IFDB Review: 21 Grams Rebalanced:

This review is shamefully late. I was chatting with Beezo about favorite edits and I realized I had never actually written a review of this beautiful edit. So after much delay...This is quite simply my favorite fanedit that I have ever seen. It not only represents all the best that fanediting has to offer, the resulting film is incredible.Audio/Video QualityFlawless. No loss between original and fanedit.Visual EditiongFlawless work here. Truly seamless. Every edit feels natural. No flash frames, no amateurish work here. Indistinguishable from a theatrical releaseAudio EditingAgain, flawless work. Not a single stray audio note that I could find and again, indistinguishable from a theatrical release.So before I get into the narrative, this edit represents everything that every faneditor should be aspiring to create. Each edit is hidden. No change stands out. If you were to show this to a person who'd never seen the original, I guarantee you they'd think it was simply the theatrical version. It is as good as it gets. But where it really matters is the narrative.Truth be told, I hated the original. To be clear, 21 Grams IS a very good movie, but it's not a very enjoyable movie. After watching it, my wife and I swore to never watch it again. We only bought it so that I could provide some feedback to Gatos on his workprint. The original beats the viewer down at every turn. The non-linear editing of the original is a constant weight that makes it actually feel oppressive, and when the movie finally fades to black the message is haunting, desolate and barren.Gatos' edit reveals that the story itself is actually.. beautiful. To borrow a theme from one of my all-time favorite movies.. "Look closer...". Freed from the constant jumping around of the original, Gatos' linear approach allows you to experience the story as a normal person would, you feel the devastation of loss, the rebuilding.. the challenges.. and in the end, even though it ends exactly the same way.. the journey feels like a validation or vindication of life, rather than feeling life is fleeting, pathetic and pointless. It's important to note however, Gatos didn't just put it chronological order. There was a great deal of leeway he had in how to stitch the pieces together and still be 'chronological'. But the timing of his edits, the sequences that he juxtaposed against each other were truly wonderful. Each cut is perfectly paired with the piece that comes before and after, it helps guide your emotional journey in watching the events unfold.It's pretty much unfair praise, but I'm doing it anyway.. When I walked out of seeing American Beautify the first time I knew I had seen Best Picture for that year. It was impressive and.. beautiful even though tragic. That is what Gatos has created here. For me it was every bit as rewarding as AB. Well done Gatos.. 10/10 across the board. Best edit I have ever seen. Bar-none.

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