DVD Movie Rating for: 21 Grams

Rating for 21 Grams: 2 out of 5 stars

Movie Plot of: 21 Grams

An intense drama in which three tragic lives are intertwined, surrounding the death of a father and his two young girls.

A dark, painful gem of a movie. There have been a few films touted as ‘emotionally powerful’ this year, but this is the genuine article.

Sean Penn plays the role of a man waiting for a heart transplant. His transplant number comes up one night, and he is rushed to the hospital to receive the heart of a recently deceased man. Naomi Watts assumes the role of the wife of that man, while Benicio Del Toro is a born-again ex-con using his love of Christ to insulate him from slipping back into a world of drinking and petty crimes. To provide you with any more about these three central characters would be inappropriate.

I will, however, tell you that Sean Penn and Naomi Watts turn in miraculous performances. While one might argue that Sean Penn has turned in one of the best performances yet this year, he certainly has turned in two worthy of Oscar nominations (21 Grams and Mystic River). Naomi Watts is amazing, taking us through a whirlwind of emotions, from explosive rage to subdued restraint while trying to cope with the death of her young family.

Benicio Del Toro is good, but I still haven’t determined if he’s a great actor or just really proficient at mumbling. I can’t seem to separate the character he portrayed in The Usual Suspects from most of his other roles.

The way in which the movie is filmed is really interesting. It may not have been shot on digital, but it really looks like it. The shots are really grainy, and there isn’t a scene in the film that looks like a slick, Hollywood production. Things are fuzzy, and they sometimes feel a little out of focus, much like real life. Particularly in one scene in a sheriff’s office in which one of the characters is filmed while he sits on the other side of a mesh ‘cage.’

Some rather intense shots are followed by shots of a still sky, filled with a spectrum of color, creating an artistic quality that contrasts remarkably with the grittiness of the film’s material. Additionally, the movie is shot in no particular order, so the timeline is anything but chronological. And the scenes give you an idea of what is to unfold, but each ‘future’ sequence is just brief enough to suggest what is to come, but the audience is still left with the how. It is similar to Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction is this regard, except that while Pulp Fiction has entire sequences that play themselves out in fragmented order, 21 Grams is composed of a far greater number of flashbacks and foreshadowing scenes. For this reason, the film commands your attention.

The story itself is captivating, dealing with themes of epic proportion – grief and guilt, revenge and remorse. We are drawn to all of the characters, even as they make poor choices. And because of the sequencing of the film, we are exposed to these emotions both before and after the action that might have prompted them.

You might have to catch the film a second time to really put all of the pieces together. But I don’t think you’d be disappointed, either time.

DVD Production Details of: 21 Grams

Starring: Sean Penn, Naomi Watts

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby

Aspect Ratio(s): 1.85:1

Audio Encoding: DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1

Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Release Date: August 24, 2004
Run Time: 125

21 Grams DVD Easter Eggs

None

Cast of the movie: 21 Grams

• Sean Penn .... Paul Rivers
• Naomi Watts .... Cristina Peck
• Danny Huston .... Michael
• Carly Nahon .... Cathy
• Claire Pakis .... Laura
• Benicio Del Toro .... Jack Jordan
• Nick Nichols .... Boy
• Charlotte Gainsbourg .... Mary Rivers
• John Rubinstein .... Gynecologist
• Eddie Marsan .... Reverend John
• Loyd Keith Salter .... Fat Man
• Antef A. Harris .... Basketball Guy
• Melissa Leo .... Marianne Jordan
• Marc Musso .... Freddy (as Marc Thomas Musso)
• Teresa Delgado .... Gina
• Terry Dee Draper .... Guard
• Tony Guyton .... Guard #2
• Wayne E. Beech Jr. .... Inmate #1
• Keith Lamont Johnson .... Inmate #2
• Clea DuVall .... Claudia
• David Chattam .... Caddie #1 (as David Chattam Jr.)
• John Boyd West .... Caddie #2
• Jeff Schmidt .... Caddie #3
• Tony Vaughn .... Al
• Paul Calderon .... Brown
• Denis O'Hare .... Dr. Rothberg
• Anastasia Herin .... Dolores
• Carlo Alban .... Lucio
• Hai Quang Tran .... Cashier
• Annie Corley .... Trish
• Sharon Bishop .... Receptionist
• Jerry Chipman .... Cristina's Father
• Tom Irwin .... Dr. Jones
• Roberto Medina .... Dr. Molina
• Arita Trahan .... Dr. Badnews
• Rodney Ingle .... Barman
• Catherine Dent .... Ana
• Kevin Chapman .... Alan (as Kevin H. Chapman)
• Randall Hartzog .... Friend #1
• Verda Davenport .... Friend #2 (as Verda Davenport-Booher)
• Dorothy Armstrong-Miles .... Female Friend #1
• Barclay Roberts .... Male Friend#1
• Lisa Sanchez .... Wife
• Stephen Bridgewater .... P.I.
• Michael Finnell .... Fat Prisoner
• Juan Corrigan .... Valet
• Charlie B. Brown .... Night Guard
• Arron Shiver .... Young Doctor
• Pamela Blair .... Doctor
• Jennifer Pfalzgraff .... Nurse
• Lew Temple .... County Sheriff
• Tricia Branch .... Skinny Woman
• Michael W. Finnell .... Fat Prisoner
• Chance Romero .... Clubber
• Jessica Scott .... Cocktail Waitress

Photo Gallery of the movie: 21 Grams

Click on one of the thumbnails to see the full size high quality photos, posters and wallpapers of 21 Grams

21 Grams starring Sean Penn, Naomi Watts

Reviews of the movie: 21 Grams

"21 grams" is a reminder that your whole life can change in just a split second. The film handles the frailty of human existence with a fierce honesty lacking in so many Hollywood films today.

Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez, 21 Grams jumps back and forth in time between three central characters.

Gradually, the story of how their lives become unavoidably entwined begins to fall into place.

Christina Peck (Naomi Watts - Mullholland Drive, The Ring) has lost her husband and two children in a hit-and-run accident.

Watts' portrayal of the grief and shock that follow prove her worthy of the Oscar nomination she received for her performance.

Then there's Paul Rivers (Sean Penn - Mystic River, Dead Man Walking). We meet him when he's knocking at death's door in desperate need of a heart transplant.

Christina agrees to donate her husband's heart and thus a connection is made.

Paul soon learns Christina's tragic story and sets about tracking her down. He's determined to act as her guardian angel, but his obsession sends him into stalker territory on occasion.

The last piece in the puzzle is the hit-and-run driver, Jack Jordan (Benicio Del Toro - Traffic, The Hunted).

A reformed criminal and born-again Christian, his life falls apart after the accident. His struggle with guilt leaves him angry at a god he feels punished him, despite his attempt at redemption.

The slow unfolding of the story creates the well-crafted tension of this thriller, in a similar way to Christoper Nolan's complex creation, Memento.

It's the acting however, that holds the film together. The three main characters - Watts, Penn and Del Toro - capture perfectly the depth of emotion experienced in times of grief.

21 grams is not a light, fluffy film, but don't let that put you off. The clever direction and outstanding performances have created an absorbing insight into human life.

21 Grams tells the story of three individuals whose lives collided in one tragic moment.

When Christina Peck’s (Naomi Watts) husband and children are killed by Jack Jordan (Benecio Del Toro) in a hit and run accident, Paul Rivers (Sean Penn) receives the heart transplant he’s been waiting desperately for.

When he’s released from hospital he goes looking for Christina and the two end up planning to make Jordan, a born again Christian, pay for his actions.

They needn’t have bothered. Jordan’s guilt has already sentenced him to a life of hell.

21 Grams jumps back and forth a lot in time, which can be a little confusing. But, in the end, this style helps to create and maintain a tension that is rare in modern films.

You have to work hard at times to connect all the dots, but the finished picture is well worth the effort.

With powerhouse performances from Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Benecio Del Toro, 21 Grams is a bold experiment that reaped rich dividends.

Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu conveys the fractured disorientation of the three characters with clusters of brief scenes that act as a mosaic, gradually revealing what happened in that devastating moment and how it affected the events and emotions and that followed, even the impact on the very identities of the people involved.

Paul (Sean Penn) is dying. His heart is failing. His wife wants to find a way to have his child. Jack (Benicio Del Toro) is struggling. He has come out of prison with a fierce new religious faith that has his wife and children a little uneasy. Christina (Naomi Watts) is happy. She has overcome a substance abuse problem and is living happily with her husband and daughters.

Then a corner is turned. A driver -- maybe in too much of a hurry to get to a birthday party, maybe having had a drink -- hits three pedestrians. Lives are lost. Another life is restored. Another is devastated. Is there a way to go on?

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu uses a hand-held camera and directs with a simple, intimate, very pure feeling similar in style to the Dogma 95 movies. Sean Penn gives one of the most sensitive performances of his career. He usually plays characters who are not as smart as he is, but here he is completely convincing as a math professor and he shows us an extraordinary range of subtle and complex emotions. Naomi Watts and Benicio Del Toro are also outstanding.

Parents should know that the film includes tragic deaths and brutal violence with gory wound. There are explicit sexual references and situations, including nudity and a brief glimpse of a porno film. Characters drink, smoke, and use drugs. A character attempts suicide. There is very strong language.

Families who see this movie should talk about why Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu chose to tell the story this way. How would its impact have been different if told in a more conventional structure? Why is the film called "21 Grams?" What do you think of Jack's wife's comment that his duty is to his family? Why do the different characters say, "Life goes on?"