Cabba's ReviewsMovie Review: Seven Pounds
December 18th 2008 23:31
Do truly good people really exist? What causes a person to do a selfless act? Is any act truly selfless? Don't we all get something from every good thing that we do? Even if it's only the satisfaction of helping another human being, if we enjoy that feeling, are we truly being selfless? There are two reasons people do nice things, one reason is good, and the other is bad. The first reason is because they enjoy helping others. They like to make other people smile, and it makes them feel good when they make someone else feel good. They do it simply because they want to. The other reason is because they hope they will get something in return; or, they are afraid of what will happen to them if they aren't nice. They don't do the nice act for someone else, they do it for themselves. The truly good people do kind acts for the first reason; the pseudo good people do it for the second. So again, do truly good people really exist?
Will Smith's latest movie, "Seven Pounds," shows us that it is indeed possible for good people to exist. "Seven Pounds" isn't so much about Smith's character, Ben Thomas, being a good person; it's about his quest to find good people. Ben, an IRS agent who has probably spent most of his life doing bad things, is trying to do something good. He has something at his disposal that, as we hear in the trailer, can "drastically change someone's circumstances." So, Ben is on a quest to find seven people deserving of this gift.
Director Gabriele Muccino, who also directed Smith in "Pursuit of Happyness," masterfully takes what sounds like a simple and, frankly, uninteresting premise, and does a fabulous job of generating and maintaining interest from the opening credits. Muccino does this by constantly raising questions, and then revealing the answers at precise moments throughout the film. Not one answer need, or should, be given any earlier or later than it is. Why does Ben behave the way he does? Ben seems like a great guy one minute, but then is inexplicably cruel to a blind man over the telephone the next. Who are these people Ben has chosen to help? Why has he chosen them? Why is he helping them? Why seven people? We know Ben is going to help these people, but how? What is his gift? Muccino expertly answers these questions sporadically throughout the film, just in time to maintain your interest and then create more.
As has come to be the norm for Will Smith, his performance is marvelous. We can tell that Ben has something inside him, compelling him to do good things. We don't know what it is, but we can see that he struggles with it. Throughout the entire film, Ben tries to retain his composure. We don't know why he's so sad, or so determined, but we can feel his pain and his struggle. Ben's quest only becomes more complicated when he falls in love with one of the women he's attempting to help. He wants to tell her the truth, and we can see that as bad as he wants to, he knows that he can't.
Smith's career has been filled with great performances that did not get the credit they deserve, and this year will probably be no different. It seems as if every time Smith gives a great performance, someone else gives the performance of their career. Is Smith going to get an Oscar nomination? The answer to that question is not clear. There have been many great performances this year. However, there is one question that needs to be answered sooner than later. When will Will Smith get the Oscar nomination, and win, that he deserves?
"Seven Pounds" is a film that makes no secret of its intention to tug at your heart strings. It will undoubtedly touch many people, and it should. It is rare in today's world to see people being good, just because they want to. One man asks Ben why he was chosen. What did he do that made him so deserving of Ben's help? Ben tells him, "You're a good man…even when you don't know people are watching you." If only we all were…
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Comment by Tania Crivellenti
Written Life
The Dancing Bug
Aussie Folly
Delirios Australianos
This good people question is one that I’ve been pondering about for a long time... Lately, I just don’t think that being selfish is always a bad thing... being selfish but helping other people, or being selfish without hurting anyone may have to do with life itself. Wouldn’t you think so?