Seven Pounds
posted December 17, 2008 7:43 AM
Smith successfully flexes his dramatic muscle
Cementing his reputation as the only blockbuster movie star with seemingly unflappable taste in material, Will Smith re-teams with director Gabriele Muccino (The Pursuit of Happyness) to once again flex his considerable dramatic muscles in the thoughtful, engaging Seven Pounds. Though the film can ultimately be faulted for pulling its punches and playing it safe at the very moment it should be delivering a knockout, simply having the courage to indulge in some very risky conceits at holiday time—particularly during harsh economic conditions—merits Smith and his colleagues enormous kudos. As with Happyness, Smith’s action fans will likely slough off seeing this one, leaving a solid crossover audience to push it to similar mid-level success.
Smith stars as Ben Thomas, a deeply-troubled man on what appears to be a farewell mission in life. It is implied, though never stated, that Ben has committed some great transgression—presumably in the capacity of Internal Revenue Service agent—for which he is now seeking to atone by fulfilling the life needs of seven seemingly unrelated individuals, including blind telemarketer Ezra Turner (Woody Harrelson) and cardiac patient Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson). Contrary to the film’s savvy but somewhat deceptive marketing, however, there is very little parity between the seven individuals and Ben’s attention to them. All but Emily prove to be minor figures in the story which, in the end, hews closer to the beats of a conventional Love Story-type romance than an unconventional drama. That said, Smith and Dawson are both exceptionally good in their parts, with Dawson making a compelling case for what would be a career-boosting first Oscar nomination. Other supporting turns of note include Michael Ealy as Ben’s brother, and Barry Pepper as Dan, the friend to whom he has entrusted certain responsibilities related to his painful, burdensome secret.
Still, it remains very much Smith’s film, a powerful dramatic showcase that, in the hands of a less intuitive actor, could easily have crumbled under the weight of fame and ego. But Smith’s ability to subvert his considerable celebrity for the sake of a role, almost by sheer force of will, is virtually unmatched among his contemporaries—Johnny Depp being the one noteworthy exception. As the mystery of Ben’s internal turmoil is slowly unveiled, it’s up to Smith to lend believability to the wildest of emotional swings—joy, pain, confusion, hope, desperation and enlightenment convincingly bundled into the same individual, sometimes all at the same time.
Muccino is also a far better director for this particular tale than something like Happyness, where that film’s obvious and foregone conclusion left little room to indulge even the most basic nuances of screen storytelling. Here, graced with an ambitious debut narrative script by former television writer Grant Nieporte, Muccino is more at ease, able to adeptly weave performance and pacing into a satisfying payoff.
This isn’t to say that the film is perfect—that the conclusion is merely satisfying is something of a minor disappointment. Audiences rightfully expecting the pervasive sense of gravitas that permeates the film’s first two-thirds to make a reappearance at the end may not necessarily revolt against the filmmakers’ decision to cop to convention, but neither will they experience the soaring emotional high to which the rest of the film appeared to be building.
While concessions to commercial considerations are often de rigeur where wide-release studio pictures are concerned, here it simply feels like a cowardly compromise. Whether that will translate into more or fewer dollars at the box office is impossible to discern and largely beside the point—Smith’s summertime hit Hancock was criticized for doing precisely the opposite, criticisms which it easily deflected to the tune of more than $200 million.
Box office notwithstanding, the film’s key creative participants—Smith, Dawson, Muccino and Nieporte—should all emerge winners, handily segueing to bigger and better things in the future.
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Cast: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Michael Ealy, Barry Pepper and Elpidia Carrillo,
Director: Gabriele Muccino
Screenwriter: Grant Nieporte
Producers: Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, James Lassiter, Will Smith and Steve Tisch
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG-13 for thematic material, some disturbing content and a scene of sensuality.
Running time: 118 min.
Release date: December 19, 2008
29 Comments
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mark trent said:
Great movie, Thank you all who worked on it.
December 18, 2008 4:55 PM
vkr said:
good
December 18, 2008 9:59 PM
that guy said:
just saw this movie tonight possible one of the better or best movies smith has done instead of some random stupid action movie like wild wild west or MIB(wich was good) he played the part that like this article said was suited for him only with the exception of jhonny depp but i think he makes us all think about this and the way our economy is going no wants to think about how crappy some people have it while one person is dieing as a kid doesnt know life cause of an illness most others havent had to experinence another person is worried his stocks might drop i think for the situation america is in right now this movie is amazing to show that no matter how hard we think we have it in the material world some people have real problems and they are going to die if they dont solve them
December 18, 2008 10:13 PM
Donnell G said:
Fantastic.
December 19, 2008 12:21 AM
Anonymous said:
i enjoy your eloquence. it is much appreciated to see that so many people enjoy english conventions. thanks for making my night, ill tell my english professer you said hi.
December 19, 2008 12:39 AM
Robert J. said:
Will Smith is in my opinion one of the most talented actors ever. He brings so much emotion and realisim to his characters. This movie was not at all what I expected I must say, but that is the beauty of it. The pain and emotion that I was able to feel was as if this was a part of my own life. This to me is as great if not greater than Pursuit of Happynes!!
December 19, 2008 8:08 AM
Robert said:
The best movie ive seen in a long time!!!!!!!
December 20, 2008 9:21 AM
jenny said:
Rosario Dawson and Will Smith are so good in this movie. It definitely is a tear jerker but sometimes we need on no and again. Thank you for making this movie.
December 20, 2008 1:13 PM
NOT IMPRESSED said:
AWFUL!! Extremely cryptic.
December 20, 2008 4:06 PM
Complicated said:
Emotions evoked from this movie are probably some of the most complicated I have experience at one time. It displayed how truly nothing in this world is black and white. How truly dogmatic we can be at times believing in right and wrong only. It is hard to say what exactly was right and what exactly was wrong in the film. It defintely showed the beauty of human connection. I saw really beauitful human moments in this film. I also saw incredible pain and suffering. I felt it as I watch someone conflicted with new love but committed to redemption. We are all connected, we all have this implicit pact to care for one another whether you know it or not.
December 20, 2008 8:10 PM
Ann said:
Fantastic movie. Rosario Dawson was terrific. The true star of the movie, of course, was Will Smith. We had no idea of his talent back in the days of Fresh Prince of Bellair! Seven Pounds proves he is every bit as talented as a serious actor as he is as a comedian, maybe even more so.
How many facets are there to this wonderful actor?
December 21, 2008 9:10 PM
Gabriel said:
Well, Will Smith does it again, great movie...
really touching:)
I always expect the best from Will Smith Movies, so here's one:)
December 22, 2008 9:52 AM
Amy said:
Love it!! Will Smith always seems to out do himself!
December 23, 2008 6:06 PM
amy whhitehouse said:
Movie was whack!!!!!
December 25, 2008 9:57 AM
Tyrone said:
One of the best movie this year. To me this is his Oscar movie
December 25, 2008 4:04 PM
Elaine Flanders said:
Being mislead in the past by a movie review it was with trepidation I went to see this movie. I was not disappointed in this phenomenal piece of work. When a movie has the power to move you, intellectucally, emotionally or spiritually you know that it has fulfilled it's creative purpose and can be labeled a work of art. This was a masterpiece and walking away brought gentle reflections on all that I have to be grateful for in my life.
December 26, 2008 10:38 AM
Boni from Illinois said:
I fell asleep. The last 10 minutes were the best. This movie draggggged....
December 29, 2008 1:46 PM
Luisa said:
Very touching movie.
December 30, 2008 12:10 PM
Ahmed Shawky Eygpt said:
This movie more than deserves a great five-star and five Academy Awards
January 3, 2009 8:12 AM
Anonymous said:
Ithought this movie, totally, stunk. First of all, I had no idea what the heck it was about. It was one of the worst movies I have ever seen, not to mention depressing. You want to leave the movie theatre and kill yourself, (God forbid). Life is hard enough and people are crazy, when I go to the movies I want to laugh, not leave, totally, depressed. It was, absolutely, horrible. The best line in the movie was, "There is good in you, even when no one sees it." I loved that line.
Even thought I didn't like it and I would, definitely, not recoommend it, Will Smith proves that he is a GREAT ACTOR!!!
January 3, 2009 10:35 PM
Judy said:
This movie was absolutely awful and should NEVER had been rated PG13.
January 4, 2009 8:46 AM
great movie said:
this movie was great, very emtional and heartwarming. teaches about the true life situation.
January 6, 2009 6:23 AM
paul said:
Unbelievably moving movie and love story!!!! Kudos! I loved Will and Rosario and the meaning of the film.
January 6, 2009 6:41 PM
jessie said:
this movie was engaging and it was a joy to watch Will Smith in this great film
January 9, 2009 5:54 AM
Poop said:
AWESOME MOVIE. I POOPED MY PANTS BECAUSE IT WAS SOO GOOD.
January 10, 2009 11:14 AM
Ian said:
great movie.. just watched it sunday night... made me feel that there is still good in people... will smith is a great actor...
"women can't live with them.. can't cut your heart out and give it to them lol"
January 11, 2009 3:16 PM
sniper said:
as usual he is the best
January 18, 2009 12:26 AM
Joe said:
Absolutely the most engaging film I've seen in the last few years. It seems, sadly, that these types of films (i.e. films with true meaning) are becoming more and more rare.
Masterpiece, and did I mention it was Smith's best performance to date?
February 20, 2009 10:38 PM
Bruce said:
the only thing i feel remoureful abou the movie is that a IRS agent doesn't do the good semaritan thing----it should have been obvious that anyone who doesn't believe in possibilities that don't match with reality that he was a fake
March 1, 2009 7:07 PM