I recently saw this film with Will Smith in the lead role. It’s almost impossible to write about it without revealing the ending but I will try. However if you are planning on watching it knowing something about the plot would be a real help because it’s one of the those films you only understand at the end.
Before I watched it I knew the following: it is the story of a man who kills seven people (including his girlfriend) unintentionally in a terrible car crash. As a way of dealing with his guilt he resolves to make donations into the lives of seven other people, each one chosen because they are good people and they are in desperate situations.
When you realise that the title comes from The Merchant of Venice and refers to the pounds of flesh required pay off a debt you will realise that the donations he makes are not financial!
My husband watched the film with me without any of this prior information and half way through I asked him if he knew what was going on ‘ Not the faintest idea’ he replied! Having said that by the end, he had still enjoyed the film. It’s a very clever film, an exploration of guilt and whether it’s ever possible to put things right for ourselves.
The ending is quite harrowing but I won’t tell you whether it was a happy ending or sad ending because I still haven’t decided which one it was!
A great film for making you think and would prompt a good deal of discussion, I think I’ll be showing it to my film group next month.
