SEVEN POUNDS **

Gabriele Muccino directed this drama which stars: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Michael Ealy, Barry Pepper, and Woody Harrelson. Rated PG-13 for thematic material, some disturbing content and a scene of sensuality. Running time is one hour and fifty-eight minutes.

A man with a fateful secret (Smith) embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers with the help of a high school friend (Pepper). Included in the group are his brother (Ealy), a blind telemarketer/pianist (Harrelson) and a greeting card creator in need of a heart transplant (Dawson).

There will be people who will like this film much better than I did, finding its conclusion uplifting. As for myself, I can't quibble about the film's quality, the production values are fine. The acting quality is what you'd expect from a Holiday film, including a luminous performance by Dawson. But I'm having a hard time believing what a large group of people want to see at Christmas is a drama about suicidal depression. Perhaps it's the subject matter, but this two hour film feels more like three and it has one of those plots that quickly reveals the conclusion but only slowly unravels the reasoning behind the action. If you still feel this is something you want to see I'd advise a couple of NoDoze for the first hour and forty-five minutes and a box of tissues for the denouement. Frankly, I don't need to go to a movie like this to become depressed. This time of year all I have to do is look at my checkbook balance.