The Wake

I always knew Naomi Watts was talented, but I never could have imagined she’d be this good. We saw her in David Lynch’s 2002 psychological thriller Mulholland Drive, where she played the role of a woman fascinated by Hollywood glamour and stardom, mystified in a neurotic dream. Then, in Gore Verbinski’s 2003 horror flick The Ring, Watts again took on an artistic role as a reporter tangled up in the eerie mystery of a VHS tape.

In 21 Grams, Watts looks like a young Nicole Kidman and has definitely solidified her abilities in becoming an extremely talented actress, which is obvious with the recognition she has received for the film, being nominated for Best Actress in this month’s Academy Awards.

On the same note, the film itself should have been nominated for Best Picture. The storyline is very unique, presented non-linearly, with scenes meshed out of sequence like a shuffled deck of cards.

This choppiness may have turned off Academy voters, yet the film’s creativity and dramatic storytelling techniques from director Alejandro González Iñárritu will give Watts and actor Benicio Del Toro, who is also nominated for Best Supporting Actor, a great chance at winning an Oscar.

To be honest, these two deserve to win on February 29, and it is too bad Sean Penn couldn’t be nominated twice for Best Actor with a nomination already for Mystic River, because he completes the trio of stars that make “21 Grams” more than just an average movie.

The film itself blends the lives of three strangers who meet by fate; choice has nothing to do with it. Penn plays the role of Paul Rivers, a mathematician who is critically ill and in need of a heart donation to save his life. When an unexpected event changes the lives of Christina Peck (Watts) and Jack Jordan (Del Toro), Penn is graced with a new heart and a chance to live – yet all characters soon face difficult consequences. This transformation creates a tangled web of interaction that the actors soon become haunted by.

Each personal conflict is filled with emotion: struggles with God, the loss of loved ones, and the inescapable reality of death. In death, the ideology behind the film’s title is revealed that, when a person dies, 21 grams are lifted from one’s body.

Viewers looking for a feel-good movie will be rather disappointed by “21 Grams.” Instead, it keeps your mind creating possible scenarios out of the scattered puzzle pieces, which we haven’t seen since Christopher Nolan’s Memento.

But what makes 21 Grams a superb film is not only the unparalleled acting that dominates the screen, but the unimaginable reality that the audience perceives in the film. Instead of being seen as merely a projected image on screen, it has the touch of life-like reality. These characters bleed their roles, and it is hard to tell that they are even acting. It’s so natural that their body gestures and movements become the definition of pain, sorrow, fear, revenge and submission.

21 Grams is a great film that needs to be seen over and over again. It will be a sad day if these nominated actors don’t receive credit for their extraordinary and incomparable roles on February 29.