21 GRAMS (includes trailer)
June 2nd 2010 14:53
I remember when 21 Grams first came out, I couldn’t wait to see it, there was a large amount of hype around the film – the team behind ‘Amores Perros’ (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Guillermo Arriaga) were back and this time they had heavyweight actors with them, like Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Benicio Del Toro. Inarritu had proved to be an unbelievably talented first time director who had created a visceral masterpiece and expectations were oh so high. Three films down the road Amores Perros is still his masterpiece. 21 Grams however still lived up to its hype in 2003 as it examined death and tragedy.
21 Grams seems to be looking to create a personal style for itself, with its scenes having no chronology what so ever. This random style of editing back and forth, mixing up and shuffling the time line of events compliments each moment, heightening the individual scenes and emotions as the audience is forced to turn on their brains and connect the dots. In turn this allows them to look even closer at what they are watching, absorbing this raw and soulful experience.
21 Grams exists in a complex world of profound grief, which requires subjective experience on the part of the viewer in order to completely digest it’s over-powering and intense level of difficult emotions. There are three central characters. Paul Rivers played by Sean Penn (At Close Range, Mystic River, Milk) is a dying man on a waiting list for a heart transplant. When a born again Christian/former convict named Jack Jordan played by Benicio Del Toro (Che, Traffic, Sin City) hits the husband and two young daughters of Cristina Peck (Naomi Wats – Mulholland Drive, King Kong, Eastern Promises) with his car, she is left widowed and emotionally paralysed, drowning in her own world of devastation and grief. Paul receives the heart of Cristina’s deceased husband and hires a private investigator to find out who’s heart he has. A moving and provocative set up as the three of these people deal with emotions of guilt, grief and a second chance at life as they come face to face in the unfolding drama of 21 Grams.
Like I mentioned, the editing of 21 Grams left most audiences divided, it turned a complex tale of being human into an even more complex narrative. While I can see the point of view of others who were exasperated by it’s lack of chronology, I personally can’t see the film working in any other way, it certainly feels right and it seemed like the next step for a director who had just tackled similar material. I find it an interesting way to watch a film as it certainly causes more involvement in the audience as they are required to invest more. At a certain point around two thirds way through however, it feels like the film gets dragged down by it’s editing as there is a lag in the pacing.
The depths of 21 Grams plummets deep and certainly delivers moving cinema, however some thoughts which come to mind regarding this film are it’s seriousness. A film tackling such grave subjects can certainly use 21 Grams as a model, however the film seems to restrict itself, as if Inarritu wanted to pronounce it’s importance by driving home how ‘deep’ it was. Sydney Lumet, who in his early career delivered one masterpiece after another said that he considered his biggest failure to be a film he made called ‘Bye Bye Braverman’, he felt he began the film in too heavy of a manner and because of this he missed out on an opportunity to let the film’s seriousness emerge and take you into an experience as opposed to banging you on the head as you entered the room. I personally think that 21 Grams for all its ambition had room for lighter moments, increasing it’s spectrum of human emotion even more and I think if Inarritu wanted to push himself he could have approached the film with an attempt at portraying moments where people are actually enjoying their life and experiencing positive things too. Instead the film seems to choose it’s mould as an ‘important’ one and as a result when the film makes attempts at fleeting carefree moments they come across as forced compared to everything else.
21 Grams none the less is still brilliant. It’s an intense film and it reaches heart breaking emotional heights that many other films don’t even come near. The camera work has a wonderful ‘Cinema Verite’ style which keeps the film’s energy in flow, complimenting the ebb and flow of the film’s editing and along with it’s musical score you realize that the director is creating something that you won’t be able to easily forget. The film has the emotional impact of a sledge hammer. It all of course begins with the script but afterwards its the nuanced performances that lift crafted words beyond purpose.
The performance from Benicio Del Toro is damn near perfect, with fresh, brilliant choices in virtually every single moment he is on screen. Sean Penn keeps topping himself, he had just won the Oscar for best actor in Clint Eastwood’s ‘Mystic River’ and after 21 Grams he would go on to deliver possibly his greatest performance since ‘Carlito’s Way’ in ‘The Assassination Of Richard Nixon’, it’s just at this point where you think, ‘can he get any better’ and he goes and raises the bar further in this film. Naomi Watts while good too, seems a little forced at times, but as the actor who has to dig the deepest in this film that can be forgiven, she really puts her self through the ringer and her best moments are the film’s most memorable ones too.
I think 21 Grams is an amazing film by Inarritu, I agree that it is the work of a genius but I do believe it takes itself too seriously, of course that is something that mainstream cinema needs a shot of from time to time, but it feels almost like there were a few missed opportunities that could have added to the gamut of human emotions in this ambitious and beautifully over whelming film.
What I will say on the same note is that what the film does right is that it never feels heavy handed despite it’s tragic premise and I will make the distinction between this and my earlier criticism by saying that there’s a difference between being heavy handed and limiting your film’s opportunity for expression. Also the emotions never seem force fed because Inarritu actually allows his actors to act, letting genuine human complexity into the film as it weaves through it’s peaks and valleys of love and pain. 21 Grams allows things to happen organically and that is the key to the elation that this film will give you.
21 Grams (2003)
21 Grams seems to be looking to create a personal style for itself, with its scenes having no chronology what so ever. This random style of editing back and forth, mixing up and shuffling the time line of events compliments each moment, heightening the individual scenes and emotions as the audience is forced to turn on their brains and connect the dots. In turn this allows them to look even closer at what they are watching, absorbing this raw and soulful experience.
21 Grams exists in a complex world of profound grief, which requires subjective experience on the part of the viewer in order to completely digest it’s over-powering and intense level of difficult emotions. There are three central characters. Paul Rivers played by Sean Penn (At Close Range, Mystic River, Milk) is a dying man on a waiting list for a heart transplant. When a born again Christian/former convict named Jack Jordan played by Benicio Del Toro (Che, Traffic, Sin City) hits the husband and two young daughters of Cristina Peck (Naomi Wats – Mulholland Drive, King Kong, Eastern Promises) with his car, she is left widowed and emotionally paralysed, drowning in her own world of devastation and grief. Paul receives the heart of Cristina’s deceased husband and hires a private investigator to find out who’s heart he has. A moving and provocative set up as the three of these people deal with emotions of guilt, grief and a second chance at life as they come face to face in the unfolding drama of 21 Grams.
Press kit for 21 Grams Oscar campaign
Like I mentioned, the editing of 21 Grams left most audiences divided, it turned a complex tale of being human into an even more complex narrative. While I can see the point of view of others who were exasperated by it’s lack of chronology, I personally can’t see the film working in any other way, it certainly feels right and it seemed like the next step for a director who had just tackled similar material. I find it an interesting way to watch a film as it certainly causes more involvement in the audience as they are required to invest more. At a certain point around two thirds way through however, it feels like the film gets dragged down by it’s editing as there is a lag in the pacing.
The depths of 21 Grams plummets deep and certainly delivers moving cinema, however some thoughts which come to mind regarding this film are it’s seriousness. A film tackling such grave subjects can certainly use 21 Grams as a model, however the film seems to restrict itself, as if Inarritu wanted to pronounce it’s importance by driving home how ‘deep’ it was. Sydney Lumet, who in his early career delivered one masterpiece after another said that he considered his biggest failure to be a film he made called ‘Bye Bye Braverman’, he felt he began the film in too heavy of a manner and because of this he missed out on an opportunity to let the film’s seriousness emerge and take you into an experience as opposed to banging you on the head as you entered the room. I personally think that 21 Grams for all its ambition had room for lighter moments, increasing it’s spectrum of human emotion even more and I think if Inarritu wanted to push himself he could have approached the film with an attempt at portraying moments where people are actually enjoying their life and experiencing positive things too. Instead the film seems to choose it’s mould as an ‘important’ one and as a result when the film makes attempts at fleeting carefree moments they come across as forced compared to everything else.
Naomi Watts, Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro in 21 Grams
21 Grams none the less is still brilliant. It’s an intense film and it reaches heart breaking emotional heights that many other films don’t even come near. The camera work has a wonderful ‘Cinema Verite’ style which keeps the film’s energy in flow, complimenting the ebb and flow of the film’s editing and along with it’s musical score you realize that the director is creating something that you won’t be able to easily forget. The film has the emotional impact of a sledge hammer. It all of course begins with the script but afterwards its the nuanced performances that lift crafted words beyond purpose.
The performance from Benicio Del Toro is damn near perfect, with fresh, brilliant choices in virtually every single moment he is on screen. Sean Penn keeps topping himself, he had just won the Oscar for best actor in Clint Eastwood’s ‘Mystic River’ and after 21 Grams he would go on to deliver possibly his greatest performance since ‘Carlito’s Way’ in ‘The Assassination Of Richard Nixon’, it’s just at this point where you think, ‘can he get any better’ and he goes and raises the bar further in this film. Naomi Watts while good too, seems a little forced at times, but as the actor who has to dig the deepest in this film that can be forgiven, she really puts her self through the ringer and her best moments are the film’s most memorable ones too.
How much does life weigh
I think 21 Grams is an amazing film by Inarritu, I agree that it is the work of a genius but I do believe it takes itself too seriously, of course that is something that mainstream cinema needs a shot of from time to time, but it feels almost like there were a few missed opportunities that could have added to the gamut of human emotions in this ambitious and beautifully over whelming film.
What I will say on the same note is that what the film does right is that it never feels heavy handed despite it’s tragic premise and I will make the distinction between this and my earlier criticism by saying that there’s a difference between being heavy handed and limiting your film’s opportunity for expression. Also the emotions never seem force fed because Inarritu actually allows his actors to act, letting genuine human complexity into the film as it weaves through it’s peaks and valleys of love and pain. 21 Grams allows things to happen organically and that is the key to the elation that this film will give you.
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I agree that Amores Perros is still the "masterpiece" but this is still exceptional cinema that confidently toys with structure to deliver maximum impact, while not sacrificing naturalism of performance.
Comment by Deni
Abstract Magick
Cinema Herald
I agree that it could not have worked any other way otherwise it would have just been an ordinary movie. Because the chronology was shuffled, you had to "think" more by piecing the film mentally and that way nothing escaped noticed because you had to pay attention.
I "heart" Benicio Del Toro.
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
See it as soon as possible. both of them.
Thanks for reading!