Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Analog Scott (A) on April 09, 2004 at 12:02:43

In Reply to: Sean Penn - 21 Grams posted by Sean Jean on April 09, 2004 at 11:03:36:

"Decided to cough up the $4 and rent 21 Grams the other night. While I enjoyed it, there were a few things that didn't make sense to me - mostly concerning Penn's character. First off, didn't I just see Sean Penn play this same character in Mystic River? Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure he has played this character more than 2x. He's not a bad actor, but Penn seems to be somewhat of a one tick poney as far as the roles his plays."

He has been somewhat lately but don't forget the roles he has played that were completely different. I remember most people thought he was really a surfer pot head in real life after seeing Fast Times at Ridgement High. he is capable of a wide range of characters.

"Second - in 21 Grams Penn's character accidentally shot himself in the hotel room, yes? If it was actually a suicide attempt, then I am really confused. Third - what was the deal with Penn's wife (girlfriend?) - the British woman who wanted to have his baby? For the entire movie, he treated her like sh*t. Why was she so keen on having HIS child?"

Disfunctional relationships are a reality.

"Certainly she wasn't thinking that a child would save their deteriorating relationship?"

No. she knew he was dying and she did love him. She wanted a part of him in having his child after he was gone.

" And when she said to Penn (paraphrasing here) "you are so selfish, all you think about is yourself" ... was that supposed to be ironic?"

No. It was an attempt at doing more realistic dialogue. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't.

" While Penn was certainly a selfish bastard, especially as he pursued Naomi Watts, I thought this British woman was completely self absorbed and totally obsessed with this pregnancy."

She was. That was part of what skewed her decision making. These characters are highly damaged people. They are not expected to always be rational.

The real strength of this movie was in the struture in which the story is unvailed.