Peter Robinson of '' NME '' wrote that the video shows " what Justin looks like after he 's had sex . Clue : he looks pretty good . " According to Virginia Heffernan of '' The New York Times '' , Timberlake channels the character Neo from '' The Matrix '' film series , " pacing anxiously around wet and metallic interiors " . At the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards , the video for " Cry Me a River " won in the categories of Best Male Video and Best Pop Video . It had also been nominated for Video of the Year , Best Direction in a Video and Viewer 's Choice
2003 MTV Video Music Awards
2003 MTV Video Music Awards
Cry Me a River (Justin Timberlake song)