Film of the week: Seven Pounds (12A)

Damon Smith • Published 26 Jan 2009 08:00 0 Comments

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Do you want to know a secret? Huddle closer, so no one else can hear.

Will Smith's perplexing new film, a meditation on life and death that reunites him with director Gabriele Muccino (The Pursuit Of Happyness) and conceals a hush-hush final reel revelation, is a monumental tease.

The twist, which brings clarity to the intentionally fractured narrative, is blindingly obvious from the pedestrian, opening 15 minutes.

So obvious, you spend the rest of Seven Pounds convinced that first-time feature-film screenwriter Grant Nieporte must have an ace concealed up his sleeve to justify all of the subterfuge and ambiguity.

Sadly, what you see is what you get with Muccino's emotionally manipulative film, and what you get is a terribly earnest tale of self-sacrifice and redemption, which affixes a makeshift halo to Smith, casting him as a broken man with a secret who seeks absolution in the most ridiculous way imaginable.

We can't discuss the ending without spoiling the moral conundrum for the few audience members who might not see what is staring them in the face.

Be assured, it's overblown and unintentionally funny, milking crocodile tears from half the supporting characters.

"In seven days, God created the world. In seven seconds, I shattered mine," narrates IRS tax collector Ben Thomas (Smith) in voiceover, shortly after we see him dial 911 to report his own suicide.

In flashback, we watch as Ben tracks down seven strangers whose fates are somehow connected to his own, including Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson), a single woman with a serious heart condition, blind pianist Ezra Turner (Woody Harrelson) who works in telephone sales, physically abused Hispanic wife Connie Tepos (Elpidia Carrillo), and generous hockey coach George Ristuccia (Bill Smitrovich).

Some of the chosen ones, like overworked doctor Stewart Goodman (Tim Kelleher), turn out to be bad eggs and are hastily discarded.

As he worms his way into these people's lives, Ben conceals a curious truth: that the strangers all have roles to play in a grander endeavour.

However, a burgeoning romance with Emily and a series of urgent telephone messages from Ben's brother (Michael Ealy) threaten to distract him from his goal.

All the while, best friend Dan (Barry Pepper) waits nervously for the signal to start the loopy enterprise.

"Do what you promised me. We have a plan," barks Ben.

Seven Pounds is unabashedly mawkish, tugging our heartstrings until they are sore by revealing a mosaic of heartbreak, regret and guilt.

The murky cinematography of the opening scenes bleeds into colour once Ben meets Emily but it's hard to invest in their romance when we know so little about his intentions or her role in the scheme.

Smith's performance comprises an array of nervous smiles and furrowed brows, which mirrors our own bemusement as Nieporte's script treads water, bloating the film by at least 30 minutes.

This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 22 Jan 09

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