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If the Academy Awards ever found an opportunity to recognize
a small-budget film from relatively inexperienced directors and
screenwriters, "21 Grams" is the best bet going for 2003. It is almost
perfect in every way, from the direction to the acting to the musical
score. It's Achilles heel, however, is also its greatest strength:
it's sophistication, complexity and very mature relationships are not
for the mainstream or casual film-goer.
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, a young, relatively inexperienced
filmmaker from Mexico, explores the nature of how people and relationships
are destroyed and new ones built, all from a single innocent, yet
catastrophic accident. He portrays this through the experiences of
not just one, but three very different couples leading very different
lives. A mammoth undertaking for any story, let alone film, since it
risks diluting character depth and plausibility of plot. But "21 Grams"
succeeds at every turn.
Sean Penn, the most seasoned of the actors, takes the lead role as
Paul, a math professor waiting for a heart transplant. He has become
increasingly distant from his wife, who still wants to have his baby
regardless of whether he lives or dies. Couple number two has Christina
and her husband Michael, who are perfectly happy with their two daughters
in the suburbs. Then there's Jack, played by Benicio Del Toro, who has
been in and out of prison for small crimes. He's "in the program", has
found Jesus, and is trying to stay on the high road with his family
and work to his Church and faith in God. Each of these people lives the
best they can, but they are all in limbo: trying to find life, meaning,
purpose, and almost waiting for something to happen to change it all.
Then comes "the accident": a man dies, another man gets a new heart, and
yet another man has to face his God for his crime. No family is spared
the fallout, and the relationships among each other are challenged, as
are the individuals' own spirits. The distances between these people
are re-enforced by the seemingly incoherent jumping back and forth
between them on screen, but it only enhances their relationships when
they eventually form new ones. What's more, the film is not shot in
chronological order; again, the technique is done so well that you're
never really lost, and the re-assembly of events and new relationships
are punctuated even more. Each time jump and context switch shows just a
little more than the last visit, allowing the audience to piece together
what the characters must have felt, with the same impact, surprise,
and drama.
While "21 Grams" is strong in most every way, it is definitely a
contemplative piece, requiring intense attention. The film makes it
enjoyable for the most part, but it's length and slower moments - both
of which are necessary in my opinion - may keep the film out of the
mega-Cineplex's, or keep away the couples looking for lighter fare.
In the end, I felt that "21 Grams" was one of the best films of the
year, with an incredibly strong script, superb direction, and such
extraordinary performances, especially from those with limited resumes,
I have no stronger movie recommendation to date. While it's impossible to
completely review the film, or even touch upon its finger qualities in a
limited space as this, I can only finish with the breath of satisfaction,
and the comfortable reminder that some movies are still worth seeing.
You can find this movie on the internet database here:
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0315733/
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