Seven Pounds (2008) * * 1/2

 

Directed by:  Gabriele Muccino

Starring:  Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Michael Ealy, Barry Pepper

I watched Seven Pounds for a second full viewing thirteen years after I saw it the first time.   I knew the revelations and Ben Thomas' (Smith) plan for himself and for the other people he comes into contact with, but what I noticed more this time around was how much Seven Pounds slows in the middle.   It may not be to the viewer's benefit to know what will happen because we grow impatient with Ben's awkward courtship with Emily (Dawson), a bright, sweet young woman with a weak heart.   She is in desperate need of a transplant which will save her life.   Ben is an IRS agent who doesn't act like, I would assume, many other IRS agents.   Perhaps he can help Emily and others like blind meat salesman Ezra Turner (Harrelson), who Ben angrily calls and insults in the beginning of Seven Pounds.   Why?  It's all part of Ben's plan.

I won't reveal spoilers except to say that Ben is a dutiful man who is conflicted and angry about his circumstances which become clear to us later.   Will Smith is an actor who can effectively manage what's going on inside Ben.   There are times we don't understand Ben or even like him, but Smith doesn't reveal all the cards either.   We might not be so willing to hang in there if another actor were playing Ben.   Dawson is also touching and vulnerable, but her relationship with Smith lacks chemistry and seems forced.   I understand the need for a love angle to ratchet up further tension within Ben, but this one lumbers.  

Seven Pounds may work better for those who didn't see it previously.   The revelations make sense and Ben's plan comes into full focus.  The uninitiated would be more likely to forgive Seven Pounds its trespasses.   For myself, knowing what will happen and why, I started to feel the drag as Ben begins a deep friendship with Emily which will blossom into love.   Love, unfortunately, is most inconvenient for Ben as you take into account what he plans to do.   

Ben not only contacts a seemingly random group of people, but offers to help them change their futures in ways many would find extreme, but to Ben the reasons make sense.   I strongly doubt most people would choose Ben's path, but Seven Pounds isn't based in realism, nor should it be.   First-time viewers of Seven Pounds might likely be astounded.   For repeat viewers, like me, maybe not so much.   There are powerful moments in Seven Pounds, but they may not offset how long it takes to reach them.