21 Grams
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Movie Reviews of 21 Grams
Movie Review: Thespians' paradise & González Iñárritu's respect for fans
Summary: 5 Stars
"21 Grams" is a thespians' paradise. Sean Penn, Benecio Del Toro, and Naomi Watts deliver 80% or more of all the dialogue in this film. And it's really saying something that Penn - the actor's actor - gets pushed to the side a bit by Del Toro and - especially - Watts. She's the real revelation here. I see now that she was just taking a little, breezy holiday in Merchant-Ivory's recent "Le Divorce." She's nothing short of stunning here at the moment of her true heartbreak: her face goes ghostly white and she collapses on her Dad. Never has acting looked so life-like. You almost want to look away because it feels like you're peering in on someone's real-life pathos. It's that good. If that one scene alone doesn't garner Ms. Watts an Academy Award nomination, I'll be shocked.The other thing worth noting here is director Alejandro González Iñárritu's deep respect for the intelligence of his audience. He's taken a fairly straightforward sequence of events and arranged them in sharply non-linear fashion. For close to hour, you're sitting there wondering *how* these three seemingly unconnected individuals will come to know each other in such a violent way (because González Iñárritu shows you the penultimate moment of their confrontation at the very start).
When the moment comes that you piece it together - and those who follow along can do so a couple of minutes prior to the key event - well, a chill runs up your spine. How many directors can do that?
Thank you, Alejandro, for your faith in the intelligence of your fans and for giving us something better than the watered-down mainstream fare that often comes out of Hollywood.
Movie Review: I'm still out of my own skin
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm still talking about this movie 5 months after I saw it, I've only seen it once but have been tempted to see it over and over whenever I go to the movies. I saw Amores Perros (Alejandro González IÑárritu) when it first came out and I just thought it was a perfect film, it had this rough edge that seemed to just create the same affect to the audience and as soon as I heard that (Alejandro González IÑárritu) was coming out with a new film I was just already on top of it. Then the actors (Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Naomi Watts) came into view and I was just extatic I knew it was something to watch. The film hit's you from the minute it starts to the moment it finishes. I caught the last show when I went and took some friends with me - they (seriously) had to throw us out because we couldn't find the feeling to get up from our seats, it left us numb and truely speechless. It's such a beautiful and powerful story with all the meaning it needs. I've recommended it to so many and have all come back with positive reviews and sleepless nights. It's deep and I know some people can't handle deep storytelling but it's a must see for anyone looking to be affected. So I recommend see it and if you like, recommend to everyone. I applaud the director and writer once again for a beautiful job well done. It's such a heavy and undescribable concept and when you finally reach to it it's incredible beacuse it's light as a feather but you don't want to let go (if it makes sense). Anyway bottom line I've never been affected this hard by a film, that tells you something.Movie Review: Excellent, Well-done, riveting, and unique
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is on the most well-done movie I have ever seen with breatless cinematography. It was very intense at many parts and is very unique. It focuses on the lives of 3 people. The first person, Jack Jordon (Benicio Del Toro) is a preacher who has been in and out of jail many times. He leads a poor life with his wife and 2 kids. The second person, Paul Rivers (Sean Penn) is a working alcoholic who has had a turbulent relationship with his wife and is dying of heart condition. The third person, Christina (Naomi Watts) leads a regular life in the suburbs with a husband and 2 little daughters. Their lives are brought together by a terrible accident when Jack (Del Toro) runs over a guy and 2 kids with his truck accidently. The guy and 2 kids are the family of Christina (Watts). Paul (Penn) gets the heart of the guy run over and that ends up saving his life and allowing him to live longer. The movie first talks about their life before the accident, then talks about what happens and what changes after the accident. The movie skips around a lot with chronoly of events, as in events happen in a scene that comes after what happens in the next scene. After the accident, Jack goes to jail and he questions whether there is a god and why God made him run over the family and then leave the scene. Paul finds out about how it was christina's husband that gave him the heart that saved his life and soon has an affair with Christina. His wife gets pretty suspicious, so she divorces him. A lot of stuff happens in the movie and the scenes are very powerful, riveting, and intense.Movie Review: How much?
Summary: 5 Stars
Reviewing a fim like 21 Grams, a reviewer finds himself/herself contemplating a dilemma: Will they speak of the impact the film had on them or of the film as an objective work?
Thankfully, this film is so great on either level, that the dilemma does not really have to be there.
As far as impact is concerned, the film (along with "House of Sand and Fog") is simply the best I have seen in years. Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu alternates between moving, poetic scenes that most directors would not even dream of creating (which may seem artificial to some but, in my view, really isn't) and fearless brutally true scenes that capture the real horror the characters are facing.
The film has an irregular timeline, which curiously empowers instead of making it annoying.
The real gift, however, this film offers is acting masterclass.
Sean Penn has worked on Paul's character so deeply, that every word he utters feels perfect. Benicio Del Toro, a chameleon like actor creates tremendous emotional weight by simply being in the scene. Naomi Watts is a revelation. She is almost frightening in this film, her every breath seems like an effort not to burst, her every step is bound to send chills down the spine of viewers. Ms. Watts is as great an actress as they come. Period.
The film seems to aim directly to your heart and it is probably going to find its way in. Watching the film makes the audience uncomfortable, and forces them to dive into the dance of life and death, a filmic dance more beautiful and mysterious than we could have ever imagined.
Movie Review: Another excellent experience in film-making
Summary: 5 Stars
21 grams is complex, and I dont want to spoil the fun for future viewers, so I wont give the plot away. Suffice it to say that the characters played by Naomi Watts, Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro have their lives brought together in tragic circumstances. This movie has no chronological sequence between the scenes. But I didnt, for one moment, get confused or misunderstand the story. Hows that for editing, huh? All the shots were made in handheld cameras. There are lots of close-ups of the actors faces, their eyes, facial expressions, etc. So, the cast had to be good. But in this case, it was excellent. Naomi Watts is simply wonderful. Shes sad, hysteric, depressive, and beautiful. Sean Penn continues with his sequence of good performances, and in my opinion hes much better here than in the acclaimed Mystic River, in the role of a man whose heart is failing. And Benicio del Toro, after that ridiculous role in Hunted is back again with Traffic-standard acting as an ex-con Jesus-freak.
The script is not original, and I could even detect some small incoherence in the characters behaviours; many times during the movie I felt I knew what was going to happen in the end, but that doesnt matter. 21 grams is incredibly intense, with a subtle violence and a doom feeling that makes the viewer grab the seat arms until the knuckles go white.
Congratulations to the mexican crew who came up with a good story and nice different direction. Its a pity this movie didnt go well in the box-office.
Grade 9.1/10