A Few Thoughts on Gabriele Muccino’s Seven Pounds

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Off late, I have been trying to write some humour for a personal project. That's when I realised how difficult a task that is! You write and rewrite in pursuit of making others laugh to the extent that, you fail laughing while you read your own write up. Here I was, thinking it would have been so much easier to make one cry; Seven Pounds taught me something different...

The story of Seven Pounds is about Ben Thomas - played by Will Smith - who is victim to a dreadful incident from his past, of which he is quite secretive about. Traumatised by that event, he sets out to seek redemption - he decides to transform the lives of seven deserving unknown people for the better. Another word about the story will be a sure spoiler for the ones yet to watch this movie.

Now for the main q – did I like it?



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I must be honest. It's been a good 12 hours after I have watched the movie and I am still trying to decide. Somehow in its entirety, the script failed to impress me, to engage me, to consume me. I felt that there was a deliberate effort to throw me into unhappiness – I didn’t feel getting pulled in naturally. I failed to cry or giggle with the characters. The opening sequence got me hooked, but I got off the hook a few moments into the movie. Please don't get the impression that the plot is not interesting. It is! It's just that there were a lot of things happening on screen and I was watching the movie – just watching it. I don't remember feeling as if I was a part of it. The whole movie is tied in to selfless charity. But, it fails to promote the art of giving. The giver, here, doesn't seem to be getting any relief from the act – that could be a reason. Another point that I noticed was the lack of at least a few spurts of comic relief. I believe it would have done the movie a lot of good. Another thought I had was that perhaps, it would have been more effective if the suspense of Ben's past was broken somewhere mid-way rather than at the end of the movie.

Like I mentioned earlier, I loved the opening sequence – it instantly hooks you onto the screen. I loved the narration bit which said, "In seven days, God created the world. And in seven seconds, I shattered mine." The visual was also amazing. In my opinion, it complimented the monologue. Will Smith as Ben and Rosario Dawson as Emily Posa, have given exemplary performances. The makeup team needs special mention. People looked beautifully sick when they needed to. Nothing's overdone; they look weak - not shabby. There has been remarkable effort that has gone into the physique of these characters. For example, when all the jigsaw pieces of the drama finally found their place, I noticed how convincing and different Michael Ealy, who plays Ben's brother in the movie, looked in the few scenes that he appears at different points in time. And, oh yes, I really love the name of the movie. I am certain there has been quite a lot of thought that has gone into it!

Having said all this, getting back to the question of whether I liked Seven Pounds or not – I am neither in love with it nor am I in a state of dislike. It has a lot of pluses and minuses. However, the minuses can be subjective. I would definitely recommend that everybody sees it. I'd love to hear more points of view. I'd love to understand if I missed or overlooked anything in the movie that stopped me from connecting.

For all those of you who have seen it already - let us debate. For all those who haven’t, please do watch it and share your thoughts…