“Seven Pounds” is a thought provoking film which will test the drawing power of Will Smith. It poses many questions and is hard to watch at times. This is one of those movies that will get audience members talking afterwards and stick in their mind for a long time.
Will Smith plays Ben Thomas, a suicidal IRS agent living on the brink. We see him early on calling 911 and telling the operator that he is going to commit suicide. The movie then switches to flash back mode to see how he got to this point. The phone call might shock some Will Smith fans thinking this will be another fun popcorn movie from him. Hopefully these fans will give the film a chance and let it draw them in.
Smith is one of the smartest actors in Hollywood. He picks his roles with such precision and knows what people like to see. He also likes to challenge himself. He will do the crowd pleasers like “Hancock” and “Hitch” and follow them up with more serious fare such as “The Pursuit of Happyness”, “Ali” and this film.
Smith is brilliant in “Seven Pounds”. It is his finest work as an actor. Charm comes easily for him. It is a big reason why he is a huge star. In “Seven Pounds”, he gets to show anguish, anger, hopelessness and a loss of control that you hardly ever see from Smith.
Ben Thomas investigates whether people should get extensions for the taxes that they owe. He does this in meticulous fashion. He wants to know the person behind the social security number. You don’t see the usual glint in Smith’s eyes when he makes these visits. This is the main strength of the performance. You don’t see Will Smith trying to play Ben Thomas. You see Smith enveloping Thomas and making him a fully realized character.
Director Gabriele Muccino does a great job peeling off the layers of the life of this troubled man. He shows flashbacks from Ben’s childhood and glimpses of a traumatic event that changed everything. Muccino previously explored new depths for Smith in “The Pursuit of Happyness”. He knows how to get every ounce of sweat and blood out of him. There is a great amount of trust between Smith and Muccino that shows on the screen.
On one of his visits, Ben meets up with a woman with a heart condition (Rosario Dawson). Emily doesn’t know why Ben is showing such interest in her situation. Dawson and Smith have great chemistry. Both characters are wary of the other. They don’t want to get too close, but they seem drawn by something that can’t be explained.
Woody Harrelson has a quality small role as a blind customer service rep. It is a nice change of pace for Harrelson since this character is not quirky or a bit off in any way. There are other good roles to be had in “Seven Pounds”. They may not seem like much at the time, but they each have a hand in the fate of Ben Thomas. Michael Ealy plays Ben’s brother and he is naturally concerned with Ben’s erratic behavior. He tries to reach out to Ben with little success. Ben avoids his calls and is short with his brother when they do connect.
“Seven Pounds” is easy to figure out in some ways, but harder to crack in other areas. It really is all about the journey that this man takes. “Seven Pounds” is a fascinating movie that explores faith, redemption, life, death and how a few seconds can change the lives of many people. This is a movie that will touch even the most cynical in all of us.