Will Smith deserves to be a movie star. He can pull me further into a bad movie than just about anybody else out there. That’s not to say that I thought Seven Pounds was a bad movie, but I predict a lot of people will. It’s among the more emotionally manipulative stories I’ve seen in a while, and not one of the most straightforward. Smith’s character, Ben Thomas, is an IRS agent who seems to be on a mission to find seven people who fit certain criteria. His ultimate goal is not explained, though it starts to become apparent before the filmmakers probably meant it to be.
One of his seven people is Emily Posa, a woman suffering from congenital heart failure (Rosario Dawson). She owes several years in back taxes and has large files for unpaid medical bills. She doesn’t have the strength to manage her home greeting card business, and one of her antique printing presses is broken. It’s clear that Ben wants to help her, and that maybe he’s falling for her. Of course, who could blame him, she is Rosario Dawson, even if she’s been made up to look sickly and pale.

Meanwhile he’s taken an interest in other people as well, including a blind man manning a customer service phone line (Woody Harrelson, who of course can’t be too minor a character) and a woman trying to escape domestic abuse. I won’t give away his ultimate plan.

Maybe I’m a bleeding heart sucker for movies like this, but I have to admit this one worked on me. Nothing quite gets me choked up like watching people actually being decent to one another, and making genuine sacrifices for the benefit of those around them. While I’d more quickly recommend superior films like The Visitor, Seven Pounds was much better than I expected based on the reaction of critics. Apart from the very last few moments which, I confess, actually kind of creeped me out, I found the conclusion very touching. – [DVD]

Drama

Rated PG-13

DVD Release Date: 3/31/09

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