I've been hearing great things about 21 Grams for years, but I never really bothered to take the time to pursue it and see for myself. I didn't even see a trailer for this at all and was going strictly by word-of-mouth, so I had zero knowledge of that the subject matter was, which I kinda dug. The name alone had me thinking it had to do with drugs. Well, it's not. Watching 21 Grams was like watching a private screening where no information is given to the audience. Totally in the dark with this one.

How best to describe the format of this one? Imagine all the scenes in the script are written on 3x5 Cards and then take the entire stack and then throw them up in the air and let them fall on the ground as gravity dictates. All the cards are now all over the floor, random and out of order. Now, start editing the entire movie based on this out of order, random sequence and that's the stories narrative structure. Tarantino masted the Fractured Narrative style, but 21 Grams really doesn't have a style other than it being at extreme ends. I would call it 'All-over-the-place' Narrative Style. This movie requires you to pay close attention to what happens from scene to scene or you WILL definitely get lost.

I love it when films take chances like this with regards to editing, but I will say that it did take about the first 10 minutes of the movie for me to settle in and accept what was happening. If you have a quick mind, a good memory and stay focus, the movie becomes sort of a game in that it forces you to remember what you have seen as you try to piece the story together and figure out the linear narrative before any information is given to you. But if you are someone that needs to be spoon fed typical narrative structure, then this movie will probably p*ss you off to no end.

The movie is every bit as good as it has been made out to be and definitely worth a Rent with Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Benicio del Toro and Melissa Leo headlining the cast. The only downside is the ending. It doesn't quite deliver what it was building up to both on screen and in my mind. But the performances and the unusual editing did make this better than it should be and will keep you engage the entire way.