Movie Fodder

Release Year: 2008

Director: Gabriele Muccino

Review: At it's core 'Seven Pounds' has a good premise dealing with the complicated emotions of a man who no longer has the will to live.  The problem is the impact is muddled with a clumsy plot progression and dramatic missteps.  Handling a delicate thematic premise with so little subtlety completely slashed my connection with the characters and their plight.  It was if director Gabriele Muccino was trying to hammer in a frail nail with a sledge hammer, ruining what could have been poignant moments.  When these heartfelt moments come off so on-the-nose, it completely takes away from the experience.  By the end I felt myself feeling no pity for the characters, more because it felt like I was being force fed emotion rather then experiencing it.  From the opening scene there was little doubt what Will Smith's character's motivation was, or how the story would turn out.  It never veered from the predictable.  I felt like I was being baited and I wasn't going to bite. There are salvageable messages that can be taken away from the film, and the acting by Rosario Dawson saves the film in the end, but on a whole I was disappointed that such clumsy directing took away so much.
Rating: 3/5