21 Grams

R

Released Jan 9, 2004

2 hr. 5 min.

Drama

List

81%

180 Reviews

Tomatometer

86%

100,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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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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

Ignacio

21 grams is a movie that talks about how life and death are very dramatic things, and anyway you should be confused and guilty about it. The director seems to think he is very smart. Not convincing, and altogether quite boring but the pictures are nice.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/28/23

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

Kyle M

Since "Birdman" and "The Revenant", director Alejandro González Iñárritu is a visionary scope to behold, as they evolved prior through his matching skills as storyteller sharing common themes and unique techniques coordinating the focus as an unusual feat. Like any narrative with multiple lines to weave throughout, it gets tighter and grows sensibly as the story progresses, which Iñárritu defied with a nonlinear structure that poetically responds to each other organically. But what truly absorbs is being the finest showcases, arguably at memorable best by recently discovered definitive recognition, for the main starring players and what they try to represent against totally succumbing to their character-types. This is where he topped his practice before bridging onto to his more compelling mastery. (B+)

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/23/22

Full Review

isla s

This is a sobering, somewhat bleak in tone film about a number of couples affected by one event - their background and so on, Sean Penn gives a good performance I thought, as does Benecio Del Toro. I found the grainy look of the film visually, there's a sort of a grainy look to the film in the way its shot/filmed, a bit distracting and not entirely appealing, although I can sort of see what the filmmaker is getting at. It's not as gritty a film as you might expect overall - there are bleak moments but there's not a massive amount of bloody violence overall, although there are some sex scenes present. It's quite an emotionally raw film in some ways but its certainly not full of sentimentality or overly sugary sweet. The characters are fairly well developed and I was interested to see what happened, though I wouldn't say it all made sense to me. I think if your a fan of Sean Penn then it's worth seeing in terms of his performance though. I feel the film is really, at its heart, about desperation and the lengths people will go to, to do what's right for them. The chronology is a little confusing on ocassion. It becomes quite powerful in the last half an hour or so though. Yes I'd recommend this film, although it won't appeal to all but its a somewhat thoughtful film with a good cast, so it's worth looking at if it sounds of interest.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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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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

Full Review

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

Full Review

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Thought-provoking film not for tweens/young teens.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 26, 2010

Full Review

Matthew Pejkovic

Matt's Movie Reviews

A highly emotional, thought provoking drama that easily lives up to the hype, 21 Grams is a film that has all of its bases covered: script, acting and direction.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 6, 2010

Full Review

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

Full Review

Mark Halverson

Sacramento News & Review

Rated: 4/5

Aug 7, 2008

Full Review

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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
Executive Producer: Ted Hope
Screenwriter: Guillermo Arriaga
Distributor: Focus Features
Production Co: This Is That Productions, Y Production
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
Sound Mix: Surround

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