Seven Pounds
3 Waffles!

The first 6 ½ pounds is very good, but that last ½ pound stinks.

Will Smith stars as Ben Thomas – an IRS agent at the end of his rope. As Seven Pounds begins, we see him in middle of a horrible crisis, and about to commit suicide. Then, director Gabriele Muccino takes us back in time so we can see the events that lead to this moment. What happened?

What was Ben trying to accomplish?

What is his plan?

Muccino and editor Hughes Winborne fantastically make Seven Pounds part mystery, part drama, and part romance. One of the most attractive and stimulating attributes of the film is the way Seven Pounds jumps around from scene to scene to make us wonder what happened to Ben, ask what kind of life he has led, question how each moment relates to the next and challenges us try to piece it all together. The audience gets to use their minds for a while, instead of being stuck with the same old, predictable twists and turns, so that’s a welcome change. Even better, the love story is not some sappy set of scenes coldly calculated to hit all of the usual buttons. It adds intrigue to make us wonder how this story fits in with what we have seen at the beginning and throughout Seven Pounds.

Most of all, Smith delivers a virtuoso tour de force of an acting performance. The audience gets to see him display an anger we have rarely seen before, and watch him engage with Dawson in one of the year’s best love stories, even if the ending is a bit over the top (much more about that later). Then, Dawson makes the audience feel her suffering and the joy of the new love she has found, even if we are convinced, and get enough clues to realize, this may not end very well.

However, Seven Pounds massively fails with an ending that exceeds believability and reason (you might as well have aliens show up at the end or it turns out to be his sled!). After watching an enthralling, emotional movie, I was left wondering why it has to come to this conclusion. It’s so far out of left field, and such an extremely strange choice given the other 10 better ideas you and I could come up with during the closing credits. Some people, like my friend Tim Gordon liked it, so you’ll have to see Seven Pounds to argue with me.

Seven Pounds is rated PG-13 for thematic material, some disturbing content and a scene of sensuality.