Mark Kermode Reviews Seven Pounds

this is this is interesting from Marissa dear doctor and Special K having seen the trailer on television for the latest 477 pounds on numerous occasions I've been struck by a new publicity tactic employed by the studio basically a statement appears on the screen which says contains emotionally intense scenes now I certainly know what I think about some film executive marketing guru telling me how I should react to a film but I'm curious to find out the good doctors not the other doctors and thanks for imaginary opinion on this new form of hyperbole can I do you contains emotionally intense scenes which is presumably you could say this I mean Mary Poppins has scenes through chart emotionally intent well this leads me are there any seen any movies which don't have emotionally intense there are plenty of them and they're not interesting at all um this leads me perfectly into the seven pounds review okay because it's why I read it out I know but no but just what will predict what has been said there needs to be perfectly in because right Will Smith stars in seven pounds we know this because of the poster which is a picture of Will Smith that's it and it says seven pounds seven thirty yes enigmatically it says seven strangers seven dwarves yeah Seven Brides for Seven Brothers its enigmatic right and the poster is they're coming and now when we turn up at the screening I get given this and I brought it in so I'm not making this up there we go seven pounds this is the state of press releases no no this isn't well this is the place the press notes are here right but here is the piece of paper and the piece of paper says this you're waving more stuff around just because we're on behalf of Sony Pictures releasing we are delighted that you could attend this special preview of seven pounds mom delighted to attended it given the nature of the story we would respectfully request that journalists refrain from revealing too much of the plot and giving away the ending of the movie to allow audiences to discover this for themselves now this is very exciting cuz I didn't know I was going in there was gonna be a sort of great mystery well it's exciting that I won't be able to tell anybody about it after that's great I haven't had one of those since you know there's six cent you know the thing about he turns out to be a woman yeah it wasn't allowed to do that either okay so you go in so I'm not allowed to tell you anything about the film but what's - I can tell you will ISM right he's a bloke in the film and at the beginning of the film he starts by darling 9 1 1 to report his own suicide know already I'm on the edge of my seat there we gotta sit on the edge of my seat like that okay now yeah now you don't have these starts having flashbacks right a number of things happen he's rude to a blind man in a call centre selling meat why who knows he harasses a woman in a hospital who's apparently got something funny about her heart why who not can't figure it out can't figure it out don't know what's going on he claims to be from the IRS is he I don't know he might be maybe not he's got a thing about jellyfish oh it's just getting weirder all the time and then he has this enigmatic discussion on a golf course you okay yeah I'm good you said you were gonna call me on 15th today is the 19th I know doctor didn't have the results so I had no information to give you still you should call me right yes I'm still friends right yeah I'm just I'm doing some soul-searching you know [Music] don't do that we have a plan and do what you promised me stop soul searching and somewhere else on script it says in seven days God created the world in seven seconds I shattered mine now we're meant to be sitting going oh what's going on what's the mystery what's that what possibly could be a moral appearance you know it's not actually you're lucky about that because that was number 23 which you know Jim Carrey thought was clearly three times a few remakes away from that ya know we are and that was there's a Joel Schumacher film Joel Schumacher the guy he gave us Batman and Robin the campus to all the Batman or Robin movie the cameras all the Batman movies anyway so I'm sitting there going what's going on what's going on I know what's going on it's Will Smith teaming up with that guy who directed the pursuit of happiness because actually what he's saying through all this is give me an award I want an award because I'm in a film which is slightly mysterious but it's about a guy doing things that are actually very good but he's seeming to be maybe a bit nasty but he's not nasty and we know he's not nasty because he's Will Smith and on the poster he's got the big ears sticking out but he's not being nasty spigen goes with okay excuse me which voice is this is the voice of pic talking in the cinema very quiet because you're not quite sure what's going on what's the person placing what's going on why is he seem the guy like off course what's the thing with the jellyfish do you think it could possibly be that the ending is as blindingly obvious as everybody else in the city I saw it with those the ending that you're not supposed to be talking about hang on I'm not going to talk about the ending okay all I can say is this 15 minutes into the film if they shut the power down and they lifted you out said fine right what happens what what what yeah fine right what happens now you probably wouldn't guess the thing about the jellyfish until the jellyfish is is is you know you wouldn't have said I bet at some point somebody introduces a jellyfish but the minute the jellyfish turns up you know exactly why the jellyfish has turned up you saw my house detailing I can't tell you because I let me in I'm can't tell you tell me well all I could stop it my mitts know what get a mime it oh don't okay oh we've no I might because LLL be on the webcam but I can't like I could I could so easily my mom's at the end of the film no please you don't want to know look at waiting no fun so but he's one of those things in which the film is coming at you with this thing about don't possibly tell anyone what's going on and I'm not kidding coronary knee going yeah I know what's going on it's that and it's the thing and he did that and now he's this in order to make and he's gonna do that it's that ego thing it's okay for you yes Jesus of Montreal yes it's that but not Jesus a mantra okay fine stop so anyway but it's one of those things in which you're you're literally just going no surely if you've given me the piece of paper that says I mustn't breathe a word of this to anybody for a go surely it's he's an alien or you know that it's a whole thing's a hallucination in the mind of a dying man is going is a Vietnam or it's an implanted memory he's been to Mars he doesn't remember it surely it's something more substantial than oh it's that it's that thing it's the thing and all it is is well Smith what thing the thing it's that what is the feeling here's the thing we'll say is the thing it's a John Carpenter film that was the thing that was what else is the thing Will Smith is doing exact you have to see me clue about the thing okay I'll give you the clue other thing you know what he's a good man and he doesn't really work for the IRS he actually he actually he's working to make the world a better place in ways which is so deeply rooted in his own personal trauma loss and indeed guilt that one could not even guess at the level of sacrifice which he is willing to go through in order to make right what is wrong and you're going oh come on you know for heaven's sake Hancock fine okay half of a good movie running absolutely fine Pursuit of Happyness never understood the thing about that film at all and people were sitting in the cinema I'm sure before you get to that I mean there was yeah there was at end of course happiness he spelt wrong but it's it's but it's one of those quirky times and deliberate ease but wrong believe me it's a dumb self-indulgent movie that reveals itself so early on that you sit there for the rest of the film going yeah yeah yeah yeah and get to the thing and the Pope turns up and says who cut your hair it's like that gag but you know the punchline annoyed of Edinburgh and it's rubbish Kermode hasn't even finished talking about this film yet but if he doesn't mention that Will Smith gives an incredible performance doesn't he should go and stuff himself into the windscreen of someone's car or refused to die from the character doesn't make sense until the end and taking it apart doesn't do the film Jamie makes sense at all it absolutely doesn't make sense at all the only sense it makes is the blindingly obvious oh it's that story film here's a text which is going to make you explode probably it's very good though she is it from Sony asking me to not give away the ending of the film have it have I been good very vivid away and it do you have any idea what no idea what's going on but go watch Jesus in Montreal first of all and then spoil it for yourself what a great film

Channel: SkagWinesack

Views: 77,251

Keywords: mark, kermode, simon, mayo, seven, pounds, will, smith

Id: oQN9Ua6B2aI

Length: 8min 21sec (501 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 18 2010