21 Grams
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Movie Reviews of 21 Grams
Movie Review: Have to see to believe...
Summary: 5 Stars
'21 Grams' tells the complex interconnected story of how three lived intersect both tragically and redemtively following a car accident. Paul (Sean Penn; Mystic River) is a terminally ill math professor, in desperate need of a heart transplant. Christine (Naomi Watts; The Ring) is a former drug addict, whose just now getting clean -- with the help of her family. Jack (Benecio Del Toro; Traffic) is a born-again-Christian, who was an ex-convict, now preaching the Gospel to others. In a tragic car accident, all three of their lives will be forever touched. Jack is driving home from work when he fails to see a man with his two kids walking, he accidentally kills them. The family happens to belong to Christine, who just happens to be recovering from drugs. Then there is Paul, who just gets Christine's husbands heart. '21 Grams' power lies in it's acting, no lie there. Sure, it does have some kind of twist like 'Memento,' however, '21 Grams' is a much better film for many diffrent reasons. The main one: the acting. Benecio Del Toro lights up the screen as Jack. Some of his most powerful acting ever. If you thought his performance in 'Traffic' was powerful, you haven't seen nothing yet. Naomi Watts turns in a solid performance as a grieving widow, who loses both her spouse and her two children. Sean Penn turns in another Oscar-caliber performance as a terminally ill math professor, whose own life is in termoil with a unhappy marriage. All in all, '21 Grams' was shunned at the Oscars (Del Toro and Watts deserved their nominations, and above all deserved the Awards) for nominations in both Best Picture and Best Director (Alejandro González Iñárritu) -- not to mention the fact that Penn should've had TWO nominations for Best Actor (this and his win for 'Mystic River'.)Movie Review: THE BEST MOVIE OF 2003, HANDS DOWN.
Summary: 5 Stars
Sean Penn is in his groove this year, what a mean double-punch he delivers with this movie right alongside Clint Eastwood's "Mystic River"! Do you remember "Memento"? It moved backwards and forwards in time and jumped from character to character with dizzying frequency. But, out of what initially seemed to be a randomly baffling approach, an intriguing "a-ha" pattern emerged.
21 Grams is perhaps the only other non-linear screenplay I can think of that will keep you absolutely riveted from start to end. It follows director Inarrito's (of "Amores Perros" acclaim) trademark jigsaw narrative -- a kaleidoscope of cinematic vignettes and moments that first intercut, and then gradually fold back into a powerful tale of tragedy and redemption.
It is not easy to provide any kind of plot summary without revealing spoilers, so let's stick to the barebone essentials. The fates of our three main protagonists intertwine at a crucial moment. Paul (Sean Penn) is a math professor with a bad heart. His marriage to Mary (Charlotte Gainsbourg) seems as doomed as he is, but she refuses to leave him in his terminal state. Jack (Benicio Del Toro) is an ex-con who has reformed his life through religious recourse. But there are times, especially in his home life, when glimpses of his past personality shine through. Christine (Naomi Watts) is a happily married woman with a loving husband and two delightful daughters. She is content with her daily routine until events send her life spinning out of control, impelling her back into the drug-induced haze from which her marriage rescued her.
I won't be surprised one bit if Oscar comes calling here. This is a movie not to be missed this year! It's creative, engaging, intriguing. I look forward to the DVD because this is one for your collections.
Movie Review: Gut Wrenching and Fine
Summary: 5 Stars
"21 Grams" refers to the amount of weight one loses immediately at the time of death. Some people have said that the 21 grams represents the releasing of the soul; others say that it is the emission of urine. It may also be the release of the guilt carried by the several characters (there is more than enough guilt to go around here) in this magnificent new film directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, who also directed "Amores Perros." Like "Amores Perros," "21 Grams" concerns a horrible automobile accident that brings several unlikely people together. Benecio Del Toro plays an ex-convict responsible for a hit and run car accident that takes the lives of several people. Sean Penn is a college professor who receives a heart transplant from one of the victims. Naomi Watts is married to one of victims of the tragedy. All three of these actors play their parts with a gut-wrenching intensity that is rarely seen in films today. The supposed villain of the piece endures as much agony as those who lives he touched. What gives "21 Grams" its particular poignancy and texture is that the film's sequences are presented out of order. What may be disconcerting to some I found many times increasing my empathy for each of the character's sufferings and gave a heightened understanding of their interreactions with one another. While it helped, prior to seeing the film, that I read several reviews explaining Mr. Inarritu's ingenious process, I never had difficulty following and understanding the storyline. What "21 Grams" so keenly brings out is that, as in Frank Capra's "It's A Wonderful Life," we are all part of humanity and that one cannot help being affected by those around us, whether for good or for evil. Absolutely do not miss one of the year's very best films.Movie Review: Like a grisly roadside accident...we couldn't look away
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Edited in a non-linear arrangement where the lives of the characters are depicted before and after a tragic automobile accident
Summary: 5 Stars
21 Grams is a movie which has three parallel thread stories which seem to be unconnected but the movie progresses it becomes apparent that all three stories and characters are connected.
The thread stories are
1) Sean Penn plays a critically ill academic mathematician,
2) Noami Watts plays a grief stricken mother,
3) Benicio Del Toro plays an ex-convict who has newly discovered Christianity
All three characters center around a tragic automobile accident.
The movie although shot in chronological order, is edited in a non-linear arrangement where the lives of the characters are depicted before and after the accident. The random order in which the 'before' and 'after' bits of the 3 stories are mixed around, could confuse some viewers who are not attentive or who don't want to take the effort. This movie requires a bit of serious viewing. But it's different and novel. When the end, start and middle of the movie are mish mashed around, it breaks down our formal thinking process of a first, middle and last act of the movie. It also adds suspense and curiosity to see what transpired in between when we see the start,end and certain middle parts one after the other and then spend the rest of the time curious to know what happened in between and to fit the pieces of the puzzle. Not a conventional film, not for everyone but a good film neverthless.
And the title "21 grams" actually refers to suppossed loss of weight when a person dies. So when a body dies it looses the soul and in the movie we are told 21 grams is what the 'soul' weighs and we thus weigh lesser by 21 grams after death.
regards, Vikram