Christina Peck (Naomi Watts) is a happily married mother of 2 young daughters.
Paul Rivers (Sean Penn) is about to die of heart failure, and his smoking isn’t helping his survival odds.
Jack Jordan (Benicio Del Toro) is an ex-con who tries to stay out of trouble, but he does take his faith too far.
When Jordan accidentally crashes into Christina’s husband and their daughters and kills them, the lives of Christina, Paul and Jack change completely.
Christina, unable to cope with her extreme loss, shuts everybody down and returns to her old drug habit.
Paul is transplanted Jack’s heart and starts to recover. But his unhappy marriage, the obsession of his wife to get pregnant and her reluctance to understand his desire to find his donor are preventing him to start a happy, new chapter in his life.
Jack, husband and father of 2, is wrecked with guilt and turns himself in against the will of his wife. He is also not at all sure about his faith anymore.
But things really get complicated when Paul finds out the donor’s identity, and meets Christina. Can anything good come out of him falling in love with her, and joining in her obsession to find Jack?
*
21 Grams is Difficult, Depressing but Addictive
This is not an easy movie to watch. A mother trying to deal with the loss of her family? A man who can barely manage his own demons, a job and a normal family life with a criminal background who has an accident and needs to add a guilty conscience to a life/personality he barely manages? A dying guy who finds a new chance in life but falls for the wife of his dead donor– a woman who is barely going through the motions?
Just like the premise, 21 Grams is abundantly tragic. But it works, as the movie provides you enough background information so that you have no problems with character dilemmas, mistakes and motivations.
However the movie uses a “tangled” way of telling the story. There are 3 different timelines (before the accidents, after the accident, after-after the accident) and even they are not told in order. It takes a while to adjust to which scene takes place then, and even after you are used to it, scenes are thrown to you in such a way that you don’t really have much choice in what to look forward to, dread or anticipate.
I know many viewers think the story-telling makes the movie, but if anything, I think it might be the movie’s only flaw. The story is compelling enough, the acting is superb and there are enough conflicts to stay with you until after the movie. But its non-linear telling distracts the audience- from understanding the movie, but from your empathy, focus and excitement.
Rated at 7.8 on IMDB. It’s a really good movie, and can’t object to the rating. But watching it is not a positive experience. Difficult, depressing, honest and very grey. Watch it at your own peril.
Written by Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros, Babel, The Burning Plain) and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel, Biutiful, Amores Perros). Nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Supporting Actor (Benicio Del Toro) and Best Actress (Naomi Watts).
Also on the Cast
Fair Game starring Naomi Watts & Sean Penn
The Painted Veil with Naomi Watts and Edward Norton
The International starring Clive Owen & Naomi Watts
Dangerous Beauty starring Rufus Sewell & Catherine McCormack feat. Naomi Watts
