Going into a movie theatre, audience members usually has certain expectations they expect be met on some level during the film. Some movies fail at this, while others exceed their potential and garner unexpected praise. Then there are movies where the viewer might not know what to expect at all.

Babel is one of those movies.

The newest film by directing/writing duo Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo Arriaga (21 Grams, Amores perros) came in at sixth in last weekend's box office, its first weekend in wide release. If you're expecting a movie based solely on a loving yet struggling couple who find themselves in a situation that makes their other problems petty, then you'll be spot on for about a quarter of the movie.

The basis of the plot revolves around a rifle sold to a poor Moroccan farmer to kill jackals that attack his herd of goats. The trouble comes when he leaves the killing up to his two sons who don't seem to understand the consequences of life and death. They proceed to take target practice at cars driving along the mountain pass where they tend the family's flocks. An American tourist (Blanchett) is the accidental party on the receiving end of their practice, and the story unfolds.

We're then taken to San Diego and introduced to Amelia, an illegal immigrant and nanny to the children of Richard and Susan (Pitt and Blanchett). Since the accident in Morocco, she is forced to bring the couple's children to Mexico while she attends her son's wedding.

Finally there is Chieko, a Japanese high school girl who is not only deaf-mute but also hyper-sexualized. Let me reiterate -- hyper-sexualized. Her involvement within the main plot line is very minor as she gets a lot of camera time seducing men she hardly knows and/or being naked. Chieko's story of her desperate attempts to connect emotionally with others seems to be a desperate attempt by the filmmakers. They draw in the audience with a severely emotional piece, but then reject the preconceived ideas of emotion by having the character come off as desperately horny instead of emotionally devoid. It's evident that Iñárritu and Arriaga have a lot of heart and intent in their work, but the execution to which they show it here really falls short. During the majority of the film, you can't help but think the filmmakers overwhelmed themselves without thinking ahead. Three of the four plot lines interconnect very well but as a whole don't come together to hold up any significance held in the filmmakers' intended message.

The film will get a lot of comparisons to Paul Haggis' Crash because of the nonlinear plot line and characters who find themselves at conflict with differing customs throughout the world. That seems to be too easy of a comparison, and the movies, while at their bases are very similar, as separate works of film are distinctly different.

While the intent of Crash was evident, in Babel you easily get lost trying to figure out how the "horny deaf-mute" story line fits into the overall plot and don't even realize there might be an intended message presented in the film. If you find yourself asking, "what exactly is the film trying to say?" when you leave the theater, just remember film is an easily botched medium. There is a very wide gap between intent and execution. Just because a movie is visually stunning and at times emotionally draining doesn't mean a profound message should be expected. Grade: C