Seven Pounds/Reign Over Me/The Pursuit Of Happyness

Triple bill of film dramas. ‘Seven Pounds’ (2008) stars Will Smith as Ben Thomas, a tax inspector racked with guilt for mistakes he made in the past and spiralling into depression following the death of his wife. Paralysed by the knowledge of a dark secret, he decides to redeem himself by bringing positive changes to the lives of seven strangers. The film co-stars Rosario Dawson as Emily, a woman with congenital heart failure who is deep in debt, and Woody Harrelson, who plays blind pianist Ezra Turner. ‘Reign Over Me’ (2007), written and directed by Mike Binder, is a bittersweet comedy drama set in post-9/11 New York, with Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle heading up an all-star cast that also includes Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, Saffron Burrows and Donald Sutherland. Charlie Fineman (Sandler) lost his family in the September 11 attacks, and has become a shadow of his former self in the five years that have passed since the tragedy. When he, by chance, runs into his former college roommate Alan Johnson (Cheadle), their rekindled friendship proves to be a lifeline for both men. ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ (2006) is set in early 1980s San Francisco. The film charts the hard times and eventual comeback of Chris Gardner (Smith), a suddenly single salesman who has custody of his son, but finds that providing for the two of them is a challenge in the increasingly unstable economic climate. In the face of this difficult life, Chris has the desperate inspiration to try for a stockbroker internship where one in 20 has a chance of a lucrative full time career. Together, father and son struggle through homelessness, jail time, tax seizure and the overall punishing despair in a quest to make Gardner a respected millionaire.