Two movies in two days - well that's exactly what I've done in a long time this weekend. The first one, which I had reviewed yesterday was Tom Cruise's Valkyrie, a racy thriller. Today, was exact opposite - Seven Pounds, an emotional drama with a lumbering pace.
So, getting down to the verdict - well if you can sit through the whole movie, you'll come out with a lump in your threat. The movie, running around two hours, is, for most of the part very slow, and only picks up in last 20-25 minutes. The team of "The Pursuit of Happyness" gets together to tell another touching tale. However, the second act isn't as good as the first one. For first hour, it's just various things happening in patches and you can't really connect to the whole plot. Even with the iconic Will Smith present, the film almost manages you to put to sleep in this first hour, and you might as well be tempted to leave the theater. But...only if...you hang for few more minutes the movie comes into its own and makes you crouch for all the incidents start to connect and brings out a remarkable story.
The film starts with Ben Thomas (Will Smith) blasting the blind customer care person, Ezra Turner(Woody Harrelson) and saying the meanest things about him being blind. Ben tries to contact a number of people - Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson), who is running a huge debt; Connie Tepos (Elpidia Carello), who is regularly abused by her boyfriend; Holly (Judyann Elder) who needs a liver. And Ben is trying to help these complete strangers, going out of his way to do so. Things keep happening, with Ben never revealing much about himself to anyone, including Emily, who he falls in love with. Ben keeps getting nightmares about a car crash, which killed seven people, including his family. It's only in the last 20-25 minutes that you get to see all the pieces weave together to spin a touching, heart-wrenching tale.
It's definitely not something that'll cheer you up much, so I'll say keep the movie to some time when you are feeling a bit low, a bit philosophical about life and just wanna be alone. It'll warm your heart.
And the title, Seven Pounds? Well, I still can't figure out why did they name the film so. My guesses include It's seven people whom Ben tries to help, as he was responsible for death of seven people. May it's because...well, that'll be revealing the plot too much. The performances are okay. Both Will Smith and Rosario Dawson have given superb performances. However, there isn't much to do for masters like Woody Harrelson.
So, sombre down a bit, relax and don't get out in the middle...it's worth watching the complete movie.
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