Seven Pounds

The film Seven Pounds staring Will Smith claims to be a story of redemption. I believe the title to be a reference to Shakespeare’s merchant of Venice and the pound of flesh demanded of Antonio by Shylock as a repayment on his failure to fulfil a loan; Antonio's flesh redeems Shylock's loan.

Will Smith plays Ben Thomas. At the start of the film we encounter Ben about to commit suicide and the film tells the story up to and beyond this point.

Seven people including his fiancé have died because of his foolishness. Ben atones for the death of these seven people, literally with his own flesh and ultimately his life. In the end he gives life by giving his own life. His gift is given from his own self loathing; his life is "less than unremarkable".

The film is poetic, sensitively constructed and delivers its story but I believe lacks a credible moral core leaving us with a confused idea of redemption. He does not redeem his conscience but annihilates it.

The message in the film is that the recipients of the pounds of flesh have to be good or worthy and discovering this is the drive of the film. Ben tests the goodness of the recipients of his pound of flesh. We are lead in to a feeling of the worthiness of Ben’s cause because of the goodness of the recipients of the seven pounds of Ben’s flesh. We feel good because the unworthy are discovered and only the good are saved.

This is so far from the redemption offered by Christ. The redemption offered by Christ is offered precisely because we are unworthy.

Romans 5:8 (ESV) but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.