• Quotes (21)
• Trivia (1)
• Plot Description
• Soundtrack
• Wallpapers
• Shooting Locations
• Popularity
Directed by
Alejandro González Iñárritu Written by
Guillermo Arriaga Cast
Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Danny Huston, Carly Nahon, Claire Pakis [more]
Release Date
• USA: Nov 21, 2003
• UK: 31 Oct 2003
DVD Release Date
• R1: Mar 16, 2004
• R2: 13 Sep 2004
Budget USD 20,000,000
Official Website:
21 Grams Website
MPAA Rating
Rated R for language, sexuality, some violence and drug use.
Running Time
2 hours, 5 minutes
Country USA
Studio This is That Productions, Y Productions
More info on IMDb.com
Other Titles
• 21 Grams
|
21 Grams Reviews |
Few films released in 2003 can boast having as many strengths as 21 Grams. It is, in a word, amazing. It's one of those motion pictures that haunts your thoughts and won't let go. Like Memento, it virtually demands a second viewing to understand and appreciate the story's complexity and to recognize the artistry inherent in all of the transitions. I give this film my highest recommendation. [read review] 
If someone close to you is suffering from a terminal illness, it might be fun to show them this movie as one last practical joke, especially if they’re bed-ridden. But aside from serious gluttons for punishment and people who care more about acting than story, 21 Grams is simply too heavy (no pun intended). [read review] 6/10
--David Trier (Movie-Vault.com)
Under the watchful eye of director Alejandro González Iñárritu, it percolates into one of the most filling cinematic treats of the year, by any standard. ... If you enjoyed the visceral, intense moviegoing experience of a film like "Requiem for a Dream," then "21 Grams" is the movie for you to see this winter. [read review]
--Dean Carrano (FilmJerk.com)
If there were more films like this, film fans and critics would be in movie Heaven. 21 Grams reinforces how truly difficult and rare it is to have a film like this that reaches such fantastic heights, and makes you want to cherish it for being bold and one of a kind. [read review] A-
--Lee Tistaert (Lee's Movie Info)
As an exercise in style, “21 grams” is pretty solid but still not on the level of “Amores Perros”, which had raw vitality and infectious energy, not to mention the rugged beauty of urban Mexico pouring out of every frame. Here there is some frantic hand-held camerawork, lots of faded colors and moody lighting patterns and impressively Byzantine editing, but thematically it’s as unconvincing as “Levity”, 2003’s other lovable-stalker flick. [read review] 
--Kevin N. Laforest (Montreal Film Journal)
Unlike "Memento," the reverse-told thriller to which it is being compared, "21 Grams" is highly stylized without being a stunt. Using the structure of "Amores Perros," Iñárritu takes his complex tale of hope and redemption and breaks it into a mosaic of emotional tiles that add up to more than the whole. [read review]
--Jack Mathews (New York Daily News)
Yet I do not want to give the wrong impression: This is an accomplished and effective film, despite my reservations. It grips us, moves us, astonishes us. Some of the revelations do benefit by coming as surprises. But artists often grow by learning what to leave out. [read review] 
--ROGER EBERT (Chicago Sun-Times)
The first English-language film from the talented Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu ("Amores Perros") suffers from the same problems that afflicted his feature debut. Though strongly directed, it's also a confused, confusing and too often glib treatise on matters of life and death. [read review] 
-- (Boxoffice Magazine)
Under its seemingly chic despair, its celebration of squalor and pain, its violence, its willfully skewed narrative scheme, "21 Grams" turns out to be a powerful relic from a bygone age: It's really a "miracle of faith" movie, as straight-ahead religiousas "Song of Bernadette." [read review]
--Stephen Hunter (Washington Post)
Under its seemingly chic despair, its celebration of squalor and pain, its violence, its willfully skewed narrative scheme, "21 Grams" turns out to be a powerful relic from a bygone age: It's really a "miracle of faith" movie, as straight-ahead religiousas "Song of Bernadette." [read review]
-- (Washington Post)
I haven't quite made up my mind about "21 Grams." It has definitely stuck with me, like one of those troubling dreams that the first cup of coffee can't clear from your head. It's a brave and admirable film, but not an entirely successful one. [read review]
-- (Salon)
Like "Mystic River," "21 Grams" is a grim, compelling and exceedingly well-acted meditation on life, death, guilt and redemption, starring a superlative Sean Penn, that seems an unmistakable response to 9/11. [read review] 
--Lou Lumenick (New York Post)
This dark meditation on death and fate by the director of "Amores Perros" is admirable despite its flaws -- and Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Naomi Watts deliver knockout performances. [read review]
--Andrew O'Hehir (Salon)
The cast overcomes the random editing and stillborn ending to make “21 Grams” a deeply convincing meditation on the twists and hidden connections found in the bottomless pit of tragedy. [read review] B+
--Brian Orndorf (FilmJerk.com)
Alejandro Inarritu’s eagerly-awaited follow-up to Amores Perros – a moving, gripping study of guilt, revenge, grief and redemption, with astonishing performances from its three leads. [read review] 
--Matthew Turner (ViewLondon)
Gloomy as it may be, 21 Grams is ultimately hopeful, and while you won’t emerge feeling uplifted, it’s impossible to deny this film’s rewards. [read review] 
--Eric Meyerson (FilmCritic.com)
The performances by Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Benicio Del Toro are raw, honest and well-deserving of the awards they have gathered. [read review] 77/100
--Cheryl DeWolfe (Apollo Guide)
When it comes out on DVD... buy it and watch it over and over. This is a film well worth having in your DVD library. [read review]
--Phillip Nakov (CountingDown)
Iñárritu's ambitious, enigmatic follow-up to 'Amores Perros' is well worth the weight. [read review] 8/10
--Anton Bitel (Movie Gazette)
There is much to admire here, but ultimately, ironically, 21 Grams is somewhat soulless. [read review] 
--Nev Pierce (BBC Films)
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu may be the most talented Quentin Tarantino knockoff around. [read review]
--Jeffrey M. Anderson (San Francisco Examiner)
|
|
Movie Database
In Theaters
