21 Grammaa

This is an example of how an untraditional approach to narration serves only as an effective gimmick to turn a film into something more interesting than it actually is. I’m quite surprised at how many people say that 21 Grams is very emotional, I think it would be almost impossible to deal with a similar topic in a colder way. (14.02.2009)

A superb example of postmodern cinematic narrative – Iñárritu breaks the chronology of the story into small pieces and composes its narrative from these pieces. He does not tell a story in the traditional sense, but forces the viewer to co-create it in the spirit of postmodern narrative, to be a kind of second authorial voice. Unlike Anderson's Magnolia, however, he goes even further in the deconstruction of the story – ignoring the rules of conventional space-time and serving the viewer a meddling of plots that are not anchored by the unity of time and place. The result is a riveting narrative form that prevents the perceptive viewer from tearing his eyes from the story, from missing the plot. The experience of the film is enhanced by the way it is captured - the handheld camera indulges in neurotic tremors and unpredictable movement the way Trier does it. All this is approached by excellent work with a soundtrack in which monotonous sound surfaces appear at key moments in addition to natural sounds, amplifying the emotional experience even more. Alejandro González Iñárritu is a true master of modern dramatic form, although from my subjective point of view his formal brilliance lacks the immediacy of experience and intimacy that is characteristic, for example, in the works of Lars Von Trier. Something even more absorbing. A subjective experience. Perhaps the fact that I felt that I was unnecessarily one step ahead in uncovering the plot... Otherwise – praise for the acting performances (I don't know who is the best, but probably the riveting culprit Benicio Del Toro wins after all), for the script, theme and inconspicuous music. 21 Grams is one of the best films about guilt, punishment, forgiveness and compassion that can be seen today. It definitely belongs in my TOP 3 for 2003 right next to Burton's Big Fish and Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation. (28.03.2004)

Another Iñárritu version of Amores perros, but this time with Hollywood actors. I still don't feel any particular connection or empathy for the characters that one might expect given the structure of the story and the escalating situations they go through. In short, 21 Grams is another example of manipulation of feelings. You need to subject the heroes to absolute suffering, then entangle and connect the stories, and then increase the suffering. That's what it's all about - about suffering, about denying yourself, about finding a way out. There’s too much violence in proportion to one meter of film. (15.06.2017)

The moodily gritty, gloomy, shaky camerawork reinforces the realism of the world depicted in 21 Grams. The chronological disjointedness of the plot comprising three individual, interlinked stories promotes consideration of the composition of connections. The stories were originally supposed to play out sequentially, one after the other as in Amores Perros, but the director chose a more “chaotic” variant. This whole formalistically ambitious work follows the emotional suffering of the characters and is triumphant as a result. It is both interesting and emotionally compelling. However, it isn’t entirely successful. It’s not a brilliant jigsaw puzzle with an unmistakable distribution of conflict points (Memento), because it DOES simply feel like the scattering of the various plot lines was unnecessary and is only an attempt to turn silver into gold. Nor is it a devastating emotional explosion (Magnolia), because although the director avoids sentimentality (which is fine), he shies away from unrestrained, cruel baring of human intimacy (which is a shame) in the manner of Lars von Trier, who strips his characters of their clothes and has more respect for them. (09.03.2004)

Thank God for the fact that they still make films that can tug at your soul. I love films that don't lead me by the hand, that make me ask questions, think about them; 21 Grams is exactly that. Iñárritu's consistent disruption of the temporal sequence is a clear win in my eyes, piecing together the mosaic of temporal shards was exciting and thrilling in its own way. This great impression is enhanced by the handheld camera and the interesting work with sound in places. Standing above these technical matters is the emotionality and depth of the script and the performances. Benicio, Benicio, you are awesome, I’ve not other words to say it. It is good to know that despite all the messiness of life, there is always hope, that bright spot in the distance, and that great movies are still being made. (07.08.2004)