Seven Pounds
Movie Review
"Seven Pounds"
Review by Eric D. Snider
Grade: C
Rating: PG-13
Released: Friday, December 19, 2008
Directed by:
Cast:
This is going to be one of those reviews where people say I went easy on what they consider to be a terrible, terrible movie. I can certainly see that point of view, though I think the movie leans more toward mediocre than terrible. It's definitely not good, though. That's the important thing.
Oh! The movie. It's "Seven Pounds," and it stars Will Smith as a man who does some things, and Rosario Dawson as a woman he meets, and that's just about all I can tell you without spoiling anything. You see, the movie itself doesn't really tell you what it's about until near the end. You gotta watch 100 minutes of ... miscellaneous activity ... before you get a sense that it's actually going anywhere. And then, where it goes? Not very interesting.
Here's what we learn early enough in the film that revealing it here is fair. Smith plays an IRS agent named Ben Thomas who, in a flash-forward snippet from later in the story, seems to be suicidal. He's looking for people whose taxes are in arrears due to major medical problems, apparently in search of someone who deserves leniency from the IRS. One of the people he meets is Emily Posa (Dawson), who has heart problems. One of those problems might be that it's gonna get broken by Ben Thomas.
In one scene, Ben speaks in a cruel, haughty fashion to a blind customer-service representative (Woody Harrelson), then hangs up the phone, seems furious with himself, and chants a litany of seven names. In other scenes, he spends a lot of time with Emily yet refuses to tell her anything about his past, though flashbacks shown to us include visions of a wife or girlfriend.
Ben's insistence on remaining an enigma is troublesome. You know how people in real life who go out of their way to seem mysterious or interesting are really just annoying? Turns out that applies to fictional people, too. Movies that insist on hiding their plots for three-quarters of their running time are also a trial of one's patience.
Everything is melancholy and weepy, directed by Gabriele Muccino, who also made Smith's "The Pursuit of Happyness," and blandly written by Grant Nieporte (a TV transplant). Smith and Dawson work awfully hard to make it tolerable, though, and they nearly succeed -- Smith because of his natural charm (even in the service of a movie that only wants him to be a saintly martyr), and Dawson because she manages to be soulful and honest even when surrounded by a vague, second-rate story.
Grade: C
Rated PG-13, a little mild profanity, a little mild sexuality
1 hr., 58 min.
Copyright © Eric D. Snider.
This work may not be transmitted via the Internet, nor reproduced in any other way, without written consent from Eric D. Snider.
This item has 18 comments
December 19, 2008 at 8:17 am
Okay, I don't plan on watching this movie, so someone who has seen it post some spoilers in the comments.
I don't want to waste 80 minutes and $9 to know what the movie is actually about. So the movie companies have slapped Will Smith's grinning mug on a piece of crap and said buy this because... WILL SMITH!!!
December 19, 2008 at 8:57 am
I don't want to see this, either, but I have to admit I do love Will Smith. He's certainly come a long way since his Fresh Prince days. His performance in I Am Legend was incredible. The movie, not so much, but his performance was heart wrenching.
December 19, 2008 at 9:31 am
I haven't seen it (but a friend has), so here's your SPOILERS--
Will's character blames himself for killing 7 people in a car accident (including his loved ones), and is going to commit suicide by sacrificing himself to save 7 others in order to gain redemption (at least in his troubled mind). I love Will Smith (who is extremely underrated and underused as an actor), and it still sounds too dumb to ever even consider.
December 19, 2008 at 11:21 am
Alaska Boy has most of it (and notice the nifty new "spoiler" HTML tag you can use when you post comments!), but to explain a little further:
The way he's "sacrificing" himself to save seven others isn't just metaphorical but literal: His heart and eyes are used as transplants for Rosario Dawson and Woody Harrelson; before he dies he donates bone marrow to a needy boy (and does it without anesthesia, so he can fully punish himself by feeling the pain); and so on.
The problem is that it takes forever to finally lay all that out for us, and in the meantime we're stuck just watching this random story and wondering whether it's going anywhere.
December 19, 2008 at 3:19 pm
That spoiler HTML tag is awesome!
December 20, 2008 at 12:42 am
So, the instant I saw this movie and heard the helping seven people thing, I thought, "Is this going to be a pound of flesh sort of thing? Didn't that happen on House once?"
December 20, 2008 at 8:40 am
I have to admit that I am surprised by the negative reaction to this movie by most critics, including Eric, with whom I usually agree. Up front, I have to admit that I appear to be out of touch with the mainstream when it comes to appreciation of tearjerkers. I thought "The Pursuit of Happyness" was cheesy and manipulative and didn't like the movie. However, from reading the reviews, it seems like that is reaction that most critics are having to "Seven Pounds." I really enjoyed this movie and found the acting (especially from Smith and Dawson) outstanding.
Addressing the other criticisms without too many spoilers:
As far as leaving the audience confused for most of the movie...Granted, for the first 15 minutes you are almost totally in the dark, but in short order you see (1) flashbacks to a wife/girlfriend that is longer around, (2)flashbacks of Smith's character where he appears to be happy/jovial but now his demeanor is always serious/sad (3) flashbacks to a career involving aerospace that he no longer participates in, and (4) his current career that regularly involves helping people. So, from those four nuggets it is pretty easy to deduce that (1) Something happened to his wife/girlfriend, (2) whatever happened made him very sad, (3) so sad, in fact, that it caused him to change careers (4) for a motivation that appears to be redemption. That's all you need to know to watch the rest of the movie (and all of that is revealed within the first half hour.) I simply viewed the movie as a character study (at which it is excellent) not as whodunnit or plot-twister. If you are constantly waiting for the reveal (which I wasn't) I guess I could understand how you could become frustrated with this movie.
As far as the plot being manipulative and depressing...If you go with premise, I don't know how Smith's character could have behaved any other way than he did or how the subject matter could have been any different. Really, if you accept the premise, you don't expect Smith's character to to have any scenes taking a night off to go have a few beers and watch the game with the boys during the time span of the movie.
That's all I'll say about the plot.
I've never commented on one of Eric's reviews before (or any review for that matter) but, I did on this just because I was really moved by the movie last night and was shocked to log in this morning and read so many negative reviews. I guess maybe I enjoyed it so much because I knew absolutely nothing about the movie before I watched it (it was the only movie playing at the cineplex at the time we arrived last night) and I think that is definitely the best way to watch this movie. Anyway, highly recommend it (in a rare disagreement with Eric.)
December 20, 2008 at 10:15 am
Jacob, I'm going to be charitable and assume they were going for a "Merchant of Venice" reference.
December 20, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Was the movie slow? Yes, but just as Ryan said, it could be pieced (at least the gist of things) together after 30 minutes. I liked it. It wasn't great but it wasn't terrible either. I left thinking about being a better person and what does it REALLY mean to help someone. This was more of a soul searching flick. If it's not your bag, you might not dig it.
December 22, 2008 at 3:20 pm
I watched this movie today and without knowing anything about it, if one is paying attention after about 30 minutes a fairly clear picture is painted of what is going to happen. There was only one minor twist at the end, but the major "twist" of what is actually happening is not there if one pays attention. I felt that it was indeed a soul searching movie and that it was more intended to help people introspect rather than to simply entertain for two hours. There is a lot of meat there. While this could not have happened in real life, in movie land this movie worked for me. Well done Will.
December 25, 2008 at 4:27 pm
For the simple reason that Rosario Dawson was Remarkable you have to see. The problem with Will is he makes it look to simple. He has grown as an actor and we just arent used to seeing this from him. The story was pretty predictable but I say one of the best Dramas out this year.
December 26, 2008 at 5:49 pm
I saw the movie with an open mind and was surprised by the depth of the story and acting of both Rosario Dawson and Will Smith. Like Allan says, we aren't used to seeing Will in a tender, dramatic role and it takes one by surprise. I say see the film without any expectations and let the story lead you on Ben's (Will Smith's) journey. It might influence a positive change in your life, (hint) it did for me.
December 28, 2008 at 9:07 am
I would have to put it in my ten worst movie category
December 30, 2008 at 11:24 am
This movie is brilliant. It draws you to the story line by getting you to ask questions and it delivers. The story line is well thought through and original. The characters are believable and very interesting. Most of all, I respect that this movie didn't force itself on me. The director is very crafty at presenting the material and letting you come to your own conclusion about it. The only way a person can justify bashing such a rare hollywood gem is if they don't connect emotionally with the film. The impact of the film relies heavily on whether or not the audience connects emotionally and if they don't, they won't really like it. It's not a comedy, a romance, or a crowd pleaser but it is an amazing piece of work and I feel sorry for those that can't appreciate it.
January 22, 2009 at 6:46 am
This film is appalling on several levels, though it does deserve a "C" based solely on mindless entertainment value. First, the plot is obtuse. Yes, we know in the first 30 minutes that Will Smith is/was a successful and wealthy aeronautics engineer; he calls in his own suicide; he had a beautiful significant other that is now out of the picture; and that he is now an IRS agent. This does not help us understand the picture at all because Hollywood (and Smith, in particular) love to invoke supernatural powers in his films, so we don't know whether to take these items literally or as some sort of parallel universe.
We then see him abuse a blind vegan meat salesman for no apparent reason- and only later learn that this is to "test" his kindness. Why not abuse everyone that you wish to help? He later keeps a fragile jellyfish alive in tap water from a seedy motel- I don't care if he added salt later, the jellyfish would have died within hours- but I digress. He beds down one of the recipients of his later "altruism", which is abhorrently manipulative and ethically reprehensible. And newsflash to all of you, we cannot determine the recipients of our organs after death- this is impossible and illegal. Also, we medical scientists do not transplant irises and full globes of our eyes, just corneas. Self annihilation for noble purposes is repugnant to any medical ethicist- so maybe you should find other avenues for your charity.
I hated this film on so many levels. Will Smith has lost all credibility with me in his film choices.
April 8, 2009 at 10:14 am
He also gave his house to the battered woman to start over again. But what did he give to the hockey coach? Did I miss it?
July 20, 2009 at 4:59 pm
He gave him his kidney, I think. I had a problem with the movie's message that suicide is okay as long as you're helping other people before it happens, and that it's also okay if you had accidentally taken the lives of others. I would have felt somewhat differently if Will Smith's character, who also lied about who he was (among several other things) and seemed kind of stalker-ish toward Rosario Dawson's character, wasn't meant to look like such a hero in this film. And harassing Woody Harrelson's blind character at the diner to "test his humbleness" didn't make sense either.
October 4, 2009 at 6:31 pm
I don't get out to movies much since my wife no longer goes and I don't like going alone. So, for me, movies are "new" when they hit my premium satellite channel. This movie just showed up.
I'm glad I didn't read the reviews (or spoilers) ahead of time. I really enjoyed the movie, although I understand the criticism I see here because it was opaque for the first little while. Perhaps because I was able to back up and rewatch something if I missed it the first time - an opportunity not available in a movie theater - I didn't remain in the dark for as long as some others seemed to.
I found this to be a really remarkable performance by Will Smith. I hope he does more such sensitive roles between his action films.