Seven Pounds – the Movie

Will Smith is showing his skills as an actor in this movie unlike many I have seen. For much of the movie, he is the only one we watch, he has to show a full kaleidoscope of emotions, and he does it superbly.

It is difficult to review this movie, since the entire story and motivation comes out of mystery. Why does an IRS agent behave so strangely? Why is he so caring and  giving one moment, why so brutal and aggressive another? Why does he keep hanging around the shadows of hospitals? Why does he follow people? And what about his former life as a rocket engineer? None of it adds up and none of it makes sense.

I found myself wondering how I can watch an entire movie and have no idea what it is about.  Will Smith’s skills kept me going. A lesser actor might have lost me.

The movie comes up with answers about 10 minutes before the end, when all strings get tied together. It is like stepping away from a large jigsaw puzzle where you only saw a few pieces near your head and never the whole picture, only to finally see the breathtaking landscape you have been working on all along.

I mentally went back through all the scenes and they started making sense. I cried. I rejoiced, and when the credits came up I knew I had just watched an eminently good movie.

So here is your review. I told you nothing about the movie itself, only that I didn’t  understand it until the very end, and that it was all worth it.

Rating: ****

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