21 Grams (2003)
RT Audience Score: 86%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 2 Oscars
30 wins & 80 nominations total
Alejandro González Iñárritu deftly weaves an uncommonly structured narrative with panache in 21 Grams, a stylish, haunting drama full of fine performances
21 Grams is a movie that will make you feel all the feels, but not in a cheesy way. The performances are top-notch and the plot is cleverly woven together. It’s not a movie for the faint of heart, but if you’re looking for a thought-provoking drama that will leave you feeling emotionally drained (in a good way), then this is the movie for you. Just make sure you have some tissues handy.
Production Company(ies)
Beimo Films, Persistence of Vision Films,
Distributor
Focus Features
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Leisure Lodge, 1204 E Santa Fe Avenue, Grants, New Mexico, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language, sexuality, some violence and drug use
Year of Release
2004
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital
-
Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
-
Runtime:2h 5m
-
Language(s):English
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jan 9, 2004 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 16, 2004
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Naomi Watts, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Melissa Leo, Clea Duvall, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, written by Guillermo Arriaga, drama, R rating, box office gross $16.2M, reviewed by Will Self, Paul Julian Smith, Nell Minow, Nick Schager, Nev Pierce, Jeannette Catsoulis, Sean Penn as Paul Rivers, Benicio Del Toro as Jack Jordan, Naomi Watts as Cristina Peck, Charlotte Gainsbourg as Mary Rivers, Melissa Leo as Marianne Jordan, Clea Duvall as Claudia, Robert Salerno as producer, Alejandro González Iñárritu as producer, Focus Features as distributor, 2h 5m runtime, English original language, released in theaters on January 9, 2004, released on streaming on March 16, 2004, drama full of fine performances, unpredictable ways, terminal heart condition, car crash, ex-con, husband, resurrection, grief, hope, redemption, tragedy, crime thriller, non-linear narrative, puzzle, thought-provoking, haunting, stylish, panache, uncommonly structured narrative, sympathetic characters, clever plotting
Worldwide gross: $60,466,876
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $95,385,675
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,041
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 10,401,928
US/Canada gross: $16,290,476
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $25,698,005
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,329
US/Canada opening weekend: $274,454
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $432,947
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,438
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $20,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $31,549,728
Production budget ranking: 1,128
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $16,989,529
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $46,846,418
ROI to date (est.): 97%
ROI ranking: 953
Benicio Del Toro – Jack Jordan
Naomi Watts – Cristina Peck
Charlotte Gainsbourg – Mary Rivers
Melissa Leo – Marianne Jordan
Clea Duvall – Claudia
Director – Alejandro González Iñárritu
Producer – Robert Salerno, Alejandro González Iñárritu
Writer – Guillermo Arriaga
Director(s)
Alejandro González Iñárritu
Writer(s)
Guillermo Arriaga
Producer(s)
Robert Salerno, Alejandro González Iñárritu
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 2 Oscars
30 wins & 80 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (182) | Top Critics (47) | Fresh (147) | Rotten (35)
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.
January 9, 2018
Will Self
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
21 Grams is convincing both as a mid-American document and as the universal moral drama that it aims to be.
June 18, 2012
Paul Julian Smith
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Thought-provoking film not for tweens/young teens.
August 26, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
The performances, by and large, outweigh the film’s unnecessary metaphorical gunk.
May 3, 2005 | Rating: B
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
TOP CRITIC
A bleak, rather obvious melodrama disguised by a tricksy, time-splicing structure.
March 16, 2004 | Rating: 3/5
Nev Pierce
BBC.com
TOP CRITIC
It demands a great deal of actors whose faces and bodies are, for a while at least, our only temporal coordinates. Yet all are off-the-charts remarkable.
January 21, 2004 | Rating: 4/5
Jeannette Catsoulis
Las Vegas Mercury
TOP CRITIC
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.
July 6, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Matthew Pejkovic
Matt’s Movie Reviews
“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.
April 18, 2009 | Rating: A-
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
August 7, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review
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
February 5, 2008 | Rating: 8/10
Jean-François Vandeuren
Panorama
The structure simply doesn’t let any of the characters build an arc of growth or despair.
July 23, 2007 | Rating: 3/5
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com
The story never grabbed me, and the jumps in narrative time seemed arbitrary, soon becoming a distressing obstacle rather than a narrative lynchpin. Not as good as it wants to be.
June 21, 2007 | Rating: C+
Jason Gorber
Film Scouts…
Plot
Paul Rivers, an ailing mathematician lovelessly married to English émigré; Christina Peck, who’s hiding a secret past; and Jack Jordan, an ex-convict who has found Jesus are brought together by a terrible accident which changes their lives.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The performances by the cast, including Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, and Benicio Del Toro, are praised as “remarkable” and “fantastic.”
Alejandro-González-Iñárritu.jpg