Directed by:
Alejandro González IñárrituScreenplay:
Guillermo ArriagaCinematography:
Rodrigo PrietoComposer:
Gustavo SantaolallaCast:
Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Danny Huston, Naomi Watts, Carly Nahon, Clea DuVall, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Claire Pakis, Eddie Marsan, John Rubinstein (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
A freak accident brings together a terminally ill mathematician (Penn), a grieving mother (Watts) and a born-again ex-con (Del Toro) in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's fantastic multi-layered follow up to his debut 'Amores Perros', a gripping story that takes them to the heights of passion, the depths of obsession and sees the promise of revenge... (Park Circus)
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Reviews (10)
The moodily gritty, gloomy, shaky camerawork reinforces the realism of the world depicted in 21 Grams. The chronological disjointedness of the plot comprising three individual, interlinked stories promotes consideration of the composition of connections. The stories were originally supposed to play out sequentially, one after the other as in Amores Perros, but the director chose a more “chaotic” variant. This whole formalistically ambitious work follows the emotional suffering of the characters and is triumphant as a result. It is both interesting and emotionally compelling. However, it isn’t entirely successful. It’s not a brilliant jigsaw puzzle with an unmistakable distribution of conflict points (Memento), because it DOES simply feel like the scattering of the various plot lines was unnecessary and is only an attempt to turn silver into gold. Nor is it a devastating emotional explosion (Magnolia), because although the director avoids sentimentality (which is fine), he shies away from unrestrained, cruel baring of human intimacy (which is a shame) in the manner of Lars von Trier, who strips his characters of their clothes and has more respect for them.
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In the first twenty minutes I thought, if I understand this, I'll be good. And world wonder, the connections started to work and I could see a truly perfect whole that is full of emotion, drama and well, just something you have to watch from start to finish to understand what initially is impossible to grasp. 21 Grams stands a cut above Alejandro González Iñárritu previous Amores Perros and deserves a full score for the theme, the acting, the music and the atmosphere, which was very dense at times.
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Iñárritu's next fascinating, ruthless analysis of life's journeys, where a single moment forever changes everything that has come before it, with no way back and no forgiveness possible. The acting of the main trio, which would surely deserve a statuette, only adds to the enormous power of this film, which in many ways follows the lead of the excellent Amores Perros. Sean Penn, teetering on the edge of life and death in the hospital is truly unforgettable with his monologue about "21 grams", as is Naomi Watts in the scenes involving the most intense emotions.
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Thank God for the fact that they still make films that can tug at your soul. I love films that don't lead me by the hand, that make me ask questions, think about them; 21 Grams is exactly that. Iñárritu's consistent disruption of the temporal sequence is a clear win in my eyes, piecing together the mosaic of temporal shards was exciting and thrilling in its own way. This great impression is enhanced by the handheld camera and the interesting work with sound in places. Standing above these technical matters is the emotionality and depth of the script and the performances. Benicio, Benicio, you are awesome, I’ve not other words to say it. It is good to know that despite all the messiness of life, there is always hope, that bright spot in the distance, and that great movies are still being made.
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I hate to say it, but I really didn't like this movie. It has a pretty simple story that is only intricately told to make it look more interesting, I feel it rather hurt the film. I found the flashbacks very hard to navigate, even more so when the film is so terribly boring, slow and not to mention emotional. Sean Penn's worst role yet. For me, a waste of time and all that hype even gave me a headache.
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Gallery (45)
Photo © 2003 Focus Features
![21 Grams - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/166/114/166114461_7dc26f.jpg)
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