Sacrificing a lot
I had heard about Seven Pounds wasn’t a great film. The build up wasn’t believable and the ending certainly didn’t fit the mold that most people were expecting. With that said, I can tell you that those people are dead wrong.
Seven Pounds is a movie about internal suffering. Our main character, Ben Thomas (Will Smith), is in a zone picking out people in the public who have suffered in some way and intends on helping them out. Methodical and suffering from his own loss, which I won’t mention, he sets a plan in motion that will not only change the lives of these strangers, but also his own dramatically.
I had an incredibly tough time watching this film. Mainly because halfway through it I knew what was going down. There wasn’t much given away to that point, but I can certainly relate to where this character was at one point in his life. When you have something traumatic happen to you in life, something that is so mind-blowing that you find your world completely flipped upside down, you strive to sacrifice parts of your life to help better others. Ben Thomas has had something terribly tragic happen in his life, which puts his life completely in perspective. I’m not going to give away what it is, because you need to find out, but the moment opens his eyes to a world he forgot about or ignored. He sees people suffering around him and he wants to help everyone out to fill that void that he has from the tragedy that he experienced. People actually go through this, so please don’t discount it.
Throughout the film he gives away his prized possessions and sets up the movie for a dramatic ending where everyone that was a player in the story gets some gift in return for their kindness and suffering. It’s pretty neat to see lives changed and how one person can make everyone better, without thinking about themselves. Again, it’s amazing and it’s very believable.
Not to knock on critics, but how in the world could you not understand/like this film? It’s straightforward, keeps on task and maybe isn’t the right flavor that you expected, but it’s nonetheless dramatic and it works well. For people who have never experienced this type of void, who have never been this low in life that the only thing you’ve got is to give back to everyone else (and basically warn them), those types of people just won’t get this type of film. It’s a shame, but it’s true and hopefully one day they understand what was happening here.
Now, the ending (which I won’t reveal) has been the question of controversy in this film. How Ben Thomas finishes the story has been taken as goofy. I’m not sure I would call it that, but if you look at it logically (keeping in mind that he does it this way for a reason), it makes complete sense. Don’t listen to the critics (hell avoid me if you have to) check out Seven Pounds. It may not deliver the message that you want, but it certainly brings up a realistic situation about what would happen if you found your life completely going 180.
As blu as the ocean filled with jellyfish
Quite possibly one of the most beautiful Blu-rays I have had the pleasure to grace my eyes upon. The cinematography is well done, as you’ll get a lot of bright/shiny/well-lit moments in most scenes. You’ll find graceful touches of sunsets and beautiful beaches that look absolutely breath-taking in HD. Add that to a nice soundtrack and gorgeous audio coming in at 5.1, you’re going to be in heaven. Don’t forget to admire the jellyfish too, just not too close (kidding).
As for features, here’s what you’re getting:
- Deleted Scenes
- 4 Featurettes:
- Seven Views on Seven Pounds
- Creating the Perfect Ensemble
- The Box Jellyfish: World’s Deadliest Co-Star
- Emily’s Passion: The Art of the Printing Press
- Commentary with Director Gabriele Muccino