A year or so ago, I saw a film about a horrible accident that affected three different parties. This film followed these three lives, and we saw how the accident caused their lives to intertwine. The film was directed by a man named Alejandro González Iñárritu, and was notable for it's gritty styling and downtrodden acting. The film was, of course, called 'Amores Perros'; but from the information given so far, it could easily have been 21 Grams. The only real difference between the two is that the first version of this story was massively superior to this retelling. 21 Grams has all the ingredients to be considered a great film by today's standards: a tragic story, lots of shouting...sorry, I mean "powerful performances" it's gritty, it's downbeat and it's even got the split method of story telling. However, there's just one problem; having these things in place is not the way to a great film. Ingeniuty, interesting stories, great acting - these are the things that make cinema great. I don't know what's wrong with people these days, why does stuff like 21 Grams always receive a strong critical reaction?
The acting in this film is really great...or is it? Are you sure it's not just dull? One of the side effects of these gritty dramas taking over is that the art of acting has been cut back and cut back again until all that's left is a dreary residue; of which so many actors are more than happy to wallow in. And why wouldn't they be? Anyone can mope, and these guys are getting Academy Award nominations for doing it! Death and tragedy has always been a favourite of Hollywood, and the dreary and depressing nature of this film takes advantage of that fact. 21 Grams attempts to explore the subject of loss and personal trauma by way of the soul, which is shown by the '21 grams' that we lose upon death. This is extremely ironic when you consider that this film has no soul. It's backbone is dissolved into the tedious screenplay, and 21 Grams doesn't offer us a single reason to care for any of the characters on display, meaning the only reason we should get behind them is because they're the protagonists; and that's no reason to care for a character. The characters in 21 Grams can kill people, be told that they have a month to live and lose their family until they go blue in the face - but if I don't have a reason to plug into their plight, I'm afraid I simply don't care.
All in all, 21 Grams is a tragic waste of film stock. It's a product of it's time and reflects the way that cinema has changed this century. It's a shame that films of this nature will continue to get strong critical reactions, and as long as that keeps happening, the studios will continue to churn them out. 21 Grams is nothing but another film.
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