21 Grams

''21 Grams'' is a 2003 American crime thriller film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga. It is the second installment in the duo’s informal “Trilogy of Death,” preceded by ''Amores perros'' (2000) and followed by '' Babel'' (2006). The film features an ensemble cast including Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Benicio del Toro, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Danny Huston. The narrative centers on the emotional and psychological aftermath of a tragic hit-and-run accident, exploring the intersecting lives of a terminally ill mathematician, a grieving mother, and a reformed ex-convict grappling with his faith.

The film employs a nonlinear narrative structure, presenting the characters' past, present, and future in fragmented sequences that gradually converge as the story unfolds. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival before receiving a limited theatrical release in the United States on November 21, 2003, followed by a wider release in early 2004.

''21 Grams'' received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised Iñárritu’s direction, Arriaga’s screenplay, and the performances of Watts and Del Toro. The film was a moderate box office success, grossing $60.4 million worldwide against a production budget of $20 million. At the 76th Academy Awards, Watts and Del Toro received nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.

Plot

Jack Jordan is a reformed ex-convict and recovering addict who has embraced Christianity to overcome his struggles with drug and alcohol abuse. Paul Rivers is a mathematics professor suffering from a terminal heart condition, and unless he receives a transplant, he has only weeks to live. His wife, Mary, wishes to conceive a child through artificial insemination so she can raise their child even if Paul dies. Meanwhile, Cristina Peck is a former drug addict who has built a stable life with her husband and two young daughters in the suburbs, remaining active and committed to sobriety.

Their lives intersect one evening when Jack, driving without a license, fatally strikes Cristina’s husband and two daughters in a hit-and-run accident. The heart of Cristina’s husband is transplanted into Paul, giving him a second chance at life. Cristina, devastated by the loss, relapses into substance abuse. Paul attempts to resume normal life and reluctantly agrees to his wife's plan for insemination but later learns she had an abortion during a previous separation. Feeling betrayed, Paul ends the relationship.

Haunted by guilt, Jack relapses into substance use. His wife urges him to keep silent, but Jack insists on turning himself in, believing it is his spiritual duty. While incarcerated, he becomes despondent, disavows his faith, and attempts suicide. He is released when Cristina chooses not to press charges, recognizing that punishing him will not restore her family. Jack leaves his family and becomes a drifter, working in manual labor.

Driven by curiosity, Paul hires a private investigator to trace the donor of his new heart and discovers Cristina’s identity. He begins following her and eventually approaches her. After an initial outburst, Cristina begins a relationship with Paul, and the two grow emotionally dependent on each other. However, Paul's new heart begins to fail, and he is told his body is rejecting the transplant.

As Cristina becomes increasingly consumed by grief and a desire for retribution, she persuades Paul to murder Jack. Paul obtains a gun and locates Jack, who is living in a motel. He confronts him in a clearing but is unable to go through with the killing. He fires warning shots into the ground and tells Jack to disappear. Paul lies to Cristina about Jack’s death. Later that night, Jack appears at their motel, pleading for Paul to kill him. A struggle breaks out; Cristina attacks Jack with a lamp, and in the chaos, Paul accidentally shoots himself.

Cristina and Jack rush Paul to the hospital. Jack confesses to the police that he shot Paul, but with no evidence, he is released. Paul dies from his injuries. Cristina, at the hospital, learns she is pregnant and is urged to stop using drugs. In the final scenes, Cristina is shown preparing for the baby in her late daughter’s bedroom, which she had previously been unable to enter, while Jack is seen returning to his family.

Cast

* Sean Penn as Paul Rivers
* Naomi Watts as Cristina Peck
* Benicio del Toro as Jack Jordan
* Charlotte Gainsbourg as Mary Rivers
* Melissa Leo as Marianne Jordan
* Danny Huston as Michael
* Pamela Blair as Doctor
* John Rubinstein as Gynecologist
* Clea DuVall as Claudia
* Eddie Marsan as Reverend John

Cinematic technique

''21 Grams'' is noted for its distinct visual style, achieved through a combination of gritty hand-held cinematography, the use of the bleach bypass process, and varied color grading. These techniques were employed to differentiate the film's three interwoven storylines and to visually reflect shifts in the characters' emotional and psychological states. Given the film’s nonlinear narrative structure, these visual cues helped viewers situate scenes within the broader chronology.

Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto explained in an interview with ''American Cinematographer'' that color palettes were assigned to each main character: Paul’s story was rendered with cool tones, Jack’s with warm tones, and Cristina’s with more neutral hues. Different film stocks were used throughout the film to create distinct grain structures that evolved with the characters’ arcs—finer grain was used during more hopeful moments, while heavier grain appeared as their situations became more complex.

Extensive testing was required to refine the interplay of color palettes, lighting, and wardrobe with the bleach bypass process. Prieto noted that the film’s final visual scheme emerged through experimentation rather than pre-planning, stating, “We couldn't take anything for granted—we were surprised by the test results every time.”

Director Alejandro González Iñárritu and Prieto aimed for an organic and immersive camerawork style. Handheld cameras were used exclusively, even for static shots, to convey a sense of immediacy and physical presence. The camera was deliberately unstable at times, and framing choices were often unbalanced—with excessive or insufficient headroom—designed to mirror the characters’ internal disorientation. In emotionally intense scenes, characters are frequently shown in wide shots and positioned at the edges of the frame, a technique Prieto referred to as using “abandoning angles,” to emphasize feelings of isolation.

Title

The film’s title refers to the so-called " 21 grams experiment" conducted in 1907 by physician Duncan MacDougall, who attempted to scientifically determine the weight of the human soul. MacDougall claimed that the human body lost approximately 21 grams—equivalent to three-fourths of an ounce—at the moment of death, attributing this weight loss to the soul leaving the body. Although the experiment is widely regarded by the scientific community as methodologically flawed and lacking in credibility, it has contributed to the popular notion that the soul weighs 21 grams.

Reception

Box office

''21 Grams'' had a production budget of approximately $20 million. It grossed $16.3 million in the United States and Canada and $44.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $60.5 million.

Critical response

''21 Grams'' received generally favorable reviews from critics, with particular praise for its emotionally charged performances, innovative narrative structure, and direction by Alejandro González Iñárritu. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an 80% approval rating based on 178 reviews, with an average score of 7.50/10. The site’s consensus reads: "Iñárritu deftly weaves an uncommonly structured narrative with panache in ''21 Grams'', a stylish, haunting drama full of fine performances." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100 based on 41 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."

Critics consistently singled out the performances of Naomi Watts, Benicio del Toro, and Sean Penn for acclaim. Roger Ebert awarded the film four stars, calling it “one of the most depressing” yet “also one of the most absorbing and beautifully made” films of its time. He added, “It grips us, moves us, astonishes us.” Elvis Mitchell of ''The New York Times'' praised the acting and described the film as a “metaphysical puzzle that works as deeply felt tragedy.”

Peter Travers of ''Rolling Stone'' described ''21 Grams'' as “a brutal, erotic and achingly tender dance of death,” adding that Del Toro’s “astonishing” performance anchors the film’s intensity. ''Empire'' highlighted the “searing emotion and layered performance” delivered by Watts, stating she gives “a performance of raw emotional intensity.” James Berardinelli of ''ReelViews'' commended the film's structural daring, writing that "''21 Grams'' is a stunning kaleidoscope of a motion picture" with a payoff that justifies its narrative complexity.

Peter Bradshaw of ''The Guardian'' remarked on the film’s poetic structure, calling it "a symphony of jagged fragments." He praised Iñárritu for "taking the grammar of narrative cinema into new terrain." In contrast, some critics were more reserved. Ed Gonzalez of ''Slant Magazine'' criticized the time-shifting format, arguing that it “uses fragmentation not for illumination but to obscure manipulative melodrama.” ''BBC'' called the structure “tricksy” but acknowledged the strong performances, particularly Del Toro’s.

''IGN'' highlighted the film's visual style and emotionally engaging storytelling, despite its “unrelenting bleakness.” ''The Independent'' called the film “gripping and heartbreaking,” noting its willingness to “confront tragedy without sentimentality.” ''Common Sense Media'' offered a mixed view, praising the acting but warning that its nonlinear narrative and dark subject matter may not appeal to all viewers.

Accolades

See also

* Hyperlink cinema – the film style of using multiple inter-connected story lines.
* List of films about mathematicians

References

External links

* – archived fro
the original
on March 31, 2019
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from American Cinematographer

The science behind ''21 Grams''
at ABC Online

{{DEFAULTSORT:21 Grams
2003 films
2003 crime drama films
2003 crime thriller films
2003 independent films
2000s American films
2000s English-language films
American anthology films
American crime drama films
American crime thriller films
American nonlinear narrative films
English-language crime drama films
English-language crime thriller films
English-language independent films
Films about grief
Films about mathematics
Films about suicide
Films directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
Films scored by Gustavo Santaolalla
Films shot in New Mexico
Films shot in Tennessee
Films with screenplays by Guillermo Arriaga
Focus Features films
Hyperlink films
Icon Productions films
Satellite Award–winning films