Seven Pounds **** (2008, Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Michael Ealy, Barry Pepper, Elpidia Carrillo) – Classic Movie Review 4622

Will Smith plays Ben Thomas, a tax investigator – or actually does he? – in this beautifully crafted, luxurious 2008 epic weepie from Italian romantic expert Gabriele Muccino, the director of Smith’s 2006 hit The Pursuit of Happyness.

A mesmerically intense air of mystery surrounds his character, troubled by a terrible secret, as he sets off on a journey of redemption that will change the lives of seven strangers for ever. Intriguingly, the movie starts, film noir-style, with him making an emergency call to report a suicide – his own! And the story grips from that moment on – to say much more would be to spoil it.

This weird but strangely haunting movie is quite a brave change of pace for Will Smith, who is excellent, playing it with great charm and conviction. Let’s face it, Smith is hardly best known for his emotional dramas and his macho bloke fans from Independence Day, Men in Black, I, Robot and Bad Boys will probably want to kick in the TV screen when Seven Pounds is on.

Yet, Smith is a real actor too – not just the star of no-acting-required running around roles. And lately, with The Pursuit of Happyness, Hitch and Hancock, he seems to be showing a softer side of his character, or maybe he’s just mellowing out after passing 40.

With a delicate screenplay by Grant Nieporte, this is a rather subtle film all about emotion and acting. And all the cast (Woody Harrelson, Michael Ealy, Barry Pepper, Elpidia Carrillo) impress, with Rosario Dawson especially enchanting as a gorgeous Latina woman with a dicky heart that Smith unexpectedly gets close to. And, if he falls for her, she might end up changing his life for ever…

Intrigued? You should be!

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 4622

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