“Seven Pounds” is not for the strong-minded. The film that reunites Italian filmmaker Gabriele Muccino and actor Will Smith, who teamed up for 2006’s “The Pursuit of Happyness,” may be considered a dedicated equivalent of their previous work, but is actually more mysterious and circuitous.
In fact, as the movie kicks off with a series of puzzling, chronologically twisted scenes, it gives the impression of eeriness and eccentricity, thus making it hard for viewers to swallow the entire story.
One may find it difficult to discover common features between the disparate moments that emerge throughout the first half and pierce into the riddling nature of the lead character, who reveals mere bits of his intentions and thus contributes to the cryptic general appearance of the canvas.
The director’s objectives are clearly hard to achieve, as he tries to emanate sufficient delight and transmit the appropriate emotions at the same time. Although all makes sense in the end and elements begin to add up and form a homogenous whole, the plot may sometimes feel far-fetched and disarmingly bizarre.
The film opens with Ben Thomas (Will Smith) phoning 911 so as to report his own suicide. If you think this is weird, wait till you witness subsequent scenes. Following this mystifying moment, we land, willingly or not, in the past, at the beginning of what proves to be Ben Thomas’ redemption expedition.
He is an IRS agent who uses his job in order to become acquainted to strangers and inspect their lives. He initially meets Stewart Goodman (Tim Kelleher), a man who urgently needs a bone marrow transplant. A dark side of Goodman is then revealed and we realize that he owns a nursing home and treats his patients with cruelty.
In spite of the fact that viewers may not understand it immediately, Ben Thomas considers that Goodman has not passed the test.
Ben subsequently comes across Ezra Turner (Woody Harrelson), a blind telemarketer and pianist, who remains calm despite the agent’s attempts to annoy him.
Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson) enters next. She is very ill and is in desperate need of a heart donor. Ben and Emily swiftly fall for each other and live a beautiful love story that is abruptly brought to a standstill, leaving viewers puzzled once again.
After all these happenings take place, we are thrown back to the moment when Ben makes the 911 call. In addition, we discover that he feels very guilty for the death of his fiancée and six other people. By putting two and two together, Ben’s plan comes to surface and we realize that he wants to make up for the disappearances of the seven people and save seven other people’s lives.
