7 pounds too many?

Seven Pounds
Director: Gabriele Muccino
Starring: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson and Barry Pepper
Rating: PG-13

The mystery surrounding the plot of this movie was very well played in the media and press for this movie. I took careful care as to not listen to any spoilers or to do any searching for plot details. I did however hear peoples opinions after they saw it - and I have to say they were half/half. And both sides were equally as enthusiastic with their feelings. I heard the words Horrible, Sick, Twisted, Amazing, Beautiful and Touching. Because of the difference in these words, I decided I needed to make my own opinion.

I appreciate the allusiveness for the first 20 minutes, then it starts to get annoying. Confusion in my opinion is not comfortable nor is it something I enjoy enduring for long periods of time. I have no patience for that. Ben Thomas's character is both sweet and tormented, but not 100% believable to me. I see pieces of "will smith" come through too often. Almost as though he can't stay in character.

I thought Rosario Dawson did a fantastic job playing the heroin in distress, she was wonderfully fragile yet lovingly strong when needed. The rolls of everyone else were supposed to be played as vague and allude to "more than meets the eye" ,which bothered me. I wanted to know more about them. Barry Peppers character, Ben's best friend Michael was SO emotional and sad about the choice his friend had made and so tormented about having to help him with it. I would have loved seeing more of that exchange and going deeper into that friendship. The love Ben had with his wife, how real was it? We barely saw it. The random "close" friends and family - we barely knew they were there. I needed to get a feel for what he was loosing to be able to really feel it when he lost it.

The plot. I have thought on this 24 hours since seeing the movie and I have come to the decision that I didnt like the plot. As a person who has been very personally affected by suicide, I can't accept the plot. Suicide has SUCH a horrible affect on the family left behind that no matter HOW MANY feel good, organ giving acts he does in return for his life - it just dosent equal out for me. It voids it out for me. His "good deed" of giving back, what was an accident in the first place - by way of taking his own life is just not acceptable.

What kind of feelings does it leave those who he helped? Guilt? Anger? What if they were angered by the fact that a man was ALLOWED to take his own life in order to give them one of his organs. I may have reacted the same. Not that its not grateful, but its quite a burden on everyone else - everyone except the person who ended their own life.

The ONLY great part of the movie to me - and when I cried? Was when Woody Harrelson's character, Ezra - had his new eyes (they looked almost black) and Emily went to see him, and he recognized her. That was touching and sweet.

I am a smart person. I understand where they were GOING with this story and what they were trying to accomplish. I think it needed to be more thought out and reworked conceptually to really be a success.

Rating: ** - it was just ok