DVD
REVIEW: SEVEN POUNDS
03/29/09
SYNOPSIS:
Will Smith reunites with the director and producers of The
Pursuit of Happyness for the emotional drama SEVEN POUNDS.
In the film, Smith plays Ben Thomas, an IRS agent with a
fateful secret who embarks on an extraordinary journey of
redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers.
REVIEW: Judging from the trailer, you would think that Seven Pounds
is a pounding and surprising mystery film. At least that was
my first reaction to the trailer. When I heard that the film
was getting a heavy Oscar Buzz, I immediately figured that
drama has to be the main focus point of the film. Changing
completely the expectations that I had for the movie. By the
end of the film I was correct, Seven Pounds is that mystery
film that slowly evolves into a heavy drama by trying to get
across the story of a tragic redemption.
The beginning of the film is a just a big mystery. We see
Ben Thomas (Will Smith) talking and meting strangers, with
the idea of helping them, but we don't know what his motive
is. Is he dead? , Did he win the lottery and want to share
some of his fortune? Are the people that he is meeting good
people? These were some of the speculations that blew
through my mind in the first 20 minutes of the film.
However, between the flashbacks of Ben's Thomas life and the
conversation with his brother in law. The meaning of the
Seven Pounds became evident and the film changed from a
mystery to a deep drama. I must admit that once the mystery
was out of the equation, the film became just another drama.
It is the dramatic performance by Will Smith and Rosario
Dawson that kept the movie interesting to the end.
Seven pounds has the drama and caliber performance to obtain
an Oscar nomination in any category, however judging from
the quality of films released in this year's Oscar's season
the road to that nomination will be very difficult.
DVD: In this
release the film is presented in
widescreen format with a 2.40:1 aspect ration. The picture is
complemented with a 5.1 digital sound in English
and French. In terms of special features the DVD
includes four deleted scenes and a very good featurette
called "Seven Views on Seven
Pounds", in which the filmmakers share their views of the
film. The other two featurettes that I found to be
interesting were "The Box Jellyfish:
World’s Deadliest Co-Star", in which a marine expert
talk about the Box Jellyfish. The second was "Emily’s Passion: The
Art of the Printing Press" which is about the history of
printing in the USA.
VIDEO:
2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
AUDIO:
English
and French
5.1 (Dolby Digital).
Subtitles - English Spanish French - Optional
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Deleted Scenes
A total of four deleted scenes that don't add anything
interesting to the film. (4:12)
Seven Views on Seven
Pounds This is an interesting seven part
documentary, in which the Writer, the Producers, the
Director, the Location Manager, the Composer, the Editor and
the Designer share their view of the film. (31:30)
Creating the Perfect
Ensemble Casting Director Denise Chamian talks about
the cast selection for the film. It also include comments
fro the cast.(12:51)
The Box Jellyfish:
World’s Deadliest Co-Star: A Marine expert talk
about the Box Jellyfish. Interesting featurette. (4:57)
Emily’s Passion: The
Art of the Printing Press: Another interesting
featurette about the history of printing in the USA (8:40)
Commentary with Director Gabriele Muccino
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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