MOVIE REVIEW - Seven Pounds

Will Smith has a new movie out just in time for the holidays, but it's anything but festive, and it's called Seven Pounds. Up front, SP is a very adult, heavy drama that deals with many big-time issues facing our main character, "Ben" played by Smith.

Ben is seemingly a nice, 30 something single IRS debt collector who goes about his job in many unorthodox ways. He is a strange man, and in SP's beginning you have no idea what lies beneath his surface. SP DOES have one of the most unusual beginnings you'll ever see. As SP moves on you begin to understand that Ben is a very troubled soul, dealing, or not dealing with a past that is much too unbearable for him to face.

Ben seems obsessed with Emily, (Rosario Dawson.) Emily is a beautiful, young single woman with a bad prognosis of heart disease. She is in big debt to the IRS because of mounting medical bills, and Ben goes to collect. A romance ensues, and the mystery deepens. Who is Ben, and what does he want with Emily? And with many other fringe characters he seems obsessed with? All incidentally with serious health issues as well. He seems to be fixated on all these characters ills, and you do spend a good deal of Seven Pounds wondering why. Again - good.

SP though is not for everyone. It is deeply emotional, and very tough to face sometimes. SP is a story too that hasn't been told before which is to it's credit. But SP does make one huge mistake that takes only about 3 seconds. I won't tell you what it is, but it would have been far more compelling without a glance over Ben's shoulder in one of the movies middle scenes. Those three seconds give far too much away and takes out some of the mystery. One mans opinion. You may disagree. In short, I wouldn't call Seven Pounds a fun night at the flicks. But it's certainly not a bad one either.

Smith of course is very well cast in SP but to be honest, the real command performance belongs to the stunning Rosario Dawson. She gives Emily real depth, bringing a real confidence and vulnerability to a young woman facing the end much too soon. She is perfectly cast as a relative unknown compared to others in Hollywood. She is brilliant here, and really makes SP go. A truly great performance in a really heavy flick.

Seven Pounds is deep, powerful, emotional, and at times difficult to face as a movie goer. This is not light Will Smith. Seven Pounds though does break through and doesn't disappoint. Although the timing of the release is curious. The company you keep in going to SP could be key. Many tough issues are addressed here, and could be troubling to some.

As an avid movie goer I sign off on Seven Pounds. But it's a hard, hard movie. Not for all.