Seven Pounds

Will Smith is Ben Thomas the IRS agent with the power to dramatically alter the lives of seven people. Thomas whose intentions are not made clear until as late as possible in the film behaves in an unpredictable and secretive way throughout the film. As it seems to be frowned upon to reveal the "twist" of the film, I won't do that. But, then there is not much framework to build a review on.

I think there is an unwitting pun in Will Smith's ability to alter the lives of seven people "dramatically," because from start to finish, the film is set to look like a thriller, unnecessarily. I feel that without the elaborate way the story is told, there is enough emotional strength in the idea to keep the film going. I also feel that the trailers gave me an expectation that there would be seven stories tied together, but in the end it was one story with seven elements to it, the biggest being the final revelation.

The film explores a karma-based worldview and the idea of meriting good and having to make up for evil. Firstly, the guilt and remorse which drives Smith's character and his desire to make amends for his past. Secondly, Smith weighs up whether someone is good enough before he does his act of kindness to them. Do people have to deserve kindness? Smith seems to make an exception when it comes to giving his heart to a woman.

Overall, I was not very satisfied with this film and thought it overly tense to the detriment of the real emotional struggle which could be explored. Although I generally like the style of telling a story in a different order, I think this film, (like Slumdog Millionaire) did not benefit from the way it was advertised.

Plot Spoiler Warning:

It's extreme organ doning basically, isn't it?