One Paragraph Review: 21 Grams

While director Alejandro González Iñárritu definitely deserves every bit of acclaim and praise he has received for his thoughtful and careful direction, what really sets this movie apart for me is the performances by the lead roles. Each of the lead characters gives defining, visceral performances. Each of these actors deliver scene after scene of unbelievable emotional weight, focusing the film on Naiomi Watts' agony when she screams, "I am paralyzed here! I am a fucking amputee!" or Benicio del Toro's haunting guilt as he mutters "One of the girls that I killed, she looked me in the eye, she wanted to tell me something," or Sean Penn's fury as he shouts, "You can help me die BETTER. Well, I'm not gonna do that, okay? I'd rather die outside." On the strength of these awesome performances, this is a great, powerful film that you're not likely to easily forget.