21 Grams

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21 Grams

R

Released Jan 9, 2004

2h 5m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

80%

Tomatometer

178 Reviews

86%

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100,000+ Ratings

In a film that plays with the idea of straightforward storytelling, a group of troubled people find that they are linked in unpredictable ways. Paul Rivers (Sean Penn) is an academic dealing with a terminal heart condition, but his life is changed by a car crash that seems unrelated to his ailment. The traffic accident, involving ex-con Jack Jordan (Benicio del Toro) and the husband of Cristina Peck (Naomi Watts), is one that ruins lives but ultimately also resurrects them.

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Critics Consensus

Alejandro González Iñárritu deftly weaves an uncommonly structured narrative with panache in 21 Grams, a stylish, haunting drama full of fine performances.

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Will Self

London Evening Standard

21 Grams soars into the chilly empyrean of first-class film-making by virtue of the most traditional of values: sympathetic characters and clever plotting.

Jan 9, 2018

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Paul Julian Smith

Sight & Sound

21 Grams is convincing both as a mid-American document and as the universal moral drama that it aims to be.

Jun 18, 2012

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Thought-provoking film not for tweens/young teens.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 26, 2010

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Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

"21 Grams" commands a running discourse that runs as a constant thematic thread through all of humanity. The movie delivers life as a floating mysterious entity that we all share. It's very few films that achieve anything remotely close.

Rated: A-

Apr 18, 2009

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Mark Halverson

Sacramento News & Review

Rated: 4/5

Aug 7, 2008

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Jean-François Vandeuren

Panorama

Une oeuvre d'une rare intensit dramatique qui n'a aucunement besoin de suivre un cheminement narratif classique pour susciter une vive raction chez le spectateur

Rated: 8/10

Feb 5, 2008

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Audience Member

Fantastic. Epic Performances. Haunting Story. Stark Direction. A tale of human experience. So many fascinating twists and turns and you sit and ask yourself if you'd act the same/ do the same. I especially loved how Penn was desperate when dying, but then aloof when saved, only to become desperate again when dying again. People act so differently when their time is coming to a close and so awful when they think they have forever. A must have movie for any collection.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/28/24

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Jack S

The three leads are superb in this one. But they’re undermined somewhat by the film’s gimmick of a fragmented, non-chronological approach. The story bounces around so much (particularly early on) that it’s sometimes difficult to follow. It all comes together in the end, but it’s not disentangled in an especially satisfactory way. See it for the great work from the actors.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/15/24

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Kathryn V

Very good movie. Intense. The acting was what you expect from Sean Penn and del Toro, excellent.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/01/24

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Georgan G

A most intensive drama, with overlapping relationships. Terrific acting by the entire cast, with each character showing good & bad. Could not look away.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/15/23

Full Review

Antoine K

A veritable directing tour de force although laying a bit too thick on its theme. Naomi Watts and Benicio Del Toro are excellent.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/14/23

Full Review

Dave S

Alejandro Inarritu's 21 Grams is a tough and gritty film about death, faith, redemption and love, among many other things. Cristina Peck (Naomi Watts) is a young woman coming to terms with the tragic death of her husband and two children as the result of a hit-and-run car accident. Paul Rivers (Sean Penn) is an intelligent but deeply flawed man facing his own mortality while waiting for a heart transplant. Jack Jordan (Benicio del Toro) is a born-again former convict responsible for the death of Cristina's family. All three storylines converge over the course of the film, the result being an effective but crushingly depressing viewing experience. Some may find the handheld cinematography to be a distraction and the chronology of events can be confusing, but it remains a powerful movie about human nature and the random course of our personal fates.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/16/23

Full Review

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Alejandro González Iñárritu

Director

Sean Penn

Paul Rivers

Benicio del Toro

Jack Jordan

Naomi Watts

Cristina Peck

Charlotte Gainsbourg

Mary Rivers

Melissa Leo

Marianne Jordan

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Synopsis

In a film that plays with the idea of straightforward storytelling, a group of troubled people find that they are linked in unpredictable ways. Paul Rivers (Sean Penn) is an academic dealing with a terminal heart condition, but his life is changed by a car crash that seems unrelated to his ailment. The traffic accident, involving ex-con Jack Jordan (Benicio del Toro) and the husband of Cristina Peck (Naomi Watts), is one that ruins lives but ultimately also resurrects them.

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Producer: Robert Salerno, Alejandro González Iñárritu
Screenwriter: Guillermo Arriaga
Distributor: Focus Features
Production Co: Y Production, This Is That Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 9, 2004, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $16.2M
Runtime: 2h 5m
Sound Mix: Surround

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