Seven Pounds

Starring: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Michael Ealy, Barry Pepper
Directed by: Gabriele Muccino
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
2008

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: The mysterious Ben Thomas (Will Smith) has a plan in place to help seven strangers. However, his plans become more complicated when he begins to fall in love with one of the strangers (Rosario Dawson) he is trying to help.

Review:

Tim: I really enjoyed this movie. Will Smith has a strange knack for making excellent movies, no matter the genre or type. This film is a pretty powerful drama, but has some good romantic moments as well. Perhaps best of all is the fundamental mystery about who Ben Thomas is, and what it is he's trying to accomplish. This mix of drama, romance, and mystery makes for a fascinating movie. I was captivated throughout, trying to make sense of the scenes unfolding on screen. When the eventual truth comes to light, I thought it was an emotionally powerful and memorable conclusion. The film reached me on an emotional and mental level, which is hard to do. This is a very good movie.

Will Smith, as always, is fantastic. I am such a big fan of his work, and he continues his string of impressive performances. He always gives strong efforts, but his restraint here was remarkable. He played a very sad man just beautifully. I never doubted any of his emotions or intentions as I watched the movie. His performance is great. Rosario Dawson also adds in a good performance as well. I go back and forth on my thoughts of her, but she was clearly the right actress for the role here. She was sick, yet strong, kind, yet suffering. Dawson and Smith had very good chemistry together, and their scenes were among my favorites. The supporting cast is good, too, although I wish Woody Harrelson and Barry Pepper had a bit more to do.

This movie works because it is so mysterious, and while it moves along, you are entertained, engaged, and yet always wondering what the big secret will be. Knowing that I didn't have the entire story caused me to be more interested and focused than I normally would have been. This also created some lofty expectations- if the film didn't live up to the conclusion it was mysteriously moving toward, this movie could have been a disaster. Luckily, it succeeds beautifully here, and the film's conclusion is a sad yet poignantly appropriate one.

This film also works because it gives us some interesting, complex characters that are put into different situations. I thought "Ben Thomas" was a fascinating man, and I desperately wanted to know what made him tick. This is because of Smith's nearly flawless portrayal of him. Smith and Dawson also got along wonderfully on screen, and I was so desirous to know how their story would end. Because of the believable characters and the excellent performances which brought them to life, Seven Pounds was a surprisingly emotional movie that I couldn't shake for days after watching. I think this is an underrated movie that offers further prove that Will Smith is one of the greatest actors we've had.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



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