21 Grams (2003)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Alejandro González Iñárritu

Writer (WGA):

Guillermo Arriaga (written by)

Release Date:

26 December 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Difference between dead and life

Plot:

A freak accident brings together a critically ill mathematician (Penn), a grieving mother (Watts) and a born-again ex-con (Del Toro).

Plot Keywords:

Faith | Mathematician | Guilt | Ex Convict | Born Again

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 20 wins & 34 nominations

Cast

Sean Penn	...	Paul Rivers
Naomi Watts	...	Cristina Peck
Danny Huston	...	Michael
Carly Nahon	...	Cathy
Claire Pakis	...	Laura
Benicio Del Toro	...	Jack Jordan
Nick Nichols	...	Boy
Charlotte Gainsbourg	...	Mary Rivers
John Rubinstein	...	Gynecologist
Eddie Marsan	...	Reverend John
Loyd Keith Salter	...	Fat Man
Antef A. Harris	...	Basketball Guy
Melissa Leo	...	Marianne Jordan
Marc Musso	...	Freddy (as Marc Thomas Musso)
Teresa Delgado	...	Gina

MPAA:

Rated R for language, sexuality, some violence and drug use.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #40185) | Portugal:M/16 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:III | Iceland:16 | Ireland:18 | Japan:PG-12 | Mexico:B15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Philippines:R-18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Singapore:R(A) | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Company:

This Is That Productions

Trivia:

When Paul finds the photos of Cristina and her husband in a book, the book he is looking at is "Cruising Paradise", a collection of 40 stories about solitude and loss by playwright-actor Sam Shepard.

Goofs:

Continuity: Months after the operation, after sleeping with Cristina, Paul still has a "hospital shave" on his chest.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Michael: Check, please.
Cathy: Look Daddy, a volcano.
[Cathy blows bubbles into her soft drink]
Michael: It's very pretty. Drink up your volcano. All right. We're going. Mommy's waiting.
Cathy: Daddy, please. Just one more minute.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "ER: 21 Guns (#12.22)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

You're Losing Me

Esotercat's Riveting Review of "21 Grams"

Some movies are like a novel. Some movies are like a poem. Some films have flashbacks and flash-forwards. Some, like `Memento,' stretch the boundaries of convention and take wild risks such as moving the drama from the end to the beginning. `21Grams' is a cinematic poetic explosion, shaking all the pieces hard as hell, and then tossing them in the air to fall at random. Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, he gives the audience the puzzle unraveled, demanding that we piece together the story from interlaced past, present and future events. It is part flashy gimmick, part artistic mastery, but always compelling.

This is not a film for either the faint of heart or lazy of mind. Nor is it for those who become frustrated by film that dares to step outside the linear plot and paint-by-numbers formula. The mishmash of past/present/future is allegorical in the sense that we all carry our past, all hinge our hearts on the future, and all struggle with a `present' as dotty and haunted as this film so wildly illustrates.

In `21 Grams' it is required that the viewer surrender. As in life, there is no control. I must admit that I became a bit antsy and pressed for answers when none were being provided. You are riveted by events and players that intermingle in a haphazard mishmash of time with a rebellious lack of structure. You can either go with the flow-or back out to your car. Since I saw only one person exit the theater, for any reason, in the 125 minutes running time, I conclude that the fully occupied theater was as riveted as I was, even to the point of extreme bladder control.

The performances are stunning. Sean Penn is always good, Benicio Del Toro solidifies his Oscar, and Naomi Watts is the big talent to watch. Her emotional honesty is beyond acting-I believed her to feel the pain she displayed.

The `plot' almost seems inconsequential. The film is about the depth of human feeling in our brief interplay between living and dying. It's about damnation and redemption, revenge and forgiveness, surrender and salvation. It offers no explanations. It merely illustrates the human experience in a trenchant manner that makes us aware that every minute of every day is a precarious drama that we look upon more lightly than we should. The dramatic cortex is the human heart-lost, gained, tormented, anguished and confused. The metaphorical context is the fleeting nature of each heart's temporal beat and our desperately valiant struggle to flesh out our mortal hearts' desires.