21 Grams Review

If you happened to go wild over a certain Mexican pic called "Amores Perros" four years ago, you might well be interested that its unfeasibly talented director Alejandro González Iñárritu has done it again with his new pic "21 Grams." Brazenly repeating the central premise of "Amores Perros", the movie revolves around three intersecting stories all connected by a fatal car accident. Naomi Watts is the wife and mother who loses her husband and children in the crash and quickly spirals back into the drug abuse that marked her life pre-marriage. But then she strikes up a relationship with Sean Penn's terminally-ill maths professor and the beneficiary of her late husband's heart. Meanwhile, Benicio Del Toro's reformed convict and the driver of the truck who caused the crash, struggles to keep his newly-found Christian faith intact.

A cheerful slice of escapism then Iñárritu's film is blatantly not. What it is, however, is a devastatingly powerful and remarkably honest piece of modern filmmaking. Expanding on the non-linear narrative of "Amores Perros," Iñárritu moves the film's stories about in time and frankly admits that it's only by the 25th minute that he expects the audience will be able to piece together what's happening. But don't be too worried; thanks to brilliant editing and a trio of outstanding performances, "21 Grams" is one of the most unforgettable, heartrending and surprisingly exhilarating movies you'll see all year.