Seven Pounds

Reuniting with The Pursuit of Happyness director Gabriele Muccino, Will Smith continues his yearly bid for a gold statuette with another ‘serious’ role. This time? A man who for some reason has decided to change the lives of seven complete strangers.

The trailer comes with a warning: ‘Intense emotional scenes’. It should have read: ‘If you don’t cry, you have a heart of stone and apparently no soul’, because Seven Pounds throws every sob-story possible at you with an overbearing soundtrack to match.

Shame, because the story takes a sharp and surprising turn; Rosario Dawson gives a standout support performance; and Smith is charismatic as usual. Where the film fails is in its unrelenting need to tug at your heart strings at the expense of your brain – every dramatic moment is sabotaged by cliché.

Limara Salt

Anticipation:

Smith is good value, but the buzz was bad.

Enjoyment:

More subtlety wouldn’t have hurt.

In Retrospect:

Maybe next year, Will. Maybe next year.