7 pounds
Posted by Shee
By: Mario Bautista
Will Smith has been nominated in the Oscars several times but he has yet to win. He probably thinks "Seven Pounds" will do the trick. Trouble is, the Oscar voters totally ignored it, unlike his "Pursuit of Happyness" for which he got nominated. Both films are directed by Gabriele Muccino, an Italian.
Told in a non-linear fashion, it starts with Will calling up 911 to say someone's committing suicide and it's him. From there, the movie is told in a series of flashbacks that might confuse slow-thinking viewers. Ostesinbly, Will plays an IRS agent named Ben Thomas. Later we learn that he studied in the prestitious Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was really a rocket scientist. He used to live in a beautiful house by the ocean but he has given this up to stay in a small motel where he has deadly jellyfish in an aquarium for a pet. More sporadic flashbacks show him being involved in a car crash that changed his life.
He is presently investigating some seven people. One is Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson), who needs heart transplant but she has a rare blood time so a donor is long time in coming. Another one is Ezra (Woody Harrelson), a blind pianist in need of a pair of new eyes. There's also a boy in need of a bone marrow transplant and a battered Hispanic woman (Elpidia Carillo of "Babel") who needs to escape from her abusive boyfriend.
At first, you'd think Ben is an uncaring asshole who abuses Ezra on the phone. But his mysterious actions all have a valid explanation and he obviously has a specific plan as he even persuades his friend (Barry Pepper) to help him carry it out. In the end, you'd either conclude that he's a saint on a mission of redemption or just a conscience-stricken sonovabitch who should really pay for his sins. Enough spoilers now. Suffice it to say that the film is an unabashed tearjerker whose main aim is to make you cry with all its plot contrivances aimed to elicit so much sentimentality.
Honestly, despite the silliness of some of the plot turns, it did succeed in moving us in that scene where Emily and Ezra finally meet. Heartbreaking but manipulative and cheap. But in hindsight, what Ben should have done is seek professional help as a grief counselor can assist him sort out his guilt feelings in a more productive way.
And why did he allow himself to get so close to Emily, even going to bed with her, when he already has resolved what he meant doing? Didn't he even consider what he might feel after the conclusion of his plan? It's just so unfairly cruel for her to be treated that way. Didn't the director realize this or he just chose to ignore to give his movie a semblance of romance? As for the acting, Smith is a charming actor with lots likeable charisma, but he's attempt here at serious acting looks so awkward in some scenes with a perpetually pained expression plastered on his face. Honestly, he entertained us more as "Hancock".
Will announces at the very start of the movie: “It took God seven days to create the world, and it only took me seven seconds to shatter mine.” With regard to this, a legitimate question the film raises is: are some sins really unforgivable? Of course, from the Christian point of view, the question is rethorical since God gave us His only Son to save us from our sins. We think the Oscar-nominated film, "The Reader" (for which Kate Winslet might win her first Oscar best actress award) explores this theme of guilt and pain in a more profound and affecting manner. If ever, the most successful message the movie imparts is that when you drive, don't text.
