The Three Potatoes

17th March 2009
Seven Pounds (2008)

Writer: Grant Nieporte
Directors: Gabriele Muccino
Starring: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Michael Ealy, Barry Pepper

Will Smith plays Will Smith helping people. We open with a scene in a hotel room, a distressed man about to commit suicide. The timeline of the story has been shifted around, and the mystery of his actions only become apparent as the story unfolds. Ben Thomas (Smith) is an IRS agent who decides to change the lives of certain people he is investigating depending on whether he determines they are a good or bad person. He carries out his actions with silent purpose. During one of his investigations, Thomas meets Emily (Dawson), a woman with a heart condition and they quickly form a tender bond. Flashbacks start to fill in all the gaps and and we the audience put together the puzzle. I would have liked to see Smith stretch himself a bit more out of his comfort zone, but he is as always his same charismatic self.

From what I heard, in America some of the mysteries of the story were made public knowledge soon after the release. I'm glad I was unaware of the story and could enjoy it as the film progressed. I probably would have liked it a bit more if some people I knew hadn't raved about how good it was, while others said it missed the mark completely. It was an intriguing premise, maybe at times tried a little too hard. It could have been made more successful if the writing culled some of the excessively 'feel good' bits and had a bit more honesty because the original exciting material is there.