Saturday, January 3, 2009

SEVEN POUNDS

SEVEN POUNDS
Will Smith, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson


"Seven Names. Seven Strangers. One Secret."




Will Smith in a serious dramatic role is just as believable as any of his funny, goofy characters in his comedic roles. He's good, period!

In this movie, he plays a depressed IRS agent named Ben Thomas who is on a personal quest to atone himself for his horrific past. Here, Will Smith as befitting his role looks haggard and forlorn. A deeply troubled man trying to stay on the path of his decision. His character looks totally dejected that you can't help but feel his agony. A well acted convincingly realistic portrayal.

There are also good solid performances from the supporting cast like Rosario Dawson, Barry Pepper and Woody Harrelson. Their vital roles added some heart and soul to the overall dramatic effect/vibe of the film.

The plot is basically a tragic story but filled with poignant scenes of hope, new beginnings and a deep belief in the kindness of mankind. In between all the depressing storyline, a real pure love story develops and it envelopes you within its intimate, feel good warmth albeit with sad streaks of looming tragedy. Running at a little over 2 hours, the pace of the film can be slow during certain sequences. Clues about the traumatic event are shown in flashback format throughout the movie. But if you are clever enough you can more or less guess what really happened. The film sort of picks up and reaches its crescendo at a fast pace with a big reveal/twist right before the ending.

So regardless of whether you agree or not with the decision of Ben Thomas, this film can make you ponder about just how precious life really is.

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