Seven Pounds: A Brief Review

I have done a few movie reviews on the blog, but all of them have been explicitly Christian films. I don't know why I write on this particular film other than needing a catharsis for a lot of pent-up anxiety the film produced. The movie stars Will Smith, and having been a fan of his for over a decade, I ordered the movie from Netflix to watch without even knowing what the film was really about. However, that is the selling point of the film; you don't know what the film is about until the end. That aspect of the film grew really tired on me after all the inexplicable scenes and not knowing whether they were flashbacks or real time, why he was acting like such a jerk in some scenes, and the continual look of pain and hardened sorrow on his face.

You are filled in bit by bit, as a fisherman allows line for a caught fish he does not want to lose. Smith is dealing with profound grief. Overcome by an accident he caused and the loss of many lives, Smith puts an elaborate plan in motion to essentially "redeem" himself for all the pain he has caused so many people. The main premise being unoriginal, I have come to expect a lot better from Smith in his tenured acting career.

Seven Pounds does portray grief in its rawest form and though Smith takes measures that in the world's mind probably seem quite noble, I have a hard time stomaching the carrying out of his plan. It was inevitable halfway through the movie what he was doing, and by the end, though I could imagine there were several tearful eyes in the theaters, I was just glad it was over.

Movie Recommendation: Flywheel

This movie is from the same production house that brought us Facing the Giants, Sherwood Pictures. The movie casts Alex Kendrick, who played Coach Grant Taylor in Facing the Giants, as Jay Austin, a slick talking used car salesman who cannot turn an honest deal. He falls prey to his own deception and eventually cannot stand to even look at himself in the mirror. Ostracizing his co-workers, his wife, and lamentably his son, a turning point must eventually come and it does.

While having a classic Triumph convertible repaired, Jay becomes disgusted with himself and embarks on a journey of confession, heart-felt repentance, shame, and reconciliation. The movie has a powerful message of the transforming and life-giving power of the Gospel. Kendrick is believable as the distant, self-centered husband; almost too believable. He verbally berates his wife, ignores his son, yet his staff pseudo-respects him because he has taught them how to line their pockets with dishonest money. The turning point comes in a gripping scene where he rips his pastor off and the pastor prays with Jay before he leaves the lot. "Lord, I ask you to treat Jay the same way he has treated me in this deal."

Jay enters a spiral of self-abnegation that climaxes in a happy ending for all. Two thumbs up for the feel-good aspect of this movie! Unfortunately, as well as things turn out for Jay's family, things almost turn out too good. The climax is highly romanticized, everything perfectly orchestrated to save Jay's hide. I found the same weakness in Facing the Giants, almost a sense of entitlement that since NOW the lead characters are faithful, God will bless. It seemed to be a veiled prosperity message, that God blesses contingent upon the amount of faith you exercise. Nevertheless, Flywheel has some particularly funny scenes and the reconciliation between he and his wife was powerful, bringing tears to our eyes.

Sherwood Pictures turns out quality films on a low budget and the Christ-centered, believable, ordinary stories more than compensate for the poor acting on account of some. The film is unrated and has no questionable elements that would hinder you from watching with young children.

Image courtesy of Christian Cinema.

Movie Recommendation: The Last Sin Eater

This movie was a surprise. Typically, most movies with a Christian message tend to come off as baptized copycats of secular themes. However, The Last Sin Eater doesn't even try to follow any secular trends. A community of Welsh immigrants in 1850's Appalachia attempt to hide deep, dark secrets, going all the way back to the colony's original founding.

The title refers to an inherited custom of choosing a beggar or social outcast as a "sin eater", that when a person dies, in exchange for food and drink (incidentally, wine and bread) he would come and "eat" the person's sins so that they could "depart in peace."

A young girl, Cadi, becomes obsessed with the sin eater because of a past sin she deems so horrible that it must be taken away. She goes off on a quest to find this man only to discover that once she finds him and he, having been ostracized from the community and risking ostracism herself, even after "eating" her sins, he offers her no absolution, only more pain.

You can see where this is headed, right?

She soon meets a man of God who preaches by the riverside and he offers her the last sin eater, One who can take away all her sins, assuring her that there are no sins that He cannot eat.

The film has an overt Gospel message, the most clear and comprehensive I have ever heard in a modern film (even the name of Jesus was mentioned, as Savior). In fact, that was the only reason the film was rated PG-13, except possibly for some disturbing dream sequences.

The resolution of the film was gratifying, the whole community allowing the truth of their horrid past to be revealed and absolved. Though the beginning was confusing because of the peculiarity of the "sin eating" custom, Cadi's persistent search piggy-backed me onto the movie. A true, graphic film portrayal of the Gospel and its life-altering message, I give it two enthusiastic thumbs up.

Image courtesy of IMDb.