7 pounds

Water, an image of life and change is what comes to the mind of most humans. Water, is then, a very common theme used through out film to convey to the viewer when a time of change, or burst of life is occurring or about to appear. In the film Seven Pounds, water can be seen through out the entire film in many different forms to help convey the film's story. The film uses a lot of shots of physical water, like that of stormy seas and gentle rain. The many different tints and colors of water is used through out as decor and costume as well. Then the occurrence of water being used to act like glass is also seen in the film. The main character, Ben Thomas (Tim Thomas), is donating he organ's to seven people to make up for the car crash he caused, causing his wife and six others to die. Around him in the film, there is constantly the imagery of water and is part of his character and his story. It comes in the forms of the ocean, ice, colors, and many other outside sources around Ben, to give the viewer the diegesis of film, along with the situation and inner most thoughts of Ben. Through out the film, water is used to converse the ideas of Ben, to weave together the stories of the past and present, and to give the overall diegesis of life and death portrayed throughout the film. 

Water in the film is a direct link to the Ben and his inner most feelings. The viewer may not know what Ben could be thinking at any given time, and the only hints given is that of face the actor who portrays him. But water elements, such as color scheme and decor, that existence in almost every shot, help a viewer to come to know Ben.  The film starts with a shot of ocean. In the shot itself,  the actor cannot be seen and there is no dialogue, but already hints to the diegesis of the film(life and death) and Ben's character have been introduced to the viewer. "The shot is under water, with a reserved aerial shot so the lighting is seen above the water. Ben's silhouette swims across the light" (Seven pounds). Here the viewer already gets an image of Ben as a character. The ocean is very large and deep and is often associated as something that can be both beautiful and full of life, but also terrifying and destructive. By having the shot be under water looking up into the light, the viewer gets the idea of Ben's character being lost in depths of despair and reaching for the light associated with his inner beauty, that he cannot see. The viewer also gets the diegesis of film with  the underwater ocean shot. The diegesis of the film is life and death, something very much like that of the ocean, which gives a home to thousands of creatures, but is also very powerful and can take life easily. The relationship between reflection and water also helps for the viewer to get to know the most inner thoughts of Ben. In Seven Pounds, water is used like a mirror on several accounts. Like water, a mirror that is not broken, one can see their reflection, while if the mirror is broken or the water choppy, one cannot see there refection clearly. In the motel in which Ben dies, the walls are all blue and are covered with the paintings of stormy seas. Even though every shot in the room hints towards Ben's chaotic feelings, there is one scene that really stands out. " Ben Thomas stands in front of a crystal clear mirror. The camera then moves out to a medium shot to show Thomas in the mirror, the blue wall, a paintings behind him. Also to the jellyfish tank at the bottom left corner" (Seven Pounds) This shot shows beautifully the inner most feelings of Ben at that time and how see's his goal clearly. Right before this shot takes place, Ben speaks with his love interest Emily, and is getting ready to go to dinner with her. In this moment in time, Ben would seem at peace with himself, but as the shot frames back, that mood changes into one of despair and regret. The stormy paintings of the ocean on the wall behind him ,with the solid deep blue wall, continues to hint the audience Ben's inner battle's that are deep and rage on. Then the box jellyfish in the left corner tells towards Ben's accepts of death that he will achieve with the jellyfish, even in a time of joy. This shot reflects that Ben knows what his task is in life clearly because of the mirror, and his acceptance with death that he has chosen, even if people come into his life that may make him doubt himself.  In the begging of film, the ocean is shown multiple times. There is the shot of which is motioned above, which is just part of a scene shown through out the start of the film. The whole scene has shots of the ocean and the viewer is shown a very beautiful beach house. As a viewer is being shown all these beautiful shot's, Ben says this line. "In seven days God created the world, and in seven seconds, I shattered mine"( Seven Pounds). During this line, Ben is walking out of the ocean on what appears to be a warm beautiful day. The mix of the warm lighting, the ocean, and the words said in this scene gives the viewer the idea of what kind a person Ben is and what his mission is. Even though in this scene, Ben is obviously speaking of death, the warm lighting and him emerging from the ocean gives the idea of life reborn and moving on to bigger and better things, which is Ben's real goal. Ben's goal to bring life to other by donating his organs and making up for the seven lives he took. Although viewer does not know yet that Ben has and will be giving his organs to those in need of them, this scene brings the feelings of life that is part of the diegesis of the film.

The second role that water plays in the film is bringing the past, present, and future all together to give foreshadowing to the viewer and help the viewer understand the reasoning behind every word and action in the film. Physical water is used very much through out the film but so is the color scheme. Blue colors appear in the film quite often, especially when Ben is in a shot or something important is happening within the film. One of the first pieces of foreshadowing that is seen by the viewer is when Ben calls the lovesick blind man, Ezra. Even though it is very suttle the viewer gets a really good look at Ezra's face to see that Ezar's eyes are like the color of the ocean. While on the phone, Thomas says this to Ezra, "...I look at my life and it is surrounded by so much beauty, and you can't see shit...do even know what color the ocean is..."( Seven Pounds). The ocean holds much life and it home to much beauty, and with this shot,  the viewer sees the foreshadowing for later in the film when Ben will give his eyes to Ezra. The ocean holds beauty and life like that of the world that Ezra cannot see, but by Ben giving his eyes to Ezra, he will be able to see  experience that beauty and a whole new life. Ezra's eyes being blue hints towards the new life that Ezra will have and how that life is being given by a man who's heart is in a despair as deep as an ocean.  A major key element through out the film is the box jellyfish that Ben owns. The jellyfish helps him to kill himself and stands as a major symbol of death in the film. Not only is the jellyfish from the ocean, directly connecting Ben and water together, but in the in which when Ben finally says why he owns the jellyfish, the viewer gets a bit of light into Ben's past and inevitable future. As Ben fills up the jellyfish tank with water, his face is in the blue glow. The shot then cuts to a scene of Thomas at the Monterey Bay Aquarium as a child looking at box jellyfish, and he says this, "I never forgot what he said, that is was the most deadly creature on earth. To me, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen"(Seven Pounds). Water being put into the jellyfish tank in this sequence of scene's connects to past, the present, and the future. The viewer learns about how Ben obtained the jellyfish, why he has the jellyfish, and the jellyfish's future propose, and the water that he is filling up the tank with connecting piece. Ben is literally filling up the vessel that holds the thing that kills him. Water brings life, like that of him finding the jellyfish beautiful, but it can also bring death. As a child Ben thought the jellyfish beautiful, but in this current moment in time, the jellyfish is nothing but a symbol of death to Ben. A  water major symbol through out the film is the relationship between glass and water, which reflects towards the car crash that killed Ben's wife and 6 others. This is most obvious towards the end of the film. Ben puts himself into a bathtub full of cold water and ice where he then puts the jellyfish in with him to be stung. In the scene, the ice in the bathtub looks like broken glass. "A medium close up of Ben, the whole shot is tinted blue. Ben's face is facing towards the right, eyes shut. Lying on his left side in a shower curtain and ice is spread all across his body, looking like that of glass"(Seven Pounds). In this shot, the ice he is laying in and the shower curtain look like that of broken glass. In this entire scene sequence the viewer sees flashbacks of the car crash, giving the viewer the sub conscious parallel between in the ice and the broken glass. By having the ice look like broken glass, this really brings the viewer back around to the car crash and the reasoning behind Ben killing himself in the first place. The ice is the water connecting piece in these scenes.

The diegesis of the film is life and death, and the idea of giving back a life that you have taken. Rain is used through out film as well as the imaginary of the ocean, to symbolise change and new life. When Ben first meets Emily, its raining outside, and Emily herself is a symbol for life for she often surround by rich-in-life decor and warm lighting. Towards the end of the film when Bem decides that it is time for him to take his life, it is raining outside. He then calls Ezra and says this, "..I had to be certain...that you where a decent man. Kind, slow to anger...I want to give you a gift"(Seven Pounds). The gift that Ben is talking about right here is the gift of his eyes that he is going to give Ezra after he dies. In this scene its raining outside and the background behind Ben in blue and dark, then when the shot goes to Ezra the lighting is brighter and yellow. With these two tints, combined with the imagery of rain, it gives the viewer the idea of one life ending and another begging, rain being associated with life. The deeper blue tints behind Ben suggest the colors of the ocean, which can easily be associated with death. As Ben kills himself in the bathtub, it's important for the viewer to notice all the blue in the scene. The whole bathroom is full of blue tiles and other blue things like the shower curtain. " An aerial view looking down. The bath water is a light blue with ice in it looking like that of broken glass. The tiles around the shower are a deeper blue, so is the curtain. Rubber gloves and the bottle of neutralizing liquid for the jellyfish sit on the bathtub. A note sits on the floor. Ben wears long pants, sneakers, and a short sleeved red shirt."(Seven Pounds). By having the all the deep blue's in this shot and also having a aerial shot in the scene helps the viewer to be reminded of the ocean at the begging of the film. Subconsciously, the viewer gets the idea of death in how the shot is aerial. At the begging of the film, the shot looks up through the water towards a light above. Now the shot looks down and there is no light. This gives off the feeling of watching someone rise up to heaven from death and of someone small and helpless, which is the feelings of Ben in this shot. The ice in this shot also looks like Ben is sitting in broken glass, giving off the theme of a broken man and death that occurred in the car crash. All the dark blue's in this shot along with the aerial view give the viewer the feeling of death occurring. After Ben dies he donates his heart to Emily, and the  theme of water and blue shows up again. As Emily is being wheeled into the the operating room the reoccurring theme of blues shows up , but in a much lighter tone. "A wide screen shot of the operation room Emily is in. All the doctor's are wearing blue. The equipment in the room also looks blue. A single light shines down in the right hand side of the screen where the doctor's are implanting Ben's heart into Emily." This shot represents life. This shot is similar to that at the begging of the film in that there is a single light shining through a blue background. This shot is the opposite of what it looked like  in the bathroom where Ben just took his life. The room is full of movement and lighter blues. Water can take life, but is also give life and in this shot that becomes clear to the audience through the lighting and the parallel image of the begging.

Film is a very moving art form. The ability film has to move an audience is above and beyond unbelievable. Film does this in many ways, and we see in Seven Pounds several method's that film can move a viewer. In this case, the symbolism was some of the most beautiful throughout the film and made a real impact on the viewer. Although maybe not seen at first, the symbol of water in the film leaves a special kind of emotion with the viewer and helps to bring the movie around in the large circle to bring to the surface how emotional the screenplay is. By understanding the deeper meanings behind any film and acknowledging the amount of passion and time put into film, helps a viewer to really feel understand the message that is meant to be left by the film makers. Seven Pounds is expectation, with its amazing imagery and moving theme. Seven Pounds is a very powerful movie full of life, death, and how to save humans and the human mind. The symbol of water discussed above was just one the amazing way that the creators of Seven Pounds helped to leave a viewer with an emotion of hope and understanding.