Beauty and Cruelty

Life is an array of opposites; life and death, loneliness and love, coexisting together to form a life that is undeniably going to be interrupted by death. The relationship between these things is symbiotic, meaning one cannot exist without the other. No one thing in life is purely good or evil. In Seven Pounds, directed by Gabriele Muccino, the intricacy of balancing a complex world of duality is revealed. Ben Thomas, an aerospace engineer, has his life turned upside down when he becomes the cause of a fatal car crash. He kills seven people, including his fiance. Ben spends his time feeling the guilt and looking for ways to redeem himself. This is an example of a cruel duality of life. He decides to give away seven parts of his life to make up for the seven deaths he caused.Ben is coming closer to death and giving life to others which represents the relationship between life and death. In the film water becomes a constant symbol for duality. Water is the origin of life, however it is also very powerful and destructive making it a symbol for life and death.The duality of life through water is represented throughout the film as ice, rain and the ocean.

In the form of ice, water is cold, hard and unmoving. It is symbolic of strength and power. In Seven Pounds Ben decides to give his kidney to a hockey coach who coaches underprivileged youth in the center of Los Angeles. There is a camera shot of Ben in the shadows looking on the ice rink.  It is illuminated by three point lighting with the players in focus (Seven Pounds). This represents the power of the rink. The fact that the rink is illuminated shows that it is a source of life, while Ben is in the dark showing that he is an object of darkness or irrelevance. Even though ice is usually associated with cold and pain, in this case ice is used as a tool in which the hockey coach makes the world a better place. Since Ben has given his kidney to the hockey coach and the coach brings a better life to kids in need Ben, in a way, becomes a catalyst for hope and life. The fact that he is not in focus in the shot and the rink is shows that he has given that part of his life to the rink. On the flip side of that, ice also symbolizes the stopping of progress and depression. While Ben prepares for his suicide he decides to add ice into the bathtub. He does this to prepare his body to donate organs. In the shot the camera is angled up as a reverse God’s eye. A handheld camera is used as the ice is being poured into the tub, the shot shows an out of focus shadow of Ben as he is seen above the ice (Seven Pounds). The ice in this shot is the dominant thing showing its power and showing that it will ultimately aid in Bens death. The use of a handheld camera is significant because it shows the chaos surrounding the ice even though ice is solid and immovable. The scene later goes to show a parallel edit between Bens dark, coffin like bathtub with ice in it and Emily's illuminated halo bathtub with candles around it, both bathtubs are shown from a birds eye view (Seven Pounds). The ice and fire used in the bathtub represents the two lives. The use of ice in Ben's bathtub is similar to the glass shown in the crash scene which shows the importance of the crash in his life. Ice is also a symbol of the stopping of progress, which symbolizes Ben’s life coming to an end. Emily's bathtub is shown surrounded by fire, symbolizing her ultimate renewal of life. Both a death and a renewal of life is occurring at the same time. Water, in the form of ice can be used as a device for life and death and the symbiotic relationship between the two.

Often times rain is associated with sadness and despair but it is also an important symbol for rebirth and purification. In the film Ben finally begins to find a purpose in life  when he and Emily Posa,a woman with a faulty heart, start to fall in love. Ben holds firm to his guilt and anger as he starts to fall for Emily. However, when they start to show affection it is the only time when Ben seems to have an interest in living life. During their date it begins to rain, the scene starts with an extreme close up and in focus is a candle which is kept central as the camera pans out to the dinner setting and shows the candle is still illuminated (Seven Pounds). The candle is the main focus of the scene and is shown in frontality. The fact that the candle is still illuminated among the rain which should have put it out symbolizes that death and life can coexist in the same moment in time and that it does not always make sense. It is also a testament to that of at the same time Ben and Emily are coexisting. Ben is “a dead man walking” while Emily is a source of life even though she is literally dying. The fact that the two can coexist just as the candle in the rain demonstrates the duality of life. Eventually Ben leaves Emily and takes off running through the rain. The scene depicts him sprinting through a deserted, dark street, the entire shot is out of focus and a handheld is used (Seven Pounds). The scene is dark representing the weight that Ben carries with him. The use of rain is significant because rain is often seen as shedding of guilt or forgiveness, as Ben is running to decide to give Emily his heart he is losing some of the guilt he carries with him from the car crash. The scene is also shot using a handheld camera to show confusion within Ben and him questioning whether he can exist with Emily or not. In the final moments of Ben's life he contacts Ezra, a blind man, in which he plans to give his corneas to. Even though Ezra is a man that cannot literally see, he is able to see people and life in a way that Ben cannot. Parallel editing is used when Ben calls Ezra. Ezra is depicted in golds, yellows and pinks while Ben is depicted as dark and dingy with blues and greens (Seven Pounds). The rain surrounding Ezra is colored gold, the rain becomes a symbol for rebirth and life. Even though Ezra cannot see, everything around him is light, even the rain. The juxtaposing scenes of rain show the duality that exists in life. Rain can be a symbol of escape and sadness or of new beginnings.

The ocean in its immensity is seen as a mystery because it is unpredictable and uncontrollable, however, the ocean is also full of endless possibilities making it a symbol for hope and the future. This makes it a symbol of duality in life.Connie, a woman who is being abused, receives the gift of Ben’s house. For Connie the beach house becomes a place of escape and a renewal.In the film a shot of Connie is shown facing the ocean away from the camera contemplating, there is few shadows and the ocean is illuminated by the sun. Connie is also not in focus.(Seven Pounds) In this case, the ocean is a symbol for a new beginning for Connie and the vast possibilities for her life.  The fact that she is not in focus shows the uncertainty of her future and her life. Ben has given Connie the gift of a new life in a place where when he looks in the ocean he now sees darkness. Before the accident the ocean represents Ben's future and the endless possibilities available to him. After the accident Ben sees the ocean very differently. In a shot of Ben sitting on rocks contemplating the ocean the lighting is dark and his face is in focus  in a close-up shot (Seven Pounds). It is clear that in contrast to Connie's future Ben's is short, bleak and defined.This conveys the idea that in the ocean lies both endless opportunities as well as impending doom.Both Connie and Ben are alone which conveys the idea that even though the ocean has the ability to make someone feel small it is also very comforting and connects the world together.The duality of the ocean is further explained in the very beginning of the film where there is a sense of confusion because Ben calls 911 to report a suicide and then is seen swimming across the ocean. The shot of Ben swimming is a reverse God’s eye with subject entering in the frame and rising up, the color gradient of blue with the darkest at the bottom and the lightest at the top shows that the lighting is coming from the top.( Seven Pounds). Water in this shot is a metaphor for Ben's life, after watching the film it is clear that Ben is rising from the abyss and rising toward the light. This is happening through his acts of redemption. The change in lighting displays the duality of water, in its clearest form it is beautiful and pure however in its depths it is dark and mysterious showing that the two can exist in a single element. The ocean encompasses both the best and worst of life into a single element which reflects that good and bad are present in everything.

Water is the building block to life as well as the thing that can be a catalyst of death. In Seven Pounds water shows the dual nature of Ben’s journey to redemption, while he looks for death he gives life to others. Ice,rain and the ocean are all symbolic of living,renewal and forgiveness as well as death and destruction. A certainty in life is that there is a dual nature to every being, thing and element in the world.There is no life without death, no hope without sorrow and no redemption without guilt.Ben is consistently trying to repay his debt to humanity by giving away parts of his life to others which ultimately causes his death. Seven Pounds is an adaptation of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. In both stories the theme is that one must give what they take. However in the process of giving life something else is coming closer to death.Death and life are intertwined together in every way which creates the dual cruelty of life.