Rating: 
Summary: A good sad story with great acting
Review: This is a good movie. Not one that I would see more than once. It's really sad. Peoples lives are really torn apart. The director does a great job of presenting this movie in a unique way and the actors do an excellent job. It was worth the $9.
Rating: 
Summary: Strong Actors Trying to Convey A Non-Existant Theme
Review: This film has a rather unique plot arrangement with strong acting but all converge upon a non-existant theme. After a rather depressive two hours of drama, the audience is left wondering as to what the point of the story was.Benicio Del Torro delivers a moving performance as a penitent ex-con who seeks redemption as a born again Christian. His conscience tormented between his duty to God, family, and society. Sean Penn seeks the wife of his heart donor to give his thanks but soon finds himself evoking painful memories and mixed emotions from the grieving widow. In turn, Sean Penn feels compelled to avenge the death of the widow's family by killing Benicio Del Torro. At best, the film's theme shows that there is no simple truth to spiritual salvation in the bleak drama of human lives. The film shows that God punishes the innocent, the penitent, as well as true sinners and that none of us will ever really know why. Given the dramatic ending of Sean Penn's character, the film seeks to show that life is short and that we should be thankful for being healthy and alive, even if for a brief time. If that is indeed the film's message, it conveys it rather obscurely and unsuccessfully. If you have to see this film, see it on video. There's nothing about this film that makes it worth seeing at the movie theater for $9; you also won't have to find yourself in an embarrassing situation if you fall asleep. Another advantage of seeing it on video is that you can pause it and try to study its elusive, if even present, convoluted theme.
Rating:
Summary: Lots of meaning beneath the non-linear frames...
Review: What was it about? To me, it was about death, and near death, and how people deal with it, both as a victim, and as a perpetrator. It's about the unseen pain and unseen guilt that accompanies death. There's a saying through the movie that "life just goes on...", but does it? And if it does, certainly we all do so differently and with more things to reflect upon. For me, the Benicio character was the most interesting, an ex-con reformed under Jesus's faith. His faith is challenged deeply and emotionally, and he cannot find salvation thru his faith, and ironically, he is forgiven by the very things he victimized. Who died for his sins? There's a lot of religious undertones in his role. Naomi Watt's character is pure perfect and powerful acting, as the grieving widow who seeks to deal w death. In the beginning, she's remorse and forgiving, but after not able to let go, she's seeks a violent means. Sean Penn's character was a harder read for me, was he simply experiencing near death and reborn again to seek another mission? His end is rather ironic, but for what I don't quite know as yet. Another underlying theme, is our habit to ignore the very love that exist under our own noses for something else. How many of us do that? Aren't we all seeking more money? more faith? more this, more that? and ignore the very love that exists in our own house? Often we are surrounded by people that love us, and yet we put them away in search of our own little missions, thinking that they will still be there when we return, sometimes they are and sometimes they aren't. From the Production Notes... "Through Death, They Discover Life."
Rating:
Summary: Well done, but depressing
Review: I had heard that the film 21 Grams was similar to Memento, in that it operated not in real time. This is true, but it is not the same, because Memento went in reverse. This movie is more of the Pulp Fiction timeline, where events are mixed up seemingly with no order whatsoever. I would like to compare it to another film which was received very well critically, Leaving Las Vegas. Both these movies are well written, and well acted, but so depressing and down that I don't think I could ever enjoy watching either again. This is not so much criticism as indicating preference. The film basically centers around an automobile accident which robs Naomi Watts of her husband and two daughters. The driver of the car is Benicio Del Toro, who is a former criminal turned born again Christian. He decides to turn himself in to the cops despite the pleas of his wife to keep silent. As a result of the accident, Sean Penn receives a new heart. He had been waiting for a heart, since his had given out. Upon recovery, he goes to great lengths to learn the identity of the man whose heart he has received, which leads him to get involved with Watts. He wants to help her simply because her decision gave him the chance to live. Be warned. The movie is absolutely not for kids. There is drug use, strong language, death, suicide, nudity and strong sexual situations. The themes in the film are too strong for non adults to handle or comprehend. Overall, this film is good, but not a movie I will ever choose to buy.
Rating: 
Summary: Gut Wrenching and Fine
Review: "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.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling rationale for time shifting
Review: As he did in his first film released stateside, Amores Perros, Mexican director Alejandro Inarritu here uses time shifting to tremendously enhance the emotional resonance of his story. And again, he uses a single critical event--also a car accident, as was the case in Amores Perros--to converge the signficantly different lives and lifestyles of his disparate characters. A working class ex-con turned born-again Christian (Benecio del Toro), an intelligent college professor with a major streak of irresponsibility (Sean Penn), and a woman whose stability completely hinges on her family (Naomi Watts) comprise the fated triad of characters whose involvements with each other build in momentum with tragic consequences. Inarritu does not, as several critics have said, use flashbacks and -forwards in a "flashy" way, attempting to prove how hip a filmmaker he is. He is a brilliant director who understands, more than most directors working today, what cinema really is as a medium and how best to use it to convey what no other medium can. Taking his cue from veteran Robert Altman, Inarritu shows us his characters at various stages of their lives, one sequence after another, to communicate the consequences of their choices, and of the accidents that life is too often made up of. That our actions are too often the result of those accidents over which we have little or no control is what makes this film a tragic drama and what brings us as viewers to a fever pitch of emotionality as the story unfolds. One might think that the frequent jump-cutting and time shifting could make for a jerky experience, but this is not the case. We see the characters unfold before us as the film progresses; we understand more and more of why and how each of the characters--and by extension, each of us--influences the other; we feel the real meaning of our lives as we live them, based on how the characters' lives are lived in the film. What we come to know in this film is, at the risk of sounding cliched, how the short mortality of our lives is too often ignored at the expense of what lies immediately in front of our noses. The actors in the major roles are highly talented interpreters of dialogue that cries out for rich, emotionally resonant work, and they have given it to us with tremendous skill. So too have the supporting cast, especially Melissa Leo as the wife of the ex-con and Charlotte Gainsbourg as the professor's wife. This is not a film that revels in gimmickry and superficial ostentation. It is one whose director has thought deeply about how we feel, how we respond, how we think, and how we act. It is a film that should be seen, and it is one of the best films of 2003.
Rating:
Summary: Heavy
Review: Superbly acted (Naomi Watts is a standout in a uniformly excellent cast), uncompromisingly gray yet ultimately depressing, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "21 Grams" brings together a set of characters confronted with and confounded by emotionally crippling circumstances beyond their control.
Watts plays a Cristina Peck, a woman who loses her husband and two daughters in a hit and run accident caused by Jack (Benicio Del Toro) while Paul (Sean Penn), the recipient of Cristina's husbands heart, seeks closure by hiring a detective to track down Cristina so as to thank her for his second chance at life.
Inarritu has directed "21 Grams" in a Chinese Box manner with scenes totally out of sequence yet arranged so that they make 100% sense at all times. Inarritu demands that you pay close attention and watch and listen intently.
Cristina, Jack and Paul's paths ultimately cross in a scene noteworthy for it's in-the-face camera work, dead on emotionality and raw, unguarded, gut-splitting acting. And though all subtlety is discarded early on in this film, this scene begged for and got the bravura technique required to sell it.
Ultimately though, the subject matter, the green cast of the film which makes everyone look like they are near death, the over-powering sense of doom and unsettling feel of the film as a whole make the viewing too serious, too bleak for it's own good. By the film's end we want out of the theater as quickly as possible. And whereas Clint Eastwood's "Mystic River" covers similar ground, "21 Grams" assaults us with one psychic pounding after another, yet never attains the much needed elation of the emotional catharsis that Eastwoods' film does.
Rating:
Summary: Worth Every Gram!
Review: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's 2001 "Amores Perros" was a critical favorite. It was a story that intersected the lives of a group of people but it told the story in such an intense way the public responded well to it. I was a fan of the movie, but, I didn't find it to be a masterpiece or one of the year's best films. Here though with "21 Grams" Inarritu it seems to me has given this movie a little more heart. It is the best movie of the year! I have yet to see a movie that has managed to grip me the way this film has. This is a first class movie all the way. I was sitting on the edge of my seat. It's not that this movie is a thriller, but I was so taken away by the performances. There were so many sterling moments. The acting in this film is worth the price of admission itself. It is an exercise in great acting. As I watched the movie I was thinking of "A Streetcar Named Desire", in that movie you had two powerful performances by Brando and Vivian Leigh. They seemed as if the were fighting to outshine the other. Here too, with "21 Grams" the cast seems as if they are trying to outshine eachother. Naomi Watts, an actress who I'm a big fan of, does a wonderful job. It's one of the best performances I've seen an actress give this her. The emotional range she goes through in this film is remarkable. She is so effective in this movie. I thought she was wonderful in "Mulholland Dr." but here she really outdoes herself. It's a major improvement over her role in "Le Divorce". Sean Penn on the other hand gives the best performance I've seen as actor give since I saw Sean Penn in "Mystic River". If he doesn't win the Academy Award for one of these two movies it will just further my already strong dislike for the Academy. They need to finally give the man some credit! Its been brought to my attention many people will be confused by the structure and editing of the film. I find it to be masterful. But, the movie is NOT told in traditional fashion. The movie jumps around. Sometimes it's told backwards, so we see an event happen, but we don't know what caused it to happen. Think of "Memento". I really have to admit this structure did not bother me. It kept me guessing and made me sit eagerly for the conclusion. It kept my attention instead of bothering me. The editing should be nominated for an Oscar. I find it hard thinking of a way to describe this movie to you. I don't want to reveal too much and spoil it for you, yet I feel it's almost my "duty" to warn you of what to expect. "21 Grams" could be describe by some people as a depressing movie. The movie does lay on these moments that do seem bleak. We wonder what is instore for these characters. The outlook does not look good. And the ending, which I found satisfying, doesn't do much to brighten up out spirits. But then again it doesn't mean to. "21 Grams" has Sean Penn as Paul Rivers, a dying school teacher,who is in need of a heart donor. He has a rocky marriage to Mary (Charlotte Gainsbourg). They were seperated for a while and are trying to start anew. Next we have Naomi Watts. She is married and has two children. She was a former drug addict and alcoholic. Certain events will happen and cause her to go back to old habbits. And finally there is Jack Jordan (Benicio Del Toro). A convicted ex-con who was in and out of jails most of his life has turned around and now has found Jesus. He goes around speading his word. These three characters, without knowing it, will be affected by the others actions. I once heard Robert Altman describe his 1992 film "The Player" as a coiled snake. The movie goes around in a circle and ends where it started. "21 Grams" could be described in the same way. This has been a rather slow year I think. We have had our share of good movies but not many great movies. There have not been many movies this year that have challenged our emotions. Movies that made us think. The only movie I saw this year that I felt deserved a "best picture" nomination was "Kill Bill". While perhaps it didn't exactly make us think it was a truly entertaining film. Now though "21 Grams" is a movie that not only should be nominated it should win the award. Inarritu deserves the nomination for "best director". The way he was able to handle these three stories and present them in a fresh way. He and screenwriter Guillemo Arriaga make us care about these people. That is what ultimately makes the movie work. Forget the techinical aspects of the movie. I don't think many people will care about the editing or the screenplay very much or at least not to the level I do. Most people will just come away enjoying the acting. And there is much to enjoy. Will most audiences enjoy the movie? Probably not. As I said many will call the movie depressing. Others will be bothered by the narrative structure. But, those who give "21 Grams" a chance I think will find the film to be as rewarding as I do. This is the best film of the year! It goes into issues and creates emotions most films this year have not come close to making us feel. Bottom-line: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's follow-up to "Amores Perros", in my opinion carries much more of a punch to it. The structure and editing of the film is masterful. The movie takes chances. The acting is just about as good as it gets. The best movie of the year!
Rating:
Summary: Hunting exploration of survivors"
Review: Gonzalez Iñarritu masters an orchestra of superv actors on those threads that barely separate death and life. Del Toro provides his best performance as a man hunted by his past demons and the tragedy that forbids him to put them to rest. Penn clings to life with the desperation of a "Dead man walking" and Watts desperate performace of loss chills every single pore of the viewers. The extraordinary acting is led by Gonzalez Iñarritu with a rythm that on its own inspire the hidden and primitive insticts of survival that humans have even in the worst circumstances and that somehow force them to battle death.
Rating:
Summary: Do you want to be depressed?
Review: Using a critical eye, I completely understand why this movie is incredible. The time jumping and filming techniques intensify the oomph to the story. However, I left feeling horribly depressed and wondering why I paid to be depressed. I was also left wondering a bit the outcome of the life/relationship between the Penn and Watts characters. This movie resembles a deep, dark, black version of Return to Me (Minnie Driver).
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