HE SAID
In yet another addition to Will Smith's ever growing filmography, Seven Pounds is a surprisingly tough to critique…but don't ask me why. We watched this film over a week ago, and I have been avoiding putting my thoughts onto paper ever since. I think it's because I'm on the fence with this one. Going in to Seven Pounds, I was not very optimistic. From what little I knew about the film, I expected a love story, or a film in the vein of The Pursuit of Happyness or Hitch (other Smith offerings, and ones that I am not particularly fond of). I think Smith is strongest in the action/comedy genre (think Bad Boys, Independence Day, Hancock, etc.), and I really expected to be disappointed with Seven Pounds. And I was…but not in the way you may think.
First let's go over the positives: The overall story is unique - at least as unique as any Hollywood script can be - and it is refreshing to see something different on the big screen, especially when it seems like every other movie these days is a remake or prequel. The acting is strong all around. Will Smith, it seems, always gets it right; and Rosario Dawson, the other main lead in this film, is perfectly cast and offers a spot-on and believable delivery of her character. Also, this film is beautiful to look at. The colors and lighting perfectly fit the mood for a sometimes dark, sometimes light-hearted story.
So this film should be great, right? But it isn't, and that's why this review is so tough to write. Let me attempt to explain what went wrong:
You see, Seven Pounds is one of those films that are hard to review, because any type of plot summary would spoil the movie for a person who has yet to watch it. It is basically an atonement and redemption tale. Will Smith's character is attempting to make amends for a horrible accident that occurred in his past…one for which he feels ultimately responsible. Seven Pounds is the story of his character making amends the best he can, and it has a twist ending that you never saw coming...
Wait! Scratch that! Actually, that would have been a great film. The problem is that the twist ending was TOTALLY OBVIOUS from the VERY BEGINNING! Fifteen minutes into the film I knew exactly what was going to happen. There was no build-up of suspense leading to a last-minute revelation. The character's motivations were totally obvious throughout. I sat through the entire film waiting for an ending that, for the most part, was predetermined. And the tragedy of it all is that it would have been sooooooo easy to fix in the editing room!
It really is a shame that a movie with so much potential (dare I say Oscar-worthy potential) was marred by what was, in my opinion, an amateur mistake akin to something you might see from a first year film student. I don't know if the blame lies with the producer, director, or even the script itself. All I do know is that someone ruined what might have been the best film I've seen in the last six months.
He Said: Save yourself some money at the theater. Watch the first seven minutes of Seven Pounds, and then walk across the hall to see something else.
SHE SAID
"In seven days God created the world, in seven seconds it shattered," Ben (Will Smith) narrates at the beginning of Seven Pounds. The film continues to follow themes of atonement, redemption, love, mercy, remorse, guilt - and the repayment of unpayable debts.
Hollywood has quite a fascination with Shakespeare's (and Shylock's) demand of a "pound of flesh" in Merchant of Venice and the number seven, it seems. In the movie Se7en, one of the victims of John Doe is forced to cut a pound of flesh from his body. In Seven Pounds, Ben, the film's main character, explores Shylock's insistence on the right for revenge (and flesh) - even if it's self-imposed.
I liked the movie overall, but I really wasn't sure why. It's set up as a mystery, but about seven minutes into it, you understand that Ben's done something bad to seven people and feels a dire need to repay a dire debt. So the mystery part of it for me was more waiting for something big to change because surely it could not be just what I thought it was seven minutes into the movie. (One mystery did remain, and maybe this is what saved the movie for me. The mystery of motive. Why is Ben insistent on retribution? What is going on in his head? Is he crazy or caring?)
Ironically, I chose this film to fit with our January new beginnings theme. It was billed as Connor Cruise's film debut, which is way off. He plays a young Ben, in one scene, staring at a jellyfish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. That's it. No speaking parts at all. He's not even looking at the camera. (If I ever get a bit part in a crowd in any movie, I'm so billing it as my "film debut" without laughing now!)
The love story thread with Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson) was a bit of a surprise, as Smith's character seemed to be in no place to fall in love again and comes across most of the time as a stalker more than a suitor. But it did tie together the seven pounds theme well in the end (albeit a bit schmaltzily).
Overall, I liked the movie. It was a bit much in places - tried too hard to show the obvious, went a bit overboard in the sentiment department at times. But it did tie together most of its loose ends and there was closure in the ending.
She Said: If you're a Will Smith or Rosario Dawson fan, go see it at the theatre. If you're not, wait for its release on DVD.
THEY SAID
After reading each other's reviews, The Eskimo and Shawn always discuss the reviews (and the film, too, of course). Listen to the Seven Pounds audio commentary here or in the player below. (And find out which film The Eskimo picked to review next.)
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