Seven Pounds Review
by Michael Dequina (themoviereport AT gmail DOT com)December 21st, 2008
_Seven_Pounds_ (PG-13) *** (out of ****)
Will Smith's reunion with his _The_Pursuit_of_Happyness_ director Gabriele
Muccino, _Seven_Pounds_, is a remarkably
demanding film--but not so much for the reasons
one would expect. The fractured narrative
structure is nothing compared to what it simply,
sincerely asks of its audience: to completely
surrender to unabashed, heartfelt emotion. It's
a bold demand to run so defiantly counter to
audiences' cynical reflexes, but the filmmakers
and especially the actors so gracefully go about
the task that giving in to the sentimental spell
should be done so without shame or guilt.
Helping defuse the threat of an overly
saccharine journey is the nonlinear storytelling
strategy adopted by writer Grant Nieporte. Much
like the willfully abstract marketing campaign,
the film unfolds like a puzzle as it follows the
unusual mission of tax collector Ben Thomas
(Smith), who insinuates himself into the lives of
a cross-section strangers. The mystery of his
motivation may be the primary selling point, but
the true concern of the film emerges once Ben
settles his focus on Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson),
a young woman suffering from a heart
ailment. Smith and Dawson (paired to much
greater effect here than in _Men_in_Black_II_)
share an effortless, beguiling rapport, and as
Ben and Emily's relationship gradually evolves
from tentative friendship to something that may
approach love, so does the heretofore enigmatic
film patiently develop a most straightforward,
relatable, and touching emotional core.
As such, that it is quite possible to
solve the central mysteries some time before the
final revelations proves to rather beside the
point. (Actually, that it can be deduced is a
testament to how fair the script plays; a second
view reveals all the pieces to be plainly laid
out, with no false moves or tricks solely in the
name of shock.) The film reveals itself to be
not so much about the question of what exactly
drives Ben (or, for that matter, whatever
surprise value it may or may not hold for the
viewer) than its potential effects, in particular
those on the burgeoning feelings between him and
Emily. Nieporte and Muccino's shuffling of the
timeline to obscure the truth may be a
manipulative device, but it is an effective one;
regardless of if one has it all figured out, the
secrecy and uncertainty sustains an ominous
spectre over the developing romance, very much
parallel to how one of the film's repeated music
cues is beautifully melodic until it hits an
off-pitch note that serves as a harsh, disorienting reminder of reality.
And the proceedings, however innately
melodramatic they may be, indeed bear the ring of
reality because of the lead pair. Smith
initially, deceptively seems awkward and ill at
ease as Ben runs the gamut of temperaments with
no apparent mooring, but the whole of his
accomplishment becomes especially clear in
retrospect; his nuanced depiction of Ben's
conflicted, often contradictory actions and
feelings again prove the range behind the
megastar aura. But one cannot help but
undervalue his work when opposite Dawson's
revelatory performance. The film is unthinkable
without her radiant, subtly poignant Emily:
vulnerable yet not weak; brave yet not immune to
fear; both confounded and exhilarated by the
possibilities presented by sudden,
ever-increasing, ever-inexplicable attention, her
work not only reinforces but embodies what the
film has to say about what is ultimately its real
central mystery: that of direction, connection, love, and life.
That _Seven_Pounds_ dares to go there
makes it easy to dismiss as schmaltz, and that
the sentiment is conveyed with such committed
sincerity makes it feel almost foreign--and,
indeed, the film's gentle touch makes it more
akin to a work from Europe or Asia than
contemporary, irony-programmed Hollywood. For
many, giving in may be just too much to ask, but
those willing to let the film, its characters,
and messages wash over them will find something
at once heartbreaking, inspiring, and altogether beautiful.
(c)2008 Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
[email protected]
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