‘Seven Pounds’ has Smith. That’s all you need to know. (4/5)

Seven Pounds

Starring: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson.
Directed by: Gabriele Muccino.
Rating: PG-13 for thematic material, some disturbing content and a scene of sensuality.
Running time: 2 hours, 3 minutes.

Really, what more do you need in a movie than Will Smith? Since “Bad Boys,” Will Smith seems to be an untouchable encapsulation of everything that is acting. He excels in comedy, action, drama and romance.

“What’s it about again? Oh, Will Smith is in it? OK.”

Smith once again flexes his talent in Gabriele Muccino’s “Seven Pounds,” reunited two years after their collaboration on the dramatic “Pursuit of Happyness.”

The movie kicks off with a distraught Ben Thomas (Smith) reporting a suicide to 911. When asked who the victim is, Thomas replies “I am.”

In a flashback, the audience learns of Thomas’ nuanced and tortured character, which Smith plays so convincingly that I may end up calling him “Ben Thomas” from now on. It quickly becomes evident that Thomas is on a quest to find people in order to give them a type of gift.

Thomas’ phone confrontation with the blind Ezra (wonderfully portrayed by Woody Harrelson) will leave you gaping in a “Did that really just happen?” kind of way, not to mention leave you reeling in confusion. Despite Harrelson’s short amount of screen time, Ezra quickly became one of my favorite characters of the film.

Smith’s co-star is Rosario Dawson, who stands her own beautifully against Smith as the fun, upbeat yet terminally ill Emily Posa.

Despite the strong cast, the film’s two-hour running time seemed to drag quite a bit in spots. Also, many of the secondary characters who are vital to the central theme of the plot are barely fleshed out, and at times merely briefly mentioned. Instead, the movie focuses on Thomas’ connection with Posa, an important but perhaps overplayed plotline.

“Seven Pounds” is a mysterious film about sacrifice, redemption, guilt, atonement and the possibility (or impossibility) of self-forgiveness. Its message will stay with you long after the TV is turned off.
A full explanation of the movie’s title would require multiple “spoiler alert” flashing neon signs; suffice it to say that “Seven Pounds” alludes to Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice.” Appropriate, as the film works as a modern-day Shakesperean tragedy.

While the movie was beautiful, bold and innovative, it begs the question of whether it would have been as popular without Smith at the helm. And actually, the film didn’t do as well as producers had hoped it would, placing after “Yes Man” the weekend of its opening. Though admittedly Smith is a major drawing point of the movie, the film’s creative and convincingly dramatic story is worthy of being seen.

4 of 5 stars