2008
Starring: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Michael Ealy, Barry Pepper, Joe Nunez
Director: Gabriele Muccino
Runtime: 120 Minutes
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Rating: PG-13

In what just might be the most depressing film of 2008, which is an impressive feat in and of itself when you pick over the festive line-up of assassination pictures and holocaust dramas, Will smith reunites with his Pursuit of Happyness director Gabriele Muccino. While Happyness exists in the same realm of a somber tug in the heartstrings the two pictures are a world apart, and in fact Seven Pounds has more in common with Smith’s post-apocalyptic savior from I am Legend.

Like Robert Neville eking out a meager existence in self-imposed exile on Manhattan, as IRS agent Ben Thomas Smith again delivers another earnest portrayal of a tortured soul desperate to atone. A former aeronautical engineer consumed by guilt over a dark secret from his past Ben sleepwalks through his life inviting punishment. Whether berating a neglectful administrator in a nursing home or caustically mocking a blind, mild-mannered telesales operative (Woody Harrelson making the most of a small but meaty role) over his condition, Ben challenges people to judge him.

Opening in the midst of a flatly matter-of-fact 911 call where Ben reports a suicide and calmly responds to the question of “who’s the victim” with a flat “I am,” we revisit Ben’s final weeks of dutiful preparation. Ben systematically puts his affairs in order while simultaneous scouring IRS records to unearth the downtrodden and the unfortunate so that he might bequeath to these good people things which hold no value for him anymore, but will radically alter their lives; a kidney transplant for a peewee hockey coach so he might continue working with kids, a beachfront condo for a battered woman and her frightened children so that they have somewhere to start over. A discontinuation of her audit for Emily (Rosario Dawson), young artist on the transplant list buried by medical bills who befriends Ben not knowing the secrets he is hiding.

It’s a subtle yet grievous performance from Smith as a crippled human being who drifts through his last remaining days literally offloading bits of himself with the otherworld serenity of a man who has made his choices and is awaiting sweet release.

But as much as this is a story of someone who has decided to end their life, Seven Pounds is about the people we leave behind. Ben’s brother (Michael Ealy) who he has been avoiding like the plague has his own suspicions of what Ben is planning and angrily tracks him down to demand answers. Barry Pepper has a tiny but deeply affecting role as Ben’s his lawyer and lifelong best friend charged with keeping Ben’s secret and putting his posthumous arrangements into effect weeps as his attempts to dissuade Ben grow seemingly more futile.

Considerable praise must also be bestowed on Rosario Dawson who shows that given the right material she can really shine as the sickly but determined young woman who rightly wonders about this stranger inexplicably entering her life, but is simply grateful for a little human kindness.

As Emily and Ben spend more and more time together Muccino makes a few calculated plays for the teary payoff, teasing you with the prospect that perhaps Emily’s pure, unquestioning affection could be enough to bring Ben back from the edge, while her worsening condition only threatens to strengthen his resolve to step over it.

It’s a stabbing ploy so emotionally manipulative that it would embarrass Clint Eastwood, yet under Muccino’s confident, assured direction Seven Pounds leaves no hint of saccharine aftertaste and never comes across as anything less than wholly organic. In a season known for its over sentimentality and contrivance, this is the real deal and while its not a lot of fun to watch its something best digested in the company of loved ones, which in a warped and twisted way makes it perfect fodder for Christmas time.

7/10

Neil Pedley - WiFly Film Critic
www.forafewreviewsmore.com

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