Saturday, 7 February 2004
21 Grams
Have I ever mentioned how much I like Alejandro González Iñárritu's work? Probably not.
Here is someone willing to challenge his audience, one of the abilities that I value the most when it comes to an artist. Of all the shorts in 11'09''01, his was the one that had the greatest impact on me - yet I hadn't even known it was his work until much later. Amores perros was excellent, and the goodness continues in 21 Grams.
It's the way that this film keeps you off balance with its pendulum swings through time, getting ever closer to the defining center point of their arc and hitting the extremes that neighbor it. How much is life worth? Hard to say, when you're experiencing it from within - uncertain, confused, myopic, looking for a direction to take or a path to follow.
An impressive trio of lead actors, who Iñárritu gets excellent performances out of. I guess I should add "as usual," except that this is only his second major release. I'm looking forward to his adding more to that list.
4 / 5 : definitely see this one