Sean Penn is an awful lot better in 21 Grams than he was in Mystic River. 21 Grams is a much better film than Clint’s too, with a theme which is not a million miles away from it. It is however less hamstrung with TRYING TO MAKE A POINT. Actually with the seemingly random editing it is as if the one thing the film is eventually trying not to do is make a point. Shit happens. Lots of it. Isn’t life terrible; that is the general message.
The 21 Grams conceit is appalling however. Sean Penn’s voice-over, trying to explain it, is needless. Not only that but it shows a complete lack of knowledge of the weight of chocolate bars. The standard Mars Bar for instance is 52 grams. 21 grams is the weight of a fun sized chocolate bar. But then I guess if in the portentous voice-over about the weight of a human soul, the words ‘fun sized’ were added, it might remove a touch of the gravitas.