“The film Seven Pounds, starring Will Smith and Rosario Dawson, is Grant Nieporte’s idea after having a chat with a man whom he called "one of the saddest people I've ever met in my life". The film is directed by Gabriele Muccino, known for The Pursuit of Happiness (2006) also starting Will Smith.” (Imdb, www.imdb.com) This movie delivers a very powerful message and leaves the audience contemplating what their mission in life is and how it would change if their life abruptly changed in an instant. However, the message and lesson of the movie carries into realm of individual ethics and individual choices.
In the lead role, Smith is once again quite impressive as his performance never feels forced despite the film’s consistent attempts at sticking the knife deeper into the emotional core of the viewer. The highlight of the film is the performance given by Rosario Dawson who plays Emily Posa, a woman dealing with an enlarged heart and standing on death’s doorstep. Her character in Seven Pounds demands a quality performance and it is her ability to add light to a character that should be drowning in depression that keeps the film from falling apart at the seams.
Seven Pounds does not polarize between good and bad, or any other extreme for that matter. The message is on the level of the individual human being and what each individual’s purpose is here on earth. In addition, instead of pitting right against wrong, the movie blends the boundaries of these distinctions in the ambiguousness of Ben Thomas’s stage in life. Seven Pounds does the same thing with ethics. The movie plays on the rare situations that arise when the moral and ethical decisions that must be made are often done so in contrast with the rules and laws that govern society. In this way, the movie delivers a neutral depiction of ethics since it is centered on rare circumstances where the greater good is served by breaking established rules and laws. Ben Thomas searches with significant effort to find seven strangers whose circumstances are far from ordinary. The film capitalizes on these rare situations. Three events that put ethics in the spot light are when a social worker illegally gives Ben the contact information for an abused wife, so Ben can help her, when Ben acts as an imposter IRS agent and gives people extended tax breaks they are legally not entitled to, and at the end of the movie when Ben commits suicide and has everything arranged so his best friend (Dan, a heart surgeon) orchestrates a heart transplant to save a woman’s life.
The first ethic addressed in the film is goodwill when Ben donates a piece of his liver to a social worker who in turn refers an abused wife and her children to Ben for help. It is also portrayed when he gives Emily Posas, who has a rare blood type and is dying of a degenerative heart disease, a substantial tax break. In the movie Emily asks Ben “Why do I get the feeling you are doing me a really big favor” (addressing the tax extension). To which Ben responds, “Because I get the feeling you really deserve one”. Another ethic addressed is justice and fairness. People who were not given a fair chance in the movie are given a second chance by Ben Thomas. This justice comes at a great cost when one thinks about the pain and agony (both physically, mentally, and emotionally) that Ben goes through, as well as the fact that he had to kill 7 innocent people (by accident) to get to the point he was at in life. Ben dies at the end of the movie, and through this action, he brings upon himself the ultimate self-induced justice and closure to his life. Compassion also plays a deep role in this movie, especially in Ben’s relationship with Emily Posas, who he falls in love with before sacrificing his life for hers. Ben’s deepest compassion is for Emily, but he shares it with the other six people he helps.
One of the ethical dilemmas that arise in the movie is when Dan, Ben’s lifetime friend and a heart surgeon, agrees to complete the heart transplant that saves Emily’s life. While Dan does not assist in Ben’s suicide, he agrees to go along with it and prepares everything, so the heart transplant goes smoothly. The issue is portrayed as one where Dan has to break his Hippocratic Oath for the greater good, to help his best friend reach salvation and save Emily Posas’ life. The issue is resolved by Dan breaking all the rules and oaths he has taken as a doctor, and potentially some legal laws, to help his best friend carry out this plan. Even though he broke the rules do it this is exactly how the issue should be resolved. He has his responsibilities and obligations to his profession and to society. However, in this case, his responsibility to his friend and to the greater good was stronger and more important.
Another business ethical dilemma that arises in the movie is when Holly, a social worker, gives Ben the name of a woman, Connie Tepos, whose husband physically abuses her and her children. Ben had previously given part of his liver to Holly, so she knew his intentions were good. Ben asks Holly if there is anyone that she is aware of who is a good person but 4 stuck in a tough situation. Holly tells him about Connie Tepos. Ben signs the deed on his beach house over to Connie, so she can escape the brutal beatings of her husband. Once again, the movie depicts this sequence of actions as one that is necessary and the right thing to do even though Holly was disclosing privileged information that she would lose her job for disclosing. Holly broke the rules of her job to serve the greater good and improve the life of Connie Tepos and her children. The issue is resolved by confirming Holly did the right thing when Connie and her children moved out of the house one night after a brutal encounter with her husband.
There are many lessons to take from this film, and it will leave almost anyone with a lump in their throat at the end of the movie. The most important and central message of the film is to dive deep down into one’s own life and discover for what purpose he or she is here. The movie focuses on Ben’s redemption through the giving of his vital organs to different people and his emotional connection with Emily Posas. It is through his love and relationship with Emily that Ben finds his redemption. From this, one can conclude that the physical act of giving is only part of the story in fulfilling one’s personal mission on this earth. The other part is love and an emotional connection. From this I draw on the importance of not only what you do, but how you do it and with whom you share it.
Seven Pounds is an excellent film that delivers a strong message and allows the viewer to come to his or her own conclusion on how to interpret it. The message of fulfilling your personal mission in this life is integrated into several different situations, which allows each viewer to take away their individual interpretation of the film’s core message. Business ethics are tied into the film’s main message throughout the course of the film including the three specific situations explained above. The film does an excellent job building the ethical issues of goodwill, justice, and compassion throughout the duration of the movie. The ethics portrayed in the film, as well as the core message, are done not in the form of good versus evil, but rather they are portrayed in a neutral manner the depicts the different shades of gray in ethical decisions when they are made under extreme circumstances.