Seven Pounds

One nice thing about working for a movie theatre company is knowing the managers. The theatres that still use physical film (not digital) still screen the prints before they open. When you build a movie you have to splice together all of the trailers and the reels of the film. And there are plenty of films that end a reel with a fade to black, which makes it very difficult to see where to splice (you have to count sprocket holes). Regardless, the point is there are plenty of opportunities for the $8/hr projectionist to screw it up--so its best to watch it once before paying customers see it.

So I watched "Seven Pounds", the Will Smith movie. The rest of this post is about the movie, so if you plan on seeing the film...DO NOT CONTINUE READING!!!

First, the film was amazing. The tone and direction was perfect; on par with Sam Mendes. The experience of watching the film was great. The viewers were sucked into this world, and taken on the emotional journey with our protagonist. Going in to this movie, I had no prior knowledge: I had never seen a preview or read anything. This is the way I prefer to watch movies. I enjoy letting the director do all the work in storytelling. This film was a great experience in storytelling, and I recommend everyone see it without any prior knowledge... so again STOP READING if you are going to see it.

Will Smith's character, Tim, is a broken man, who seeks salvation from his "sin" through sacrificing himself for others. Tim, a MIT graduate and aeronautical engineer, lives life to the fullest. He has a beautiful wife, whom he loves, and beautiful homes. While driving with his wife one night, he accidentally checks his blackberry and causes a car accident. This accident kills his wife and a bus full of six people. Tim blames himself for the accident, and decides to sacrifice himself for the benefit of seven deserving people. He donates a kidney, bone marrow, part of his liver, a lung, and finally- a heart. Its a beautiful story, and emotional. The end in particular is very difficult to watch.

Overall, the movie experience of seven pounds was fantastic. I cried at the end, because the acting is so good- it tears at your heart. I really cannot stress how great the movie is, and how it compares to an American Beauty, the Hours, or other beautiful films. However, as I walked out of the theatre something felt weird. I thought about it and realized what it was. Movies more often than not have some kind of message. This is just a natural consequence of story telling. Certainly, there doesn't have to be a message, and there are plenty of great films that don't. However, films such as this- rich dramatic pieces that deal with salvation and sacrifice, typically do. So I think that my brain was trying real hard to fit this into that frame, and figure out some "meaning".

This is a problem for me and Seven Pounds. In my mind, Tim didn't do anything wrong; he was in a car accident. Yes- he "glances" at his blackberry before the wreck, but this doesn't warrant the severe punishment that he places on himself. Had the "blackberry" been a symbol for "working too hard" or "living through work", then I would be ok. But Tim had a full life, he clearly enjoyed the beauty of the world around him, he had a great relationship with his wife, etc. So to sacrifice himself without sin seems like a strange paradox in the movie. I understand that in Tim's mind, he must pay for his action, and that makes sense. But as a viewer, am I supposed to take this as a desirable thing? Is the message that we should sacrifice ourselves for our sins? If so, then I disagree. I don't think Tim deserved such a harsh sentence for himself. If instead, I am not to infer a message, and instead just appreciate a heart-wrenching tale of redemption and self-sacrifice, then I love the movie. I just can't tear myself from my preconditioning of trying to infer meaning from movies like this.

If anyone else has seen it I would love to hear your thoughts.

Much Love,
Steve