film perform greatly.
  Sean Penn, as the feeble hearted mathematician, is able to express and transmit the anguish of nearly dying man. Afterwards he shows the compulsive need to find who his donor was.
  Benicio Del Toro, as the ex-con, presents a very convincing mask of a tormented man trying to overcome his addictions and drawbacks in order to have a new opportunity.
  Last but not least, Naomi Watts, as the widow of the donor, gives a performance full of subtleties.
  
  Viewing this movie in DVD gives the unique opportunity to go back to previous scene when you get lost.
  A tasty dish for movie fans. Enjoy!
  Reviewed by Max Yofre.
  
  
  
• If you love depression and confusion...
  By AJMEGMGOWJA4C on 2004-03-17
  There are plenty of reviews here that relate the storyline, so I just want to mention two things about this movie that will affect your decision on whether to watch it or not.

  First, this movie is VERY depressing. It's about death, disease, and the destruction of lives. If you think you're subjected to enough of that stuff out here in the real world, don't watch it!

  Second, this movie is not linear. It jumps around A LOT, and you will probably not fully understand where everything ties in until at least halfway through. It is NOTHING like Memento. That movie, while backwards, was linear, and after the first few scenes, it was easy to figure out the method. If you're like me and lose interest easily, you probably won't finish 21 Grams.

  I know a lot of people liked this film, but these are two very strong factors you should consider before you spend your money or time on this one.
  
  

• The Most Creatively Brilliant Film in Years
  By A328S9RN3U5M68 on 2003-11-23
  21 GRAMS is a film of such importance that attempting to review it is intimidating. Once in a while a film appears that is a Benchmark, a film that is destined to alter the concept of moviemaking as an art form. That this is only the second film from the obviously prodigiously gifted co-writer and Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu ( the strikingly creative and disturbing 'Amores Perros' being his first) serves the craft well in continuing the promise of film as art.

  Inarritu enlists the intelligence of his audience and what a partnership that creates! His "style" is called non-linear which merely means that the story of the film is not spoon fed to us in a "this happens, then this resulted, then this altered, then this happened" etc fashion. Inarritu takes advantage of the fact that visual images can hold so much power that the story behind them seems secondary at the moment of viewing only to alert us to THINK as we see bits and pieces of history and result dangling from a mobile, ever in motion. We are led to believe one thing depending on how we relate to the image on the screen, and then we are shown that we misjudged that event as we are given more detail from the past and from the future.

  While this technique may sound difficult to follow, Inarritu uses it with such facility that learning the true story being told is similar to the way we are running through life: we see fragments, remember tiny moments, watch the media alter variations of reporting reality, hear gossip, view events with prejudiced eyes, form opinions based on our individual experiences with like events in our own lives, or in other words always be faced with the question of what are the drivers of accidents/fate/destiny/need/passion.

  The story is basically one of how three disparate characters' lives complexly intertwine - people who come to a fatal auto crash with very different life patterns. A mathematics professor with severe heart disease, a reformed drug addict mother who happens to be the wife and mother of the victims, and a Bible thumping ex-con who drives the truck that causes the accident. The events that ensue after the crash (the victim a heart transplant donor for the mathmetician, the devastation the event has on the perpetrator and on the surviving wife) are the storylines we follow. The ending is an intelligent, shocking surprise and one that alters the way you will view events and people after you leave the story behind.

  Inarritu has employed the gifted artists Sean Penn, Benecio Del Toro, and Naomi Watts and each of them gives the most potent performances of their careers to date. It is impossible to single out the strongest one as each actor owns the full spectrum of each character and each performance seems to exude from their innermost core of their talent. Each is powerful, subtle, sensitive, wholly credible and deeply moving. The other cast members are very strong - especially Clea DuVall and Charlotte Gainsbourg who take their seemingly supportive roles to heights of such importance that it seems the story could not progress without them.

  The photography is appropriately and conceptually dark and the quality of the picture has a decadent graininess to it that enhances the mood and the perplexing mystery of the story. But in the final analysis it is the magisterial directing talent of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu that is simply mind-boggling. This is a VERY important film, so very much worth the work required from us the audience, and as with most things in life, the more we invest the more we gain. Well worth 10 Stars!
  
  

• aspired to be a great, profound tragedy, but failed...
  By on 2004-03-20
  I don't understand why the widow, months after the accident, all of a sudden set her mind on killing the man who ran over her husband and daughters.She had said "Nothing can bring them back" and so even declined to press charges against the culprit.
  I don't understand why the professor had to find out who had given him the heart. Besides, the movie makes it seem like a professor doesn't need to do anything but to run around in the street and stalk some woman--later some man.
  Both men in this movie--the professor and the ex-con--are dispicable for the way they treat their family. The professor's lack of sympathy for his ex-wife is never really justified, and is alienating.
  Finally, I guess I dislike this movie because it is filled with misery people brought upon themselves through inflated ego and self-aggrandizing, self-dramatized behaviors. They don't move. They annoy.The movie is contrived, and pretentious. It aspired to be a profound tragedy but failed, because the people portrayed in it lack strength of character,even common sense.
  
  
• How *lite* is 21 Grams?
  By AD0J5KK4WQXNS on 2004-03-30
  21 Grams is `not really a good film' masquerading as `interesting experimental cinema' that has a lot of failings which will be obvious to you after the first ten minutes. Although 21 Grams is far from the worst movie you will see, beware that it does push the suspension of disbelief and the non-linear format of the storyline does not actually work.

  Alejandro González Iñárritu brings us a story that has been chopped by the Avid editing machine to the point where every single scene is completely disconnected. Endings occur in the start and the middle. Beginnings occur in the end and the middle. The middle occurs in the start and the end. So how does the actual abuse of this kind of narrative work? Well maybe a better story would have survived it but by the time you put the pieces together you realize just how farfetched and implausible the story really was... maybe even possibly conned. Also this experimental editing results in a severe disconnection for the viewer. You will not engage any of the characters or the story until at least more than an hour into the film and even then you have seen so much over-the-top drama and acting that at times it can be extremely boring and hard to take.

  21 Grams aspires to be something like the inventiveness of the sequence of events in "Irreversible", crossed with the hype of "The Hours", mixed in with the corniness of an episode of "Dynasty". There are some moments in the film that will make you laugh even though the director did not intend it. Some scenes come out of the blue that honestly do to match the storyline. There are moments that will try your patients and you will shake your head about what all the fuss was over. The critics have got this one a little wrong in the same way that they got "The Hours" a little wrong and gave "Far from Heaven" more hype that it really deserved.

  Basically to tell the whole story would spoil it for you however it can easily be summed up by saying that Sean Penn plays a man who is sick and in need of a heart transplant. Naomi Watts plays a widow who has lost her family in an accident that was caused by Benicio Del Toro, a reformed con who just can't quite get it right with Jesus even though he wants too. The stories eventually come together but for all intensive purposes this is no "Pulp Fiction" and ends up looking more like a lame unbelievable story that González Iñárritu decided to chop around and give it his "art stamp" of approval so that we would not notice that he has cooked up a really dismal film that does not conform to the standards of storytelling that warrant the kind of "realism" that the acting portrays. Yes we know that Watts can take off her clothes. Yes we know she can crack up and throw out a performance when asked for it. Yes we know that Penn can change his image almost to the point where he is not recognizable. Yes we know that he too can bring real life to characters. Yes we know that Del Toro has it in aces. Yes we know that he can almost play anything that he puts his mind too. However the question begs to be answered - Why is it that a non-mainstream film like 21 Grams seems to fail like a bad mainstream movie?

  For this reason many will come away feeling that the experimental editing is just a camouflage for what should have been a direct to video release. It is good to see movies sideline mainstream Hollywood values and I am a fan of art films (as I am sure many who want to see 21 Grams are) but this is not one of those winners. By all means watch 21 Grams to support this kind of change in the industry (González Iñárritu has potential) but by the time the credits roll you will realize that you have indeed just watched a film that has bombed. Good ideas, one-off experimentation, interesting characters and acting but not really a good film (or a film at all) by any means. Extreme Caution is advised.
  
  

• overated drivel
  By ALN0TTRTLHA4E on 2004-04-15
  The director's first film was about a car accident which affected the lives of three main characters. This film is about a car accident which affects the lives of the three main characters.

  First off lets admit that the film has some great acting performances from the three main leads with Sean Penn and Naomi Watts being impressive.

  However the film is simply annoying. It is not structured as a straight linear narrative. Rather what happens is that the film is cut into a large number of fragments and each fragment is then jumbled around and played in a random order. The film thus requires a mild amount of effort to work out who is who and to rebuild the narrative struture. This mildly unusual approach cannot however hide the fact that the film is basically an overblown melodrama which depends on the chaotic presentation to hide that.

  If we look at its elements it consists of a number freaky and bizaree plot elements. A man who has a heart transplant developing a relationship with the wife of the donor. A ex-convict who has redemed himself through religion but is the subject of a freak accident. Their lives interact and tragedy ensures.

  If one looks in retrospect at what happens the characters by and large, are self absorbed, unlovely and stupid. The somewhat artificial plot is meant to hide this from us and suggest that the characters are motivated by the extreme tragedy of their lives. The use of hand held cameras and somewhat overexposed filming again is a means to suggest that somehow this is all very interlectual or important in some way. A tiresome way to spend an afternoon watching this stuff.
  
  

• Complex and Simple.
  By AFN0YFUC5EVEJ on 2004-12-19
  To those reviewers that were disappointed because it was (or wasn't) a "drug-film", or who found it too puzzling, or boring - Please, please stick to reviewing John Woo movies.
  
  And for those reviewers who took the time to explain the structure (convoluted as it is), and point out the amazing and thought-provoking performances in this film - thank you. I want to share only the thoughts that this film elicited in me after I watched it.
  
  This movie is as perfect a metaphor for life as I have ever seen. Life, like this movie, is at once confusing and obvious. We, like the characters so perfectly played here, make choices, then change our minds, sometimes propelled by emotions that seem to control our will. As death approaches (or slams headlong into our lives), we all question the nature of our existence -past, present, and future. We isolate ourselves and insinuate ourselves into the lives of others, never really understanding the connections and consequences that are created and destroyed in the process. And who among us has not had thoughts of revenge, and equally potent thoughts of repentance? Forces throughout our lives turn the simplicity of existence into the web of existential deceit. Much like the characters in this film, we are caught in that web. We question our selves and our God, and in the end, life goes on without us. This is the kind of film that we so rarely see these days. One that mirrors each of us in some way; and then holds that mirror up for the camera to see.
  
  
• so cool
  By AGOIS4LC6AY9I on 2005-01-18
  I've never seen a movie more pretentious than this. I can't handle it past 30 minutes. There are too many close-ups on Sean Penn showing how cool he smokes a cigarette. Get over yourselves people.
  
  
• One of the Worst Movies of the Year
  By A31COJRL1EWUHU on 2004-02-16
  21 grams had to have been THE WORST theater experience of my life. This was a movie that had no plot, no point to it, and to make up for it, the director decided to mix up the order of events so it would be deemed as provocative and clever. I pity Sean Penn and del Toro, two high caliber actors, for having to try to make this train wreck work. Unlike most movies, where you can at least sympathize with the characters, I could not for this movie - I basically wanted them all to either die or leave the screen. You are not allowed to get to know the characters intimately enough to find anything redeeming about them. I guess that's where my biggest complaint lies; there's nothing redeeming about this film, it's just a series of events that poorly tie in at the end to produce a film with no message. It's pointless, it's garbage. NEVER SEE THIS FILM!!! Do not buy into this hype. Anyone who says he likes this film is only trying to act "with it." Apparently disjointed garbage is touted nowadays.
  
  
• 21 Grams... a misleading title.
  By A12DH4IYORSCP6 on 2005-05-13
  The film was titled "21 Grams". It's explanation for that title is that when a person dies, after it's soul leaves, 21 Grams mysteriously is lost from your body. A very interesting concept, but it had nothing to do with the film. The mystery of 21 grams leaving your body is never explored.
  
  What is left is a film filled with miserably sad people who are suffering from losses they have sustained and fighting personal demons. I think Sean Penn is a rare talent, but he is not nearly enough to carry this downer of a film.
  
  "21 Yawns" is a better title.
  
  It is said that after viewing this film, in it's entirety, that all the yawning that is done, when measured in breathe and water release, amounts to 21 Grams.
  
  If THAT was the overall goal, then the film was a huge success.
  
  Yawn...
  
  Yawn...
  
  Yawn...
  
  Yawn...
  
  Yawn...
  
  Yawn...
  
  Yawn...
  
  Yep... 21 Grams.
  
  
• Worth Every Gram!
  By A3C6X0DAM87GN4 on 2003-12-09
  Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's 2001 "Amores Perros" was a critical favorite. It was a story that intersected the lives of a group of people but it told the story in such an intense way the public responded well to it. I was a fan of the movie, but, I didn't find it to be a masterpiece or one of the year's best films. Here though with "21 Grams" Inarritu it seems to me has given this movie a little more heart. It is the best movie of the year! I have yet to see a movie that has managed to grip me the way this film has. This is a first class movie all the way. I was sitting on the edge of my seat. It's not that this movie is a thriller, but I was so taken away by the performances. There were so many sterling moments. The acting in this film is worth the price of admission itself. It is an exercise in great acting. As I watched the movie I was thinking of "A Streetcar Named Desire", in that movie you had two powerful performances by Brando and Vivian Leigh. They seemed as if the were fighting to outshine the other. Here too, with "21 Grams" the cast seems as if they are trying to outshine eachother. Naomi Watts, an actress who I'm a big fan of, does a wonderful job. It's one of the best performances I've seen an actress give this her. The emotional range she goes through in this film is remarkable. She is so effective in this movie. I thought she was wonderful in "Mulholland Dr." but here she really outdoes herself. It's a major improvement over her role in "Le Divorce". Sean Penn on the other hand gives the best performance I've seen as actor give since I saw Sean Penn in "Mystic River". If he doesn't win the Academy Award for one of these two movies it will just further my already strong dislike for the Academy. They need to finally give the man some credit!

  Its been brought to my attention many people will be confused by the structure and editing of the film. I find it to be masterful. But, the movie is NOT told in traditional fashion. The movie jumps around. Sometimes it's told backwards, so we see an event happen, but we don't know what caused it to happen. Think of "Memento". I really have to admit this structure did not bother me. It kept me guessing and made me sit eagerly for the conclusion. It kept my attention instead of bothering me. The editing should be nominated for an Oscar.

  I find it hard thinking of a way to describe this movie to you. I don't want to reveal too much and spoil it for you, yet I feel it's almost my "duty" to warn you of what to expect. "21 Grams" could be describe by some people as a depressing movie. The movie does lay on these moments that do seem bleak. We wonder what is instore for these characters. The outlook does not look good. And the ending, which I found satisfying, doesn't do much to brighten up out spirits. But then again it doesn't mean to.

  "21 Grams" has Sean Penn as Paul Rivers, a dying school teacher,who is in need of a heart donor. He has a rocky marriage to Mary (Charlotte Gainsbourg). They were seperated for a while and are trying to start anew. Next we have Naomi Watts. She is married and has two children. She was a former drug addict and alcoholic. Certain events will happen and cause her to go back to old habbits. And finally there is Jack Jordan (Benicio Del Toro). A convicted ex-con who was in and out of jails most of his life has turned around and now has found Jesus. He goes around speading his word. These three characters, without knowing it, will be affected by the others actions. I once heard Robert Altman describe his 1992 film "The Player" as a coiled snake. The movie goes around in a circle and ends where it started. "21 Grams" could be described in the same way.

  This has been a rather slow year I think. We have had our share of good movies but not many great movies. There have not been many movies this year that have challenged our emotions. Movies that made us think. The only movie I saw this year that I felt deserved a "best picture" nomination was "Kill Bill". While perhaps it didn't exactly make us think it was a truly entertaining film. Now though "21 Grams" is a movie that not only should be nominated it should win the award. Inarritu deserves the nomination for "best director". The way he was able to handle these three stories and present them in a fresh way. He and screenwriter Guillemo Arriaga make us care about these people. That is what ultimately makes the movie work. Forget the techinical aspects of the movie. I don't think many people will care about the editing or the screenplay very much or at least not to the level I do. Most people will just come away enjoying the acting. And there is much to enjoy.

  Will most audiences enjoy the movie? Probably not. As I said many will call the movie depressing. Others will be bothered by the narrative structure. But, those who give "21 Grams" a chance I think will find the film to be as rewarding as I do. This is the best film of the year! It goes into issues and creates emotions most films this year have not come close to making us feel.

  Bottom-line: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's follow-up to "Amores Perros", in my opinion carries much more of a punch to it. The structure and editing of the film is masterful. The movie takes chances. The acting is just about as good as it gets. The best movie of the year!
  
  

• Compelling rationale for time shifting
  By A3MLO4GAD2O9DL on 2003-12-21
  As he did in his first film released stateside, Amores Perros, Mexican director Alejandro Inarritu here uses time shifting to tremendously enhance the emotional resonance of his story. And again, he uses a single critical event--also a car accident, as was the case in Amores Perros--to converge the signficantly different lives and lifestyles of his disparate characters. A working class ex-con turned born-again Christian (Benecio del Toro), an intelligent college professor with a major streak of irresponsibility (Sean Penn), and a woman whose stability completely hinges on her family (Naomi Watts) comprise the fated triad of characters whose involvements with each other build in momentum with tragic consequences.

  Inarritu does not, as several critics have said, use flashbacks and -forwards in a "flashy" way, attempting to prove how hip a filmmaker he is. He is a brilliant director who understands, more than most directors working today, what cinema really is as a medium and how best to use it to convey what no other medium can. Taking his cue from veteran Robert Altman, Inarritu shows us his characters at various stages of their lives, one sequence after another, to communicate the consequences of their choices, and of the accidents that life is too often made up of.

  That our actions are too often the result of those accidents over which we have little or no control is what makes this film a tragic drama and what brings us as viewers to a fever pitch of emotionality as the story unfolds. One might think that the frequent jump-cutting and time shifting could make for a jerky experience, but this is not the case. We see the characters unfold before us as the film progresses; we understand more and more of why and how each of the characters--and by extension, each of us--influences the other; we feel the real meaning of our lives as we live them, based on how the characters' lives are lived in the film.

  What we come to know in this film is, at the risk of sounding cliched, how the short mortality of our lives is too often ignored at the expense of what lies immediately in front of our noses. The actors in the major roles are highly talented interpreters of dialogue that cries out for rich, emotionally resonant work, and they have given it to us with tremendous skill. So too have the supporting cast, especially Melissa Leo as the wife of the ex-con and Charlotte Gainsbourg as the professor's wife.

  This is not a film that revels in gimmickry and superficial ostentation. It is one whose director has thought deeply about how we feel, how we respond, how we think, and how we act. It is a film that should be seen, and it is one of the best films of 2003.
  
  

• Welcome to Hollywood!
  By A361LE16VBQDP8 on 2004-02-19
  This film depicts death, faith, and revenge, but does little to unravel the complexities of these themes. It is as if the film-makers recognise these to be 'profound' topics, sturdy enough to provide pivots upon which a plot might turn, but have not thought about their subjects deeply - certainly not deeply enough to open them up for an audience's meditation.
  *
  The technique of splintering a plot into a chronological puzzle is ably handled in the first hour. By exploiting our hunger for a coherent narrative, the film draws one in - however, after being asked to do some work, a viewer expects a commensurable reward, in terms of character development or surprise in plot structure or depth of ideas, and here the film disappoints. The plot relies on chance, the characters border on the cliched, and the ideas own a superficial suggestiveness without deeper riches. So the last hour becomes tedious, and with the splintering over, the linear plot is revealed as poorly motivated in parts.
  *
  The cinematic effects are skilled, at times spectacular, but as they do not subserve the demands of the story, they draw attention to themselves, in a showy, at times, irritating manner. The director seems at pains to prove his own worth.
  *
  The acting has been widely praised, and in a sense it is deserving. The director's intentions appear admirably fulfilled, and the actors display a wide range of emotions - if only these intentions had been better thought through, then the emotions might well have resonated more lastingly. As it is, the film is more a spectacle than a meditation, an entertainment rather than art, and its detail is quickly forgotten.
  *
  Make no mistake, this is not the work of a major director. At best, Inarritu might stand alongside Tarantino. He has aspired to work with the American studios and has succeeded in measuring up to their standards.
  
  
• Taking suffering to a whole new level
  By on 2004-05-03
  [spoilers are in this review, but in order to review this, I feel I have to discuss the plot in detail]

  Looking at all the positive reviews here, I had to raise a voice of dissent. I will do my best to explain why I disagree.

  21 Grams succeeds at a few things. The performances are outstanding. I was hurting inside when I saw scenes of Paul (Sean Penn) taking off his oxygen mast to smoke a cigarette, or at the end of the film when his body began to reject his new heart. The scene in which Cristina (Naomi Watts) is told her husband and daughters were run over is devastating and is a show-stopper (compare to Miranda Richardson in "Damage" - it is almost that good). Jack (Benicio Del Torro) is convincing as an ex-con who's fragile world comes crashing down after he kills Christina's family. His drunk, caucasian wife is played by the underrated Melissa Leo, known to most as one of the female detectives in Homicide. And Paul's wife, the talented, bilingual Charlotte Gainsbourg, is effective as the force who is desperately trying to build a family with Paul in spite of his depressed, ill state. Despite the flaws of this screenplay which should have been evident, these actors threw themselves into their roles 110%, and they almost save the film through performances alone.

  The movie's bleached, grainy cinematography succeeds in bringing Inarritu's Mexico to the USA. In his first feature, Amores Perros, Inarritu took us to an urban Mexico most of us had never seen before. Here, he succeeds in bringing that world to a nameless southwestern American town. And while we are crossing geographical boundaries, the film is edited in a clever non-linear fashion, in which we see the middle and end of the story within the first opening minutes, and the rest of the pieces are revealed in a scattered manner. An interesting point brought-up by reviewers here at IMDB is that the characters have their on timelines. Namely, Jack lives in the past as he is a haunted ex-con, and Paul is the mathematician who initially wants to survive his illness and father a child and create some sort of future.

  All of this is more than enough material for a drama about suffering and death. But it is what this movie does with its foundation is where it fails. To quote from the review by Scott Foundas in the LA Weekly, the theme of this movie seems to be "how much suffering is enough suffering?" Cristina resumes a cocaine addiction after her family dies. Being someone who had `flatlined' before, you would think that she would be afraid of death, but she isn't. Paul is lucky to be alive after he receives a heart from Cristina's late husband, but he doesn't seem concerned about his life before or after the operation. Jack, who ran over Cristina's husband and daughters, feels that God has betrayed him, and is the character who speaks the most truth as he points to his hard and mutters, "hell is in here." In any case, the film set-up a climax in which these three suffering characters collide in a motel room, and at least one will die. That much is revealed in the first 15 minutes of the movie. That final meeting is dependant on an affair between Paul and Cristina, which is not unbelievable in itself, but it is where the film begins to get a little weird.

  I don't need a film to explain a character's motives to me, and to its credit, this film does not fully explain why Paul wants to meet the wife of the man whose heart is beating in his chest. But his stalking of Cristina, followed by their getting together, followed by their decision to become vigilantes and kill Jack was difficult to accept. But I stuck with the movie, because I wanted to see how the last pieces of the puzzle would fall into place. I was expecting something very powerful to happen in the final act.

  But two plot elements at the very end killed the picture for me. The first was a drugged-up Cristina being told that she is pregnant, as Paul lay dying in an ER. The second was a monologue by Paul just before the credits, which attempts to explain the movie's title. Paul croaks, "How much does love weigh? How much does guilt weigh? How much does life weigh?" At that moment, I wanted to throw objects at the screen. Sad but true.

  The film is like a house of cards. It's three characters who are already suffering, and the story only adds to their suffering as we go along. But when we get to the pregnancy and the monologue, I feel the house of cards comes crashing down. It just seemed like it is one layer of drama too many for this film to take on. In shot, 21 Grams is just overweight (pun intended). What was frustrating is that it took me until the final 10 minutes to realize it.

  There are far greater films about suffering and death. I recommend "Blue" by Krzysztof Kieslowski (which has two elements borrowed in 21 Grams). Or how about Mike Leigh's Naked, which is a far more enjoyable movie about suffering characters who only add to their grief. I'm sure I could list 50 movies like that. But this film does not belong on the list.

  I am confident that Inarratu is going to take us to more new and exciting places, like he did in Amores Perros. He is a talented director and is proof that Mexico is no longer a third world nation. But we shouldn't give him or his writer a free pass on this effort. A movie full of intense performances and clever editing alone is not great art.
  
  

• confusing pyle of nothing
  By AZNFKXDOLCLE9 on 2005-02-22
  This movie tries to be trendy by using flash-forward, flash-back chronology but it fails miserably. I suspect the producers figured the storyline was so weak, they had to do something to make the picture captivating.
  
  I kept thinking it was going to come to some meaningful ending that ties everything together, but that doesn't happen and you're left with a bunch of confusing stuff that means nothing.
  
  
• New edition but where are the extras?
  By A282SK11CBECM8 on 2006-10-05
  FAr from Special edition, not even a commentary from writers! only the " 21 Grams: In Fragments" - An Insightful Look at the Making of the Film
  
  and besides, this edition looses the DTS track that had the previuos BAREBONES edition
  
  
• Inarritu Excels
  By A5S3BAWLNT10P on 2004-02-27
  Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu received an Academy Award nomination for his first film, Amores Perros, in which three short stories were linked by a devastating road accident. Once again, with "21 Grams", like the first film written by Guillermo Arriaga, several lives are linked by a devastating accident. Here though the stories of the individual characters are much more interconnected than they were in the previous film.

  Who are those characters? Well there's Sean Penn as college professor Paul Rivers, who is suffering from heart failure and will soon die unless a heart transplant can be found. There's the professor's wife Mary (played by Charlotte Gainsbourg) who has problems conceiving, but who wants to have an operation so she can conceive his child by artificial insemination if he does die. Cristina Peck (Naomi Watts) is a woman who was previously addicted to drugs but who's managed to put her life in order since marrying architect Michael (Danny Huston) and giving birth to two daughters. And there are the ex-convict Jack Jordan (Benicio Del Toro) and his wife Marianne (Melissa Leo). Jack has found religion, and his new sense of belief is helping him to go straight and raise their two children, even if it does at times have a less than positive effect on his parenting skills.

  All these are fragile lives, and all of these main characters are walking on thin ice. Some are more aware of it than others until a tragic accident makes it all too clear to everyone just how thin that ice is. It also connects them all in new and even tragic ways. I really don't want to give too much of the plot away, because piecing it together is much of the joy of the film. It's also much of the challenge, because - as with Amores Perros - Inarritu doesn't present the story in chronological order.

  The first image we see is Paul naked on the bed and watching Christina as she sleeps. Chronologically this occurs long after the accident that brings them together. Then we move on to sequences in which he is near to death, then apparently healthier, then wandering hopelessly and breathlessly in a desert-like landscape with a gun in his hand. At times, you have little more to guide you with regard to the chronology than the physical characteristics of the characters, including facial hair.

  As with Amores Perros, Inarritu once again adopts a deliberately grainy and unglamorous shooting style, which is - as before - provided by cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto. You don't appear in an Inarritu film if you have a trace of physical vanity. Naomi Watts looked glamorous and stunning in "Mulholland Drive". In 21 Grams no one gets that chance. Make-up is minimal, lighting is often much less than flattering.

  In some ways I preferred "21 Grams" to "Pulp Fiction", which also consisted of short stories put together out of chronological order. One reason for that preference was the grungier reality of Inarritu's visuals, and the fact that they contrasted in interesting ways with the overall complexity of the story.

  Sometimes - it has to be said - in both films, the anti-chronological structure, the grungy cinematography, and the excellence of the performances, does cover what could easily be melodramatic excess. If the story of "21 Grams" were told straightforwardly with less powerful actors, it could almost be an over the top TV soap-opera.

  The performances are a large part of what makes the film so stunning. All of the main actors excel. Several of them won awards at the 2003 Venice International Film Festival - Sean Penn receiving Best Actor, and Benicio Del Toro and Naomi Watts receiving the Audience Awards for Best Actor and Actress. Penn gives a very different performance here than he did in "Mystic River", although this film contains some elements of that one, and even of "The Crossing Guard" and "In the Bedroom". Naomi Watts has been nominated for a thoroughly deserved Academy Award (which she probably won't get) for Best Actress, and del Toro nominated for Best Supporting Actor. "21 Grams" also contains a powerful cameo from Clea DuVall as Christina's younger sister.

  So why is it called 21 Grams? Well that's said by some to be the weight of the human soul. Inarritu is examining what happens to individuals when confronted by events beyond their control, and asking questions about birth, love, death and religion. It's a gripping film and one with strong themes. Well worth a viewing, but I warn you that it does demand active participation on the part of the viewer.
  
  

• 21 grams = 2.1
  By on 2004-04-11
  21 grams = 2.1 hours of my life that I won't get back. This movie didn't accomplish what I thought it would. It had all of the ingredients for a good movie, but somehow it didn't gel for me.
  
  
• Interesting, if Overrated
  By A3ML9NZPPF9186 on 2004-05-05
  "21 Grams" is the story of three people, whose lives intersect in weird and compelling ways. Naomi Watts plays Christina, a woman who recently lost her husband and children in an accident. Benicio Del Toro is Jack, the guilt-ridden man responsible for their deaths. And Sean Penn appears as Paul, the recipient of Christina's husband's heart in life-saving transplant. Things slowly twist together into one arc as Paul seeks out Christina for reasons he can't completely fathom, and Christina herself becomes hell-bent on seeking revenge towards Jack. However, none of the characters can be completely described in little blurbs, as each has their share of complications that keep them both interesting and sympathetic. They all have flaws, and they all have redeeming factors. Watching everything come together and simultaneously unwind is an intriguing experience.

  Yet as beloved as this film is by aspiring artists (and pretentious wannabes), I feel that I must clearly state that this is not an innovative work and is in no way a masterpiece, though I can see how some may fall for its manipulative little tricks.

  That's not to say I hated it. It's actually an involving and well-acted little film, but I feel the mounds of praise are stacked just a little too high.

  While a decent and complex story, director Alejandro González Iñárritu's approach to it is more than a little self-indulgent. While never hard to follow, editing the film out of chronological order was just a bad choice, artistically (though, honestly, what so many people were probably impressed with). It just seems more like a show-offy gimmick than a valid storytelling method. Especially when you consider films that have used the out-of-sync approach and actually utilized it to create story revelations that wouldn't have worked otherwise (and, basically, I'm thinking of every Quentin Tarantino film, most notably 1994's "Pulp Fiction"). In "21 Grams", editing the film in proper order could have proven more beneficial, but might have made it seem even bleaker than it already does, which may be another (minor) reason for the editing choices.

  As well, for a story so full of potent emotions, it's a shame that none of them ever really connect...and I'm someone who can usually get pretty strong emotional responses from films. It just seems as if we're being forced to watch people who are in pain through some sort of invisible barrier to empathy. I think I must again blame this on the director, though his failures with this film ultimately shouldn't be indicative of a lack of talent. Directing the movie the way he did must have been hard, and he shows far more restraint than many other hacks would have, but with "21 Grams" he's just a little showy, and kind of stingy with the emotions.

  But for a movie I started out hating, it did start to grow on me, as the story became more and more interesting and the characters were revealed to have surprising depth. Also, the performances were extremely good, with Del Toro a stand out as an ex-con whose faith is tested by the whole ordeal.

  I feel I must say, to anyone game enough to try it, that I highly recommend sticking with it. The first 10-20 minutes are a little grating, but it does turn out to be pretty good in the long run. ...Though never great.

  Ultimately, there will be those who simply adore "21 Grams", just as there will be those who absolutely despise it. Just mark me somewhere in between.
  
  

• It's not that bad... We see Naomi Watts breasts...
  By A2QM44SYXT2PTO on 2004-05-12
  There I am with my girlfriend (who likes to play an intellectual girl) watching 21 grams...
  *
  From what she said, it was supposed to be a profound, deeply effervescently inspiring moving, emotionally draining, and brilliantly acted film, etc, etc, etc, that would make me see life for another incredible perspective that I've never ever thought about seeing before!!!
  *
  Then it begins...
  *
  But what the heck is this? The movie is not only non-linear, it seems to be chaotic (that is, if I'm not giving too much credit for a director that could just have filmed the movie in linear progression, then numbered a lot of scenes, and throw some dices to see where every part would be...)
  *
  More later this non-linear effect begins to fade... I mean, the movie continues to be non-linear, but after some time, you notice that things are moving linearly, just with some jumps. It's not a boggling mind experience as in Pulp Fiction.
  *
  Of course, just for this trick (that is better done for a truly genial director like Tarantino) people would already say that this an "experimental movie that contributes to refine the cinematographic technique!!!"
  *
  But then begins the hysteria, the boredom, and shallowness...
  *
  Even the acting in this movie is bad, even though you've got 2 great actors like Sean Penn and Del Toro. They just don't need to use any of their abilities to portray their characters...
  *
  Sean Penn is this (supposed) math teacher that doesn't need to work (maybe he's rich, we're just not told), and is able to going out looking for widows... Of course, for some mysterious reason, even after getting a heart transplant he's always walking around with some sort of sad face (Things would work well in a terror or porn movie - that is in the former he could be possessed by the spirit of Naomi's ex-husband, in the later, well, in the later things never need to make sense, hehe). Ah... and later he need to throw out, sometimes too, and smoke... And, make a sex scene with Naomi Watts (one of the few good parts in the movie...)
  *
  Del Toro is the worst of all... The guy never gets enough... For some reason he thinks that he has to suffer for all eternity... His life is eternal pain, he's disgusted to live, his head is hell, God hates and curses him!! KKKKK... :) KKKKK... Man these mexican guys love a melodrama, don't they? I confess that when he comes back, in the end of the movie, to make Sean Penn kill him, I began to laugh out loud... HA HaH HAHA HAAHA HA K K KKkkkaaaaa.
  *
  Naomi Watts is the sex relief... Of course, while she doesn't get hysterics... And in one of these programs (Jay Lenno, or other), that scene that she begins to shout with Sean Penn was pointed out as a proof of her "great talent"... Did anyone get convinced with that scene? The same girl that in other part of the movie doesn't want revenge... Then, she wants everything: sex, drugs (rocking roll?), and revenge... she wants blood, the guy that killed his ex-husband has to pay... Man, and that part that she says to Sean Penn: "you can't say that you like a woman, that makes us confuse?..." KKKKKKKKKKaaa HAAAhahahaha... What is this? The director need to know more girls... Or maybe, she's just crazy...
  *
  And when the movie ends? When you see that if it wasn't for the popcorn, the company of your girlfriend, and the jokes you'll make about how terrible the story is, it would be otherwise a waste of time?
  *
  You finally realize that the script is just boring and un-original; it's not really written with any consideration as to what the characters would actually say. The back and forth structure of the film is just a lame attempt to try and "edgy things up". The film could've been shot the way it was, or done in a linear format, and the outcome still would've been the same. It just jumps on a bunch of really important themes like religion,death,redemption,grief, but never really says anything profound or meaningful about any one of them. The creators just assumed that simply mentioning a deep or profound theme in the movie would turn it automatically deep. And of course, it would sensibilize people with a death in the end, and some silly comments about how heavy is a soul...
  *
  That's it folks... don't buy it... rent it someday with an open mind, maybe it'll make you laugh sometimes...
  
  
• Brilliantly Put Together
  By AVDXSJ01X94R3 on 2004-05-16
  Unlike many movies out these days, this one actually has a meaning. The minute you begin to watch this one you realize theres something that sets it apart from other flicks. The beginning may lose some people, but as the movie progresses everything seems to come together.
  The movie involves a man(Benecio Del Toro) who has cleaned up his life and become right with god, a woman(Naomi Watts), who is a recovering drug addict struggling to kick the old habbits, and a man(Sean Penn) who is dying and needs a new heart. I personally Sean has the best performance out of the big three.
  The movie moves in and out of past and future never really settling on the what you think the present would be. At times especially in the beginning it can be a little slow, but that just makes for a better ending where everything ties together.

  The great part about the movie is the meaning. It really makes you think, I love movies like that (ex. Requiem for a Dream, American History X). I think the 21 grams that you lose when you die is your soul. There is a great message to this movie.
  Anyways, I reccomend this movie to anyone who likes movies with purposes, or likes to think. I realize not everyone will like this movie, but I think most people enjoy movies with meanings. Thanks for reading.

  Rated R for Language(all though not too bad for R,Nudity, Drug Use, and Overall Adult Themes) so you might many keep away from parents.
  
  

• Suicidally Depressing...
  By on 2004-05-29
  A well-crafted, brilliantly acted movie.
  Unfortunately, it is also hideously dismal, and with no moral message to offer which would justify such unredeemable and violent gloominess.
  This movie makes "Sid and Nancy" seem like a comedy.
  Watch it once and you'll stare numbly at the floor for a few hours when it is finished; watch it twice and you're friends and family will have to call the authorities and put you on suicide watch.
  No thanks.
  Gimme my 2 hours back.
  
  
• Pretentious method-acting class fare with "shaky cam"
  By A3SF2N0BJF0YJS on 2004-06-10
  We keep hearing about great actors with great performances, but mostly these scenes look straight out of method acting classes in New York City: highly melodramatic, hyper serious one-scene shots. In other words, nobody in this movie behaves as they would in real life: every gesture, every line, is highly exaggerated. Maybe I'd be more open to getting over the pretentiousness if I cared about the characters, but there is no attempt to make them interesting. Add to this that the "Law and Order" style shaky-cam never lets up, and you need an aspirin after five minutes. Basically, I'd say that if you loved the movie Traffic -- a better, but also shaky-cam melodramatic pretend version of realism-- then this is the movie for you. If you were not crazy about "Traffic," and you lose patience with the shaky-cam and pretentious actor monologues, let this one go.
  
  
• Nice try, but ultimately fails
  By A6VS2DC7YFQOE on 2004-10-24
  After seeing Amores Perros, I jumped at the chance to see 21 Grams, but it lacks the depth of its predecessor.
  
  Since other reviews synopsis the movie, I'll skip that and move right into how it fails.
  
  First of all, the 21 grams have nothing to do with the movie and are so vague that the viewer doesn't know what the heck they are supposed to be or mean. I felt that it was tacked onto the end to add some desperatly missing depth.
  
  Second, the nonlinear storytelling that made Amores Perros a gem is just confusing and muddled in 21 Grams. The movie starts at the middle-end and jumps around so much that it has the feel of a Memento-wannabe rather than an original film. The fragmentation of scenes deflate any building suspense or wonder. All the scenes seem to just build up to the graphic sex scene between Penn and Watts. Though I knew it was coming, I felt cheated that a movie with so much potential debased itself to peaking during a sex scene. It smacks of laziness.
  
  It's my opinion that the film lacked intensity as a linear plot so the director mixed scenes up to give the illusion of art.
  
  Despite the film's failures, the acting is superb. I especially liked Del Toro's character who plays an ex-con Christian who is struggling with himself and his new faith.
  
  Overall, it's not a bad movie, but there are much better films out there that master the fragmented storyline like Amores Perros and Memento. Do yourself a favor and watch those instead.
  
  
• They say when you die you lose 21 grams...
  By A3Q1FVRV0CRYTH on 2005-08-31
  Benecio Del Toro, Sean Penn & Niomi Watts all desearve any and every bit of credit and praise they will and have recieved for their performances here. They shine, outshine even almost ever other performer of 2003. Now I don't know if I was the only one with the missconception that this was a film about drugs, well, it's not. I mean, Niomi does coke breifly, but other than that drugs has very little, if NOTHING to do with the story line. The film is shot in panic mode almost, switching from past to present to future to give you the begining and end all at the same time and then filling in the middle slowly so that it all makes sense. You have Benecio Del Toro, an ex-con turned Jesus freak sort-of is dealing with a grave mistake. Niomi Watts is dealing with a grave loss and Sean Penn is learning to live again, now that he;s finally given a second chance, a new lot on life. These three are connected through their new lives, their mistakes and misfortunes until the end which will blow you away and make you cry, at least a little, on the inside maybe...GREAT movie and highly highly recomended.
  
  
• Like a grisly roadside accident...we couldn't look away
  By A10872FHIJAKKD on 2005-12-31
  We watched 21 Grams last night.
  
  To counteract the severely intense, tragic film we watched Leno's monolog about half-way through and, after the movie was over, Seinfeld Season Five's "The Marine Biologist." Even with humor during and after, we still went to bed feeling depressed.
  
  This is not a film for the faint of heart (or even faint of mind). It requires one to suspend all hope and pay attention to the slow, choppy unfolding of the story.
  
  As others have noted, this film unravels in a distinctly non-linear fashion -- story lines overlapping, backing up, coming at you from the past (or the future - hard to say which), all interspersed to tell the tale of three couples whose lives intersect in tragic, unexpected ways. (Remember Memento? This film owes a lot to that ground-breaking effort.)
  
  Death, drugs, tragedy, sex, hopelessnes, spiritual and emotional devastation -- all these themes and images are pounded into the viewer from people whose lives have forever fallen apart.
  
  Sean Penn is riveting, as usual. But so are Benicio Del Toro and Naomi Watts (who, I think, turned in the performance of her career).
  
  All I could think about while I watched the movie was this: Life turns on a dime. At any given moment, my life could take a turn like the lives of these characters. Many lives take that turn every single day, and the downward spiral begins. That fear of sudden devastation chilled me to the bone the whole time I watched film. So, in effect, even though this isn't a traditional thriller or horror movie, it still scared the hell out of me.
  
  I'm not sure this is the kind of movie I'll be able to watch again. But I'm definitely sure it's one I'll never be able to forget.
  
  

• Amores Perros
• Babel
• Traffic
• Mystic River (Widescreen Edition)
• Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (Widescreen Edition)