Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Story: Guillermo Arriaga
Cast: Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Benicio del Toro
Music: Gustavo Santaolalla
Time: 124 minutes
Bottom-line: Melancholic and dramatic, filled with excellent
performances
How much does life weigh?
How much does love weigh?
How much does revenge weigh?
The
second instalment in the “Death trilogy” of Mexican director Alejandro Iñárritu
takes its title from an experiment conducted in the early 20th
century, which attempted to prove that the human soul has a weight of its own…
21 grams, being the approximate numerical value. Iñárritu names his film
accordingly to illustrate how much importance is given to abstract things like
life and love; what if they each had a weight
of their own?
The
story is told in a hyperlink format, with three different storylines coalescing
into one as the story progresses. Non-linear narrative is also used, which I
felt was unnecessary; for films like Memento or Mullholland Drive it made sense to
use this structure to make the narration effective, but to use it here only makes
the story more difficult to follow. The film begins with Paul Rivers (Penn), a
mathematics professor who is in a critical condition; he will not last more
than a month unless he gets a new heart. Paul’s wife wants him to donate his
sperm so that she can have his baby even after he dies. He agrees, until he
finds out she has had an abortion without his knowledge…
 |
| Penn as Paul |
The
second track talks about Cristina Peck (Watts), a recovering drug addict and
active swimmer. She is now leading a normal family life with her husband and
two girl children. Everything goes well till one evening when her husband and
children are run over in a hit and run incident, leading to both the girls
dying on the spot. The culprit is the third lead character: a
convict-turned-priest, Jack Jordan (del Toro), who, after the incident, is
deeply troubled with guilt. He decides to turn himself in, believing it is his
“duty to God”. Cristina’s husband’s heart is donated to Paul, thereby linking
all the storylines. How do the lives of the characters transform after the
accident?
21 Grams
gives us a lot to think about. Iñárritu brings together three very different
characters, each of whom realise the value of life in a new way. Was Jack right
in blaming God for all his actions? Was Paul right in tracking down and
stalking Cristina? Was Cristina right in plotting revenge against Jack? These
questions make us realise how every life affects the lives of so many others
around them. Maybe one person loses his life, but in the big picture, does it
lead to a new life springing forth somewhere, somehow? The last line of the
film keeps echoing within my mind: They
say we all lose 21 grams at the exact moment of our death. How much is gained?
How much is gained?
 |
| Watts as Cristina |
There
are so many character transformations throughout the course of the film: Paul’s
gradual infatuation towards Cristina, Jack becoming suicidal, Cristina taking
on a pledge to avenge her family...and these play a major role in the theme of
the film. Sean Penn and del Toro have done a decent job in acting, with subtle
expressions of anger, and depression. Penn carries that air of charm around him
too, with catchy lines like (to Cristina), “You can trust me; I have a good
heart!”. Naomi Watts is the highlight amongst the actors; look out for the
scenes where she realises that Paul has her husband’s heart and screams her
heart out asking to get out of her house, and the scene when she cajoles Paul
into killing Jack.
 |
| del Toro as Jack |
The
cinematography is not as good as his later films… the shaky-cam technique is
used a lot here, but the editing is quite good: all the quick cuts as the
narrative structure/timeframe changes are clean. There are other recurring themes
of Iñárritu in the film, like loneliness, human conscience, and as the name
says, death. The tone of the film, the acting, and the storyline all weave a
melancholic tale, with its own distinctive style. 21 Grams has a pretty decent “remake”: a Tamil film Chennaiyil Oru Naal, which also links
the tales of 4 characters, following a road accident. It is equally dramatic,
but made more in favour of the local audiences. Make it a point to watch both
films!
My Rating: 4/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 80%
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