by Chris Riehl

Created on: March 26, 2009

(This review was written a while back, I just hadn't had a chance to post it until now.)

With Oscar season right around the corner, seeing a film like Seven Pounds makes me wonder how the Academy picks the films, actors, and actresses that are nominated.

I cannot give away of a lot of the plot because the film is set up so that you gradually understand more of what is going on as the storyline progresses.

But, how do I convince you to see a film without giving away the storyline?

Basically, what I can tell you is that if you took the concepts of atonement, deception, and love and intertwined all of them you would have this film in a nutshell.

Will Smith is absolutely phenomenal in this film. Following the smash hit last December, The Pursuit of Happyness, which earned him an Oscar nod, was definitely not an easy task and his son Jaden is competing with him with his own potential blockbuster The Day the Earth Stood Still. All of these factors definitely could have lowered the response for this film but I think that as word spreads about this film it will attract consistent audiences for the duration of its mainstream theatre run.

Will Smith is easy to empathize with at certain times, easy to loathe at others, and, at certain points, makes you just want to be his friend, to be there for him as he is obviously enduring some difficult times that not many people can fully comprehend.

Rosario Dawson's performance, as Emily Posa, a woman suffering from a heart condition, is also incredibly heartfelt and dazzling. Her performance makes you want to be sitting at her bedside, holding her hand and comforting her as she struggles to overcome a potentially fatal disease.

I truly believe that the stellar acting has propelled this film into another dimension. I have heard others say that the plot was drawn out but I disagree; I think that you would truly be unable to fully identify with the characters if you did not see the entire story. I encourage you to see this movie and to attempt to feel the movie as it was one of the most emotionally provoking films I have ever seen in my life and I was left in tears, so moved, that I called everyone I knew and told them to see this film.

One little side note, I also think that Will Smith got robbed by not being nominated for an Academy Award for this film but hey, there's always next year

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