"How much does life weigh?"

21 Grams (2003): 9/10

Poster (c) Focus Features

How do you accurately judge a movie that’s not meant to be viewed as it seems? 21 Grams, by Alejandro González Ińárritu (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 Ińárrtu’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, Ińárritu 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), Ińárritu 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.

Review Date: January 10, 2004