pixiecrinkle (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pixiecrinkle) wrote2004-01-03 01:36 pm
pixiecrinkle) wrote2004-01-03 01:36 pm
(no subject)
Saw _21 Grams last night_. This is not a movie for everyone. But I did really like it. It was flawed in some aspects, but I think overall, it's worth seeing for the quality of the acting alone.
I think that Benecio del Toro was a bit underutilized in this. He is just so good, and I didn't get the *wow* vibe from him at all in this though. Not sure it's his fault though. Overall, the characters were so much more real than in most movies (ie. they weren't just good or just bad) but he had such a huge history (going from convict, to Bible-thumper/father/whatever) that wasn't really explained in enough depth to "get" him.
A couple of the female characters weren't as fleshed out though, particularly Sean Penn's character's wife, who just got on the "I need a baby track" and didn't think of anything but. Maybe that was supposed to indicate a flaw in her, but it didn't give the actress playing with her much to work with, and came off as a bit silly toward the end, when I think she was just supposed to be seen as that callous, wanting a baby and not taking into account that her husband basically just came back from the brink of death.
The thing I did like though, was the non-linear plotline. That can come off as hokey, but it works here. It made me incredibly confused for the first 45 minutes of the movie, and I just almost got to the "what is this piece of crap" place when it all started falling into place. (I don't think the kids who were making out behind us ever got past that point.) I was very very confused though because I couldn't figure out for the longest time when Christina's drug use happened chronologically -- that could have been made a bit clearer earlier without sacrificing a lot of the film. I've always liked stories told that way, and I don't think enough movies make use of that device.
I think that Benecio del Toro was a bit underutilized in this. He is just so good, and I didn't get the *wow* vibe from him at all in this though. Not sure it's his fault though. Overall, the characters were so much more real than in most movies (ie. they weren't just good or just bad) but he had such a huge history (going from convict, to Bible-thumper/father/whatever) that wasn't really explained in enough depth to "get" him.
A couple of the female characters weren't as fleshed out though, particularly Sean Penn's character's wife, who just got on the "I need a baby track" and didn't think of anything but. Maybe that was supposed to indicate a flaw in her, but it didn't give the actress playing with her much to work with, and came off as a bit silly toward the end, when I think she was just supposed to be seen as that callous, wanting a baby and not taking into account that her husband basically just came back from the brink of death.
The thing I did like though, was the non-linear plotline. That can come off as hokey, but it works here. It made me incredibly confused for the first 45 minutes of the movie, and I just almost got to the "what is this piece of crap" place when it all started falling into place. (I don't think the kids who were making out behind us ever got past that point.) I was very very confused though because I couldn't figure out for the longest time when Christina's drug use happened chronologically -- that could have been made a bit clearer earlier without sacrificing a lot of the film. I've always liked stories told that way, and I don't think enough movies make use of that device.