21 Grams

Drama, Thriller

Sean Penn	Paul
Naomi Watts	Christine
Benicio Del Toro	Jack
Charlotte Gainsbourg	Mary
Danny Huston	Michael
Melissa Leo	Marianne
Clea DuVall	Claudia
Paul Calderon	Brown
Teresa Delgado	Gina
Marc Musso	Freddy
Carly Nahon	Cathy
Claire Pakis	Laura
Nick Nichols (III)
John Rubinstein	Gynecologist
Eddie Marsan	Reverend John
Nick Nichols	Boy
Jerry Chipman
Anastasia Herin
Denis O'Hare

Director	Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu; Alejandro González Iñárritu; Alejandro González I¤árritu
Producer	Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu; Robert Salerno; Guillermo Arriaga; Alejandro González Iñárritu
Writer	Guillermo Arriaga Jordan; Guillermo Arriaga

Sean Penn and Benecio Del Toro, two of the most gripping actors around, play wildly different men linked through a grieving woman (Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive, The Ring) in 21 Grams. Del Toro (Traffic, The Usual Suspects) delves deep into the role of an ex-con turned born-again Christian, a deeply conflicted man struggling to set right a terrible accident, even at the expense of his family. Penn (Mystic River, Dead Man Walking) captures a cynical, philandering professor in dire need of a heart transplant, which he gets from the death of Watts' husband. 21 Grams slips back in forth in time, creating an intricate emotional web out of the past and the present that slowly draws these three together; the result is remarkably fluid and compelling. The movie overreaches for metaphors towards the end, but that doesn't erase the power of the deeply felt performances. --Bret Fetzer