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“Seven Pounds” is so smitten with the size of its heart
that it never takes the audience’s heads into consideration.
It tells the story of a man who takes it upon himself to
change the lives of seven strangers, all because of his
own painful past. For something that was intended to be
heartfelt and inspiring, I was shocked at how implausible
and self-indulgent it was. ***
I also found it a little creepy; Will Smith’s character--IRS
agent Ben Thomas--essentially spies on these strangers to
make sure that they’re decent people. He stares at them
while standing in dark corners. He retrieves their personal
information from an IRS database. And worst of all, he comes
into their lives completely unannounced and then pressures
them into following his lead. In return, he asks that he
never be tracked down. Does this sound like someone you’d
want help from? ***
I’m forced to go along with the film’s ad campaign
and not reveal why Ben is compelled to help these people.
Let’s just say that he has his reasons, and that I understood
them. His process: He uses his position of power to get
to know specific people, to determine whether or not they’re
good people that deserve to be helped. What I didn’t understand
was the ease with which everything was done; there are far
too many scenes that defy logic, not the least of which
involve Ben casually strolling into areas of hospitals that
are normally very secure. ***
Some have speculated that “Seven Pounds” is supposed
to be a fable about redemption and sacrifice, meaning that
a little suspension of disbelief is required. But I take
issue with that, mostly because I’m not entirely convinced
that Ben actually redeemed himself at the end of the film.
His actions seemed more motivated by guilt than by charity.
***
Despite the fact that he helps seven people, Ben mostly
focuses on Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson), who’s in serious
need of a heart transplant. She finds Ben interesting from
the very start, which I found impossible to believe. How
can she be so interested in a man she knows nothing about?
And why would she continue to show an interest when Ben
makes it clear that he doesn’t want to talk about himself?
Their friendship and inevitable romance felt painfully contrived,
and it doesn’t help that Ben so mysteriously enters and
exits her life. ***
The other six people are so infrequently shown that
I’m surprised they were even included. So as not to spoil
any crucial plot points, I’ll only describe two of them.
First, there’s Connie Tepos (Elpidia Carrillo), who’s too
frightened to take her children and leave her abusive boyfriend.
Is it enough that we’re only told about her abuse and not
actually shown it? ***
Second, there’s Ezra Turner (Woody Harrelson), a blind
telemarketer and pianist. His blindness is his only handicap,
so I’m not too sure why Ben wants to help him so badly.
After all, blind people are not automatically helpless.
But Ben seems to think that something is wrong, which is
why, at the beginning of the film, he tests to see if Ezra
will get angry by calling him at work and berating him for
being a coward. Personally, I don’t see how that would inspire
anyone to better themselves. ***
Emily, Connie, and Ezra, along with three other people,
all receive a gift from Ben at one point or another. What
he gives them, I’m afraid I can’t say. How he does it, I
also can’t say. What I can say is that it ties in with the
title, which I had trouble figuring out before seeing the
film. ***
The filmmakers were aiming for something meaningful,
but that’s hard to find when the story is buried underneath
layers of mystery and melodrama. At a certain point, I no
longer cared why Ben wanted to help seven strangers; I didn’t
approve of his methods, and even if I did, none of them
were believable to begin with. ***
This brings me to the ending, which would have been
touching had it not been for the logistical issues weighing
it down. The misguided emotional impact is reflected in
Angelo Milli’s score, which features a piano solo that continuously
hits a completely inappropriate dissonant chord. ***
I really wanted to like “Seven Pounds.” The idea is
solid, and goodness knows Will Smith and Rosario Dawson
are great actors. But it’s too ponderous and enigmatic for
its own good; it’s so concerned with trying to be deep and
complex that it somehow forgot to be either one. It’s a
strange, problematic film, one that wants us to guess more
than it’s willing to explain. ***
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