Once in a while there are films that are made that when the end credits roll, the only thing you can say to yourself is "wow." 21 Grams is one of those films. The non-liner story of three lives intersecting over a dramatic situation is the premise for Alejandro González Iñárritu's first English language film. Prior to this Alejandro had created the acclaimed Amores Perros, a similar idea of how lives and paths cross over a drastic cause. After being well received world wide, Alejandro broke into U.S. theaters with 21 Grams. Featuring an electric cast of Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn and Naomi Watts in one of her greatest performances, 21 Grams just pushes and pulls you emotionally unlike any film before it. The tells the story of Paul Rivers (Penn) a sick Math teacher, Christina Peck (Watts), a former drug addict now an upper-middle-class suburban housewife, and Jack Jordan (Del Toro), an ex-convict who has found Christianity. They will be brought together by a terrible accident when Jack kills Christina's family and Christina's husband's heart is given to Paul in order to save his life. Due to the non-linear aspect of the film and how it is edited, it is not up until the final frame when the truth is truly realized and the audience has to make a decision on what they would do put in these unruly circumstances. One of the best films of the decade and one worth watching over and over again.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Movie of the Month-21 Grams
Once in a while there are films that are made that when the end credits roll, the only thing you can say to yourself is "wow." 21 Grams is one of those films. The non-liner story of three lives intersecting over a dramatic situation is the premise for Alejandro González Iñárritu's first English language film. Prior to this Alejandro had created the acclaimed Amores Perros, a similar idea of how lives and paths cross over a drastic cause. After being well received world wide, Alejandro broke into U.S. theaters with 21 Grams. Featuring an electric cast of Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn and Naomi Watts in one of her greatest performances, 21 Grams just pushes and pulls you emotionally unlike any film before it. The tells the story of Paul Rivers (Penn) a sick Math teacher, Christina Peck (Watts), a former drug addict now an upper-middle-class suburban housewife, and Jack Jordan (Del Toro), an ex-convict who has found Christianity. They will be brought together by a terrible accident when Jack kills Christina's family and Christina's husband's heart is given to Paul in order to save his life. Due to the non-linear aspect of the film and how it is edited, it is not up until the final frame when the truth is truly realized and the audience has to make a decision on what they would do put in these unruly circumstances. One of the best films of the decade and one worth watching over and over again.