#Seven pounds series#
The quandary is simple to indentify: to fully value Ben's journey requires knowledge of its conclusion, otherwise "Pounds" is a just a series of detached sentiment without a hub to study for maximum investment. To best appreciate "Pounds" requires either hours of reflection after viewing or a second trip to the multiplex, and I'm not convinced the film is worth such dedication. Engaging Emily further than anyone else on his list, Ben unearths a faint sense of optimism to his miserable life, making him reconsider his ultimate plan of atonement. credentials to infiltrate their lives, Ben is searching for any sign of goodness to soothe his tattered soul, finding unique chemistry with Emily (Rosario Dawson), a young woman suffering from a heart condition that offers little in the way of hope.
#Seven pounds movie#
A murky stab at articulating emotional paralysis, "Pounds" plays dirty, selecting a path of confusion to unfurl its ache, resulting in a near absence of psychological or emotional connection the movie is absolutely desperate to conjure.Ī traumatic event has shaken Ben Thomas (Will Smith) to his core, leaving him fixated on the trauma of several strangers (including Woody Harrelson and Bill Smitrovich) in ways that are not immediately clear. All of this makes Seven Pounds an insult to the intelligence of most moviegoers.The tears flow like a raging river in "Seven Pounds," the latest Oscar-baiting step from Will Smith to solidify himself as an actor for all seasons. Expert filmgoers will be able to piece the whole thing together very early on, and most everyone else will know at about the halfway mark.
#Seven pounds full#
To make matters worse, Muccino doesn't even do a credible job of keeping the supposedly earth-shattering secret - an event finally depicted in full during the movie's climax. In order to avoid this pitfall, the director confuses the audience - distracting us with a series of tear-jerking moments (cue the children's choir and the feeble senior citizens) - so that we never consider the most troubling aspects of the main character. And, since this is a Will Smith star vehicle through and through, the director can't afford to leave you with any doubt about Ben's saintliness. But on the other hand, his behavior toward other characters - especially his humiliation of the blind customer-service rep, Ezra (Woody Harrelson) - would raise questions about Ben's ethics that the film doesn't want to ask because those questions would make Ben less appealing.
Granted, if Ben's motivations were clear, the romantic subplot would certainly be more poignant. In this case, the answer doesn't matter - the film would fail regardless. When a movie keeps a key piece of information away from the audience - something that explains why a character behaves the way he does - you have to ask yourself, after it's over, if the story would be any better had all the cards been laid on the table right up front. As he negotiates this new relationship - and carries on his various investigations - he also engages in cryptic conversations with a morose lawyer (Barry Pepper), cares for a pet jellyfish, and fends off haunting memories of a car accident. While staking out Emily (Rosario Dawson), an artist in need of a heart transplant, he falls in love with her. With that caveat in mind, Seven Pounds stars Will Smith as Ben Thomas, a mysterious IRS agent investigating people who either suffer from a terminal illness or live in mortal danger. The director of Seven Pounds, Gabriele Muccino, constructs the story so that a major secret stays hidden from the audience until the very end, making a spoiler-free synopsis of the movie sound either mysterious or incoherent.
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