Salocin

21 Grams

I have much hesitation writing about 21 grams. Having read the Rotten Tomatoes review summary page, I know that 80% of reviewers loved it and 88% of their featured reviewers loved it. This is intimidating when I do not hold the same opinion. I will, however, stick to my guns, and say that I thought it had huge potential for improvement, because it didn't feel tight or taut or concise, and I think this is a very important feature to a good movie. It's my opinion, take it or leave it.

The lives of three people (more really, but 3 main actors), are intertwined by fate. You can sense that you're not being told everything from the first time you realise that the story is not being told in chronological order, but every time you see the past you get more questions than answers.

These people have lives that are not going anywhere nice anytime soon. In fact, much of the film - despite the comment on the cover of the DVD to the effect that it is about hope and love - is about the steady decline of individuals through their exposure to unfortunate circumstances.

As you witness this descent, this disintegration of humanity in the face of adversity, you are expected to see the redeeming face of our species in the space between the cracks. It's true that people find love, and it's true that characters (Benicio del Toro in particular) are seeking redemption, but no matter how hard they try, no matter how much they sacrifice or lose, they sink nevertheless.

This grimness got in the way of the message of the movie for me. It's not about sadness or loss or disillusionment, but the film uses these to such a huge extent to set the context that I was totally infected by this mood of utter demoralization by the end, that the slightly upbeat and hopeful message that accompanied the climax failed to pull me out of it.

Yes this is a good film. The story is well written and extremely original, and the acting is first class, by all concerned. The point is that I was left in a somewhat demoralized state without feeling that I had learned all that much about the world during the journey. Rent it by all means, you will miss out if you miss out on this film, but don't expect to walk away smiling.

Moreover, don't expect a quick understanding of the content. The deliberate skipping around in time is used to great effect to hide certain facts from the viewer until the last few movements of the piece. You'll have to focus on Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro's varying beard lengths to know where you lie in the timeline, but this is necessary to conceal a true understanding of the emotional states of the different protagonists, and so create suspense. I feel the movie would have been better served using some other method of creating suspense than the artifical maintenance of the audience's ignorance, and this is my second, and probably my more explicit criticism of the script.

You should see this movie. My review would have been more positive if only I didn't feel I was fighting a tide of blind enthusiasm for a movie that is good, but certainly not perfect.