In my recent reviews of Changeling and Gran Torino, I gave Clint Eastwood a bit of a backhanded compliment about his populist Oscar bait filmmaking. But, the man does it better than anybody today so more power to him. On the other hand, Seven Pounds represents the worst of award pandering cinema. Having much success with The Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith re-teams with director Gabriele Muccino for this attempt at a prestige indie film gussied up with big name actors.
Smith plays IRS agent Ben Thomas who has suffered some sort of traumatic experience. So much so that he seeks out seven strangers to give them a mysterious gift that will change their lives. Among those Ben finds are Ezra (Woody Harrelson), a blind piano player working as a customer service rep for a meat company. Ben calls him up only to viciously berate him with insults. Ezra remains calm the entire time and Ben finds he is worthy of his gift since he’s slow to anger. Ben also falls for another stranger named Emily (Rosario Dawson) who is in desperate need of a heart transplant. Their love story is something right out of…well…Love Story. Bits and pieces fall into place like a puzzle until the final twist even though you can probably see it coming by the end of the first act.
The screenplay was written by Grant Nieporte whose only previous writing credits include episodes of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and 8 Simple Rules. Nieporte’s sitcom experience shines through as Seven Pounds offers easy answers for difficult problems. At every preposterous turn, the film hopes you buy into it so as not to ask why none of this makes any sense.
Will Smith gets credit for stepping outside the comfort zone of his usual ”Aww…Hell naw” roles. Much like his previous turns in I Am Legend, Happyness, and even Hancock, Smith is a burdened man in search of intimate human contact. But, Seven Pounds is pompously melodramatic and, worst of all, a complete bore.
Rating: * 1/2
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