Movie Review: Seven Pounds

I wasn't sure what to expect going into "Seven Pounds", largely because of how vague the ad campaing had been, but I did know that it had a solid cast. So, I went to see it.

It turns out that this is the sort of film that it's difficult to write about. I didn't hate it. It was entertaining enough and I didn't find myself checking my watch in the middle. However, I wasn't really engaged emotionally by the film either. Part of the problem is with the structure of the film. It begins with a scene that, chronologically takes place toward the end of the movie and the rest of the story is told in flashback. Unfortunately, this is not a story suited to this sort of structure. Too much is given away in that first scene, the trajectory of the main character made a little too obvious. It becomes an obstacle to any emotional investment in the character.

The other thing that the film was missing was a powerful score. Nothing can push emotional buttons quite like music, so a particularly moving score may have been able to compensate for the weaknesses created by the structure. Sadly, the music that was in the movie wasn't quite up to the job.

As I said at the top, "Seven Pounds" isn't a bad move, but niether is it an especially good one.