21 Grams (2003)

Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu seems to be fascinated with the subject of human loss and suffering. His first three feature films form his 'Death Trilogy' with violent car crashes, terminal illness and tragic accidents featuring prominently throughout. Additionally they all utilise González Iñárritu's maybe signature of interlocking and overlapping narratives. In 21 Grams he takes this a step further and uses a nonlinear narrative. As viewers we have to wonder why this choice was made, sure it makes the film more interesting which is probably essential as I feel like it would be too much to sit through nearly two hours of suffering on top of suffering without the element of mystery. Naomi Watts is a recovering drug addict who is now able to live happily with her husband and two children. But don't expect any shots of blissful suburban existence as all three are killed by a car accident that forms the basis for the film! Ruminating about the nature of death, life, hope, redemption is a big theme in art and literature and just because the topic is dark doesn't mean it's necessary or right to simply dismiss a work as 'depressing' but that's how I feel about this film. After it's all over it's easy to wonder what we learned if anything and what was the point of it all and what the director was trying to say. Film critic Roger Ebert said of this film that it "It grips us, moves us, astonishes us" but I can't find anything here that compells me to feel that way.