21 Grams
At first glance, the three people we get to know in this movie have absolutely nothing in common. One is a math professor who's facing heart failure with a wife who is desperate to have his baby before he dies. Another is a reformed housewife with a loving husband and two kids. She used to do drugs. She still does, but she used to too. Finally, there's the ex-con who has turned to Christianity for guidance in life and believes God has a hand in everything he does. Yet, a tragic accident brings together the lives of Paul (Sean Penn), Cristina (Naomi Watts), and Jack (Benicio Del Toro) and sends each of them on a journey through pain and pleasure, love and loss, and desperation and death.

Look closer and you'll find a wonderful film. The thing most people will notice is the non-linear format of the film, something that can blow up in the face of an inexperienced director. But even though the film really is directed (and written) by an inexperienced director Alejandro Inarritu, he shows off the skills of a professional, making us wonder about the characters while we know in the back of our minds what's going to happen though it's disorienting at first. But in fact, by the ending, it all hits us with equal, if not greater, impact than it might have been chronologically. The performances are also key to this film's success. Penn is his usual angry self and Watts is a sight to see, but the best performance comes from Del Toro. Though his character is the least featured of the three, you can really sense the passion he exudes in his role and the transformation he's forced to go through, from one who believes in the word of God to one who questions them; from reformed criminal to criminal; from a nice family guy to a loner forced to separate from his family. The jumbled scenes portray these characters on a downward spiral but in the end, we realize we all have our roles in society and there isn't much we can do about it. 3.5 stars