The title might mislead the casual non-viewer. One might be led to believe the title is in reference to drugs. In fact, it is a reference to what is purported to be the amount of weight that a person loses when they die. Fitting enough, because this movie seems to be all about death, both literal and spiritual.
Snapshots of tragedy: the lives of three people--a wife and mother of two, a dying man in need of a new heart, and an ex-con turned counselor at a religious center-intersect after a tragic car accident. The film consists of episodes in their lives (before and after the accident) which are shuffled about, with scene after dramatic scene served up-one may assume-in random order; yet there's a method to this editing madness, and the film's narrative actually feels much more linear in retrospect.
In masterpiece movies like Once Upon a Time in America, Reservoir Dogs, and even Memento, the scrambled story structure had a purpose, adding appropriate twists and turns for the audience. 21 Grams has that non-linear basis to it too, and sometimes it works for the audience to react. But I think there would be a lot more power to how these characters' fates and tragedies unfold if it was told linearly from start to finish. In many moments in the film I found myself knowing a little too much before a particular scene unfolded, or I found myself guessing about something that I didn't need to as one of the points of non-linear storytelling is answers first, questions later. It wasn't an aspect that made the film bad, yet the stock that writer and director put into this structure over interlocking the stories in order, or perhaps telling each story separately, is the film's only drawback.
The acting by Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Naomi Watts was over the top. All three put in first-class performances to tell a story that was intense from start to finish. I do recommend the movie, but I should warn you: don't expect anything light and fluffy.
My Rating - 8/10
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