All-star cast propels emotional roller coaster

What a strange movie -- interesting -- but strange. 21 Grams spins out of control from the first second and the audience had better hang on for dear life. It's not a film for the lazy filmgoer. The movie pushes non-linear storytelling to the brink of frustration, but remains captivating to the end. \nPaul Rivers (Sean Penn) is the recipient of Cristina Peck's (Naomi Watts) husband's heart after he is killed in a tragic car accident. Paul seeks Cristina out and they set out to kill Jack Jordan (Benecio Del Toro), the man who accidentally killed Cristina's husband. \nThe acting is fantastic across the board, as is to be expected from such a distinguished cast. Watts, as a strung-out widow bent on revenge, looks good looking bad. Cristina's grief, evident under a thin veneer of rage, leaves the character fragile and nearly broken. Penn, as Paul, a dying college professor, is broken down and tired, but clearly needing of any redemption Cristina has to offer. The love scene between Penn and Watts is eerily quiet, heartbreakingly desperate and done beautifully within the context of the film.\nThe supporting cast is also exceptionally notable. Clea DuVall, as Naomi Watts' younger sister (although the relationship is never clearly defined) and Charlotte Gainsbourg as Penn's wife are both subtle and perfect in their respective roles. \nWhere Memento is America's most recent and notable exposure to non-linear filmmaking, 21 Grams is a head-first dive into narratives where time may or may not function sequentially. The film's pieces don't come together until the final five minutes, but it succeeds in holding one's attention through the last moment. Interestingly, the segments fall closer and closer together chronologically and get progressively longer as the story winds down. It's almost as if the audience is exposed to the beginning and the end and then slowly moves toward the middle. A pattern may emerge, but it isn't evident. \nVisually, the film stays within a very limited range of color and has a gritty, dirty look. It is reminiscent of Steven Soderbergh's Traffic in its shortened palette. For director Alejandro González Iñárritu, whose last film Amores Perros was a sleeper hit, this is a move into the mainstream. \n21 Grams is quite possibly one of the most engaging films to come out in a while, and for a challenging, daring evening, take a deep breath and try it out.