Film review: 21 Grams.
Watched this little gem last night, and I simply had to write a review about it. You're reading it.
When lives collide, often no one is around to witness the effects of the collision. These words best describe this film. 21 Grams, Alejandro González Iñárritu's first American outing, is about a car crash seen from three different perspectives. Sounds easy enough, but it isn't - not by a long run. The first half of this film you think to yourself "what am I watching? Where is this going?". Iñárritu has cut this film in such a way
Paul Rivers (Sean Penn), recipient of the heart donated by Christina's husband, is torn apart after he realizes that the heart which saved his life is connected with the deaths of three.
The aforementioned structure of 21 Grams can be compared with that of Pulp Fiction, only Iñárritu never stays with one main character for more than five minutes. The chronology is even more warped than Tarantino's work and the narrative is far more fragmented. By doing this he accomplishes an astonishing effect; while forcing the audience to think about what is going on he simultaneously allows them to appreciate his main characters' state of mind during key moments before and after the accident. By shuffling all these moments and putting them together in a seemingly random way, Iñárritu explores the fine line which exists between life and death, love and hate, happiness and grief.
The acting is brilliant. The three leads are all very good, completely engrossed in their characters. You never get the sense of acting. I didn't see Watts, Del Toro or Penn; I was seeing Paul, Christina and Jack interact with each other. All three got Oscar nominations for their work in 2003 – Watts and Del Toro for this film but Penn winning for Mystic River – and they were deserved. Especially Watts is brilliant. Before this, I'd only seen her in The Ring and David Lynch's Mulholland Dr. (her break-out role a few years ago), but I think it's safe to say that this is her best performance thus far. She creates a sense of tragedy and tenseness with her character just by using silence. We'll be hearing more of her.
All in all, this film has everything - themes like life, death, love, god, and redemption all make their way through this film. This is an emotional, stylish and gripping film that is built upon three great performances. The fragmented structure compliments it's emotional core and it delivers a stylish and unmissable film that looks great in almost every scene. Movies like 21 Grams don't come around very often, and when they do, we all better take notice.
A 91 out of 100.
Cheers
When lives collide, often no one is around to witness the effects of the collision. These words best describe this film. 21 Grams, Alejandro González Iñárritu's first American outing, is about a car crash seen from three different perspectives. Sounds easy enough, but it isn't - not by a long run. The first half of this film you think to yourself "what am I watching? Where is this going?". Iñárritu has cut this film in such a way
| that it can get confusing at times, but once the pieces start falling together, you finally see just how powerful this film is. First of all, the pivotal accident is never shown, only alluded to. What is shown, is the enormous impact this accident has on the lives of three individuals. There's Jack Jordan (Benicio Del Toro), who's shown being consumed by guilt after he caused the accident and drove off. Christina Peck (Naomi Watts) is looking for revenge after losing her husband and two daughters in it. |
The aforementioned structure of 21 Grams can be compared with that of Pulp Fiction, only Iñárritu never stays with one main character for more than five minutes. The chronology is even more warped than Tarantino's work and the narrative is far more fragmented. By doing this he accomplishes an astonishing effect; while forcing the audience to think about what is going on he simultaneously allows them to appreciate his main characters' state of mind during key moments before and after the accident. By shuffling all these moments and putting them together in a seemingly random way, Iñárritu explores the fine line which exists between life and death, love and hate, happiness and grief.
The acting is brilliant. The three leads are all very good, completely engrossed in their characters. You never get the sense of acting. I didn't see Watts, Del Toro or Penn; I was seeing Paul, Christina and Jack interact with each other. All three got Oscar nominations for their work in 2003 – Watts and Del Toro for this film but Penn winning for Mystic River – and they were deserved. Especially Watts is brilliant. Before this, I'd only seen her in The Ring and David Lynch's Mulholland Dr. (her break-out role a few years ago), but I think it's safe to say that this is her best performance thus far. She creates a sense of tragedy and tenseness with her character just by using silence. We'll be hearing more of her.
All in all, this film has everything - themes like life, death, love, god, and redemption all make their way through this film. This is an emotional, stylish and gripping film that is built upon three great performances. The fragmented structure compliments it's emotional core and it delivers a stylish and unmissable film that looks great in almost every scene. Movies like 21 Grams don't come around very often, and when they do, we all better take notice.
A 91 out of 100.
Cheers
2 Comments:
i LOVED this movie! very cleverly done!
i recommend everyone see it!
nice review mr. martin!
Yup, I loved it, too. Can't get it out of my head.
Excellent film; one of the best I have seen in quite some time.
Cheers
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