Heaviness...
21 Grams, the title refers to the hypothesis proposed by Dr Duncan MacDougall in his endeavours to weigh the immortal human soul by measuring the loss of body weight immediately after the point of deaths...
This movie is much heavier than 21 Grams, this is not a feel good popcorn film, or one to watch for enjoyments sake. This is also a very good movie, technically and dramatically, Director Alejandro González Iñárritu using hand-held cameras as the primary tool for filming, shooting scenes in chronological order but editing the movie in a non-linear sequence.
The story is centered around a single moment which fates three unlikely characters together - we are taken on a journey that commences before, during and after the moment, and we come to know the three characters - Paul Rivers played by Sean Penn, a critically ill mathematician, Cristina Peck played by Naomi Watts, a mother and wife in the worst of circumstances (brilliant work by Naomi Harris in an Oscar Nominated Performance) and Jack Jordan played by Benicio Del Toro (also brilliant and nominated for an Oscar for his Performance), as a born-again ex-con, all on a unique journey brought about by a single moment. Including the smaller role of Melissa Leo as Jack Jordan's wife Marianne, what you have are four brilliant actors, three of them Oscar winners, tugging at your heart strings.
Side Note Alert! I find myself wondering about the seriousness of some fictional movies. It's just this notion of the power of cinema, to enjoy it we escape into flights of fancy and fiction, but for those moments of deep thought and reflection surely real-life has enough tragedy in it to provide ample subject matter? Surely there are enough hard-hitting true life stories that can be told and afford the film industry the opportunity to make drama-full movies out of? So why the need for such strong dramatic fiction? This is of course a nonsensical thought tangent, brought about by my current reaction to the heaviness of the subject matter and the brilliant gravitas brought to the roles by the players - it is just that jarring, without an element of relief except for the final moments. (I will not delete the above paragraph in editing, it's my true reaction to the movie, and so therefore my truest response to it).
21 Grams really is very good, heavy, but very good...
The movie would go on to be nominated for two Academy Awards for acting (Naomi Watts and Benicio Del Toro), as I sit here right now, fresh from watching, it almost feels like a tragedy that Sean Penn was not nominated for his performance as well, the movie is just so good because of it's 3 central characters and performances - that said, Sean Penn did win the best actor Oscar this same year for his role in another film Mystic River, so there you go, is there any wonder he's considered one of the greats...
10! 10! 10! - for those newbies, I am on a mission to watch (or rewatch) all movies nominated for an Academy Award, in any of the 6 Big Categories, since the year of my birth - 1979. This is the 10th movie I have watched or rewatched, and the first from the 2003 crop:
nuff said...
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