Finally made it out to the movies this past week. I missed the last round of good looking films and I wasn’t excited about missing another. Unfortunately, when I finally found myself with some time, I realized there weren’t any good looking films out. We must be in between rounds.

It took some hunting, but we finally found a film I’d been excited to see. Then more hunting for the ONLY THEATER in the South Bay that was still showing it. 21 Grams is the only film currently on the screen that I would waste a waking hour on, so I was hoping to god that I liked it. I’d gotten mixed reviews, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. How could a film starring three of my very favorite actors and directed by the man behind Amores Perros (possibly the star of my DVD collection) not be brilliant?

Well, it was. The film was beautiful, jagged, and an entirely active viewing experience. From the silent opening scene to the silent final scene, everything was right where it should have been: the last place you’d expect it. The story is told using that multiple timeline device that many of us have grown tired of, but don’t let that deter you. It’s a difficult thing to do, tell several parts of the same story at once, and have it work on any level besides “odd for the sake of odd.” This film took a rather intricate plot and divided more times than many would have dared, and then dashed from one period to another, from one character’s backstory to another, at breaneck speeds and with surgical precision. It was done well. This is good storytelling.

The grainy, bleach-bypass camera work is also done, but appropriate. More and more films have sported this look as of late, but it’s an undeniably effective facade for an equally gritty story. The framing is poetic; and the editing speaks to it. This film doesn’t look unlike any you’ve seen, just better than most. The pacing is a bit steadier than some films and I think that could bore some audiences. There aren’t so many ups and downs as there may have been. The quick cuts between stories don’t allow for much downtime, but on the other hand the action isn’t exactly fast and furious. I can see the pacing tripping mainstream viewers up more so than the nonplused storyline.

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is best known as the director of Amores Perros, a Spanish language independent that incidentally shares quite a bit with 21 Grams. Both films use similar lighting and process scheme, but the larger budget was evident in 21 Grams. Greatly varied characters with intertwining lives populate both films and make for a similar story-telling technique. Inarritu’s strengths are well showcased in 21 Grams. The things that set Amores Perros apart; non-linear plot, deliberate and purposeful editing, emotive and honest performances, are polished and defined in 21 Grams.

While Amores Perros was a huge success in it’s own right and garnered quite a bit of commercial success on the festival circuit and in it’s native Mexico, major American audiences wouldn’t be climbing out of their Lay-Z-Boys if not for a stellar big-name cast. Sean Penn is Sean Penn. He is as great as we want him to be. He doesn’t disappoint. His character is surprisingly likeable this time around. Naomi Watts gives an urgent and somewhat tragic performance. She is better than effective, but I found myself less than moved by some of her more emotional scenes. Her flatter scenes were natural and intuitively played and it’s hard to deny that she’s one of the most genuinely beautiful women on the screen.

The big deal here is Benicio Del Toro. Widely regarded as one of the best actors in film, and still underrated. He’s managed to raise my opinion of him once again. Every decision he makes is right on. He becomes wholly his character and forces one to wonder if he could ever entirely leave him behind. In Jack Jordan, Del Toro finds what may be his most involved character. A convict-cum-christian, desperate for a clearer path, Jordan spends his days as a church youth counselor or a trainee caddy. When tragedy finds him, even after his conversion, his faith is shattered and his world is changed. There are so many wrong ways to play this part, it’s amazing that Del Toro found the right one.

So there you have it. It was not a feel-good film, or ever a feel-allright film. You will feel badly when you watch this movie. You will have also seen one of the best films I’ve managed to catch all year.

Don’t agree? Argue with this.