Throughout Seven Pounds, there are several symbols that have a dual meanings. From the first scene, the ocean is important. The audience hasn't even seen Ben yet but it is implied the voice-over and figure swimming in the ocean is him. The shot is from the bottom of the ocean with one spot of light in the top corner of the shot. A figure is swimming towards that spot of light (Seven Pounds). This shot implies hope for Ben. He is able to swim towards the light instead of being swallowed up by the dark ocean. The ocean appears in a few different scenes throughout Seven Pounds in various conditions. When the ocean is calm like in the open scene it shows hope and peace. When Ben looks at the ocean after the crash it is rough and chaotic just like how his life feels. The ocean in the film mirrors what Ben experiences. When the ocean is used as a symbol it often refers to life and balance. It has tides that go in and out just like life has its ups and downs. The salt water will often lead into salt tears and eyes. Eyes are another symbol that has multiple meanings. Ben chooses to donate his eyes to a stranger and picks Ezra. Ezra is a blind man who is lonely but the waitress he could love can't seem to get past his disability. When Ben asks him why he doesn't ask the waitress out, Ezra says "uh...no...I don't, I don't think she sees me" (Seven Pounds). Ezra is the blind one but he is able to see people better that a woman who has working eyes. Eyes are often referred to the gateway to the soul. Ezra is able to see peoples souls without seeing eyes while everyone else struggles to see past the surface. Another vital part of humans is their heart. Ben donates his heart to Emily, a woman with a failing heart and a rare blood type. After Emily gets Ben's heart there is a scene of her in the bathtub. Emily sits very still and lowers her ears under the water so she can hear his heart beating in her chest keeping her alive (Seven Pounds). The literal heart saved Emily's live but so did loving Ben. He gave her his heart both literally and fugitively. Ben loved Emily enough to finish his quest and give her the life that she wanted to have. But they couldn't both survive. Ben chooses to sacrifice himself but in a unique way. Ben chooses to die by the sting of his pet jelly fish. He has been holding onto death for years waiting for the right moment. Ben admires the Box Jellyfish and says "the first time I ever saw a Box Jellyfish I was twelve. My father took us to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I never forgot when he said they were the most deadly creature on earth. To me it was just... the most beautiful thing I had ever seen" (Seven Pounds). The jellyfish is a simple organism with no organs or emotions. It kills and consumes what it destroys. It is death, but it is also beauty. It is hard to imagine something beautiful coming out of death but they way it moves and just lives by floating in the ocean is mesmerizing. Ben is attracted to this beauty and this is what eventually causes his death. Symbols are often used to give stories more meaning but Seven Pounds also uses it to connect two stories.
Parallel editing is a great way to tie two story lines together. In Seven Pounds, everything connects to death and the car crash that Ben caused. The crash is the cause of Ben's quest to right his world before dying. Everything he does makes up for the mistake he made. Ben carefully calculates every part of his death. He even tested out the bathtub he was going to die in. After Ben calls the ambulance to come get his heart and eye, he begins to prepare his final resting place. To preserve his organs, Ben dumps ice into the bathtub. The ice spreads out into the water as the tub fills up (Seven Pounds). The ice has a direct correlation to the car crash and the shattered glass. The ice is scattered around Ben like it was Sarah, his fiancé. They are both surrounded by glass. Ice is often seen as ice because it shatters and it clear like glass. When Sarah dies, Ben goes over to touch her arm. To hold her hand and wake her up. Sarah is lying crumpled on the ground surrounded by shattered glass. Ben crawls over to her and touches her arm. In the parallel scene where Ben is dying, the Box Jellyfish is grabbing Ben's arm. The tentacles line up with the veins in Ben's arm and it stings him (Seven Pounds). The two images are comforting but they both end in death. Ben dies because of the jellyfish sting and Sarah dies from the crash. In both cases holding onto their arm is significant and almost a comfort before dying. As each person dies there is a series of shots that connect Ben, Emily, and Sarah together. The shots alternate from Sarah lying on the dark road surrounded by glass to Ben brain dead in the hospital nearly frozen and donating his heart to Emily still barely alive going into the hospital to receive the heart. There is a heartbeat playing in the background along with the beeping of the heart rate monitor. After flashing through the images quickly the heartbeat stops and the flatline noise is all that the audience hears (Seven Pounds). At this moment all three of the characters are dead. Ben, Emily, and Sarah are all gone for a moment. Emily gets Ben's heart and comes back but for a moment everything alines. There is also a duality where Ben dies so Emily can live. One of them had to die and Ben made it him. Emily understands this sacrifice and in one of the closing scenes takes a moment to listen to the heart. Emily is in her bathtub. It is rounded and light as opposed to Ben's coffin shaped bathtub. Emily lies very still and lowers her ears under the water. She can hear Ben's heart beating in her chest. The heartbeat sound gets louder and Emily's face begins to relax (Seven Pounds). Emily finally understands everything Ben did and why he dies for her. She feels his heart beating in her chest. His life became her life. The heart gave her the chance to live. The parallel editing allows the two stories to coexist by overlapping two story lines.
Seven Pounds would not have the impact is does with out diegesis. Diegesis is what is used to fill the set and give the audience clues to what is going on in the actors head. Colors, music, and lighting can all indicate diegesis ideas that aren't explicitly explained. Each scene in Seven Pounds has these objects or specific types of editing that give it deeper meanings. Ben is very conflicted throughout the film. He is doing a great thing by donating parts of himself to people he has never met but he is haunted by what he caused. In almost every scene Ben's face is half-lit (Seven Pounds). This shows the light and dark in Ben's life. One side is hopeful and light because he is doing a great thing by donating his organs. He is significantly improving people's lives and it is light. The dark is the reason he feels compelled to donate himself. He is the reason for the car accident and he kills seven people. His one mistake cost him and seven people their lives. Ben's beach house is a good reflection of who he is. On the outside Ben looks alive, but inside he is dying. The beach house has beautiful gardens that are blooming and full of life, but inside the house it is dark and empty (Seven Pounds). Ben gives people hope of a better future and looks alive. He puts on the face so people don't worry about him while inside he is hurting. He lost his fiancé and killed six other people. He is filled with pain and loss. He is empty like his house. Emily is the opposite. She is alive on the inside but appears to be dying. Her heart condition makes her look sick and weak but her spirit and home send another message. Emily's house is full of family pictures, bright color and life (Seven Pounds). Emily wants to live and doesn't let the death that haunts her control her life. She is constantly battling her sickly appearance with her lively personality. Everything about Emily is alive. She makes Ben feel alive and she is surrounded by flowers and family. Emily is life but she is forced to think about death all the time with her heart condition. She asks Ben if he ever thinks about dying and he says "Every now and again...I lied to you. I think about dying everyday" (Seven Pounds). Ben has the full potential to live but wants to die where as Emily is near the end of her life and wants to continue living life to its fullest. Emily wants to go running and travel without having to worry about her heart. The diegesis shows the live and death duality in Ben and Emily's life. They want their life to end in completely different ways and it is all tied in the balance of life and death.
Ben kills and saves seven people in three years before dying himself. Ken Anderson, Nicole Anderson, Ally Anderson, Ed Right, Steven Phillip, Monica Freedman, and Sarah Jensen all die in the car crash he causes. To repay his dept to the universe and rebalance his world, Ben gives part of his lung to his brother, part of his liver to a social worker named Holly, a kidney to hockey coach George who makes a team for inner-city kids, his house to the abused mother Connie and her kids, bone marrow to a little boy, his eyes to a blind man, Ezra, and his heart to Emily Posa. It is simply one for one. One person is saved for every one person lost. Symbols, parallel editing, and diegesis connect the life and death in Ben's life. Life is a balancing act with good and bad. Film analysis allows the audience to see ever scene in a different light. The director, producer, editor, and everyone else involved in making the film put certain objects and moods into the film in order to evoke stronger emotions and pass on a message. Seven Pounds shows the world that there is balance in everything. Ben takes 'an eye for an eye' to a new level. People make mistakes and it may drastically change their lives. These changes might not always be a bad thing. It is just the reaction to the initial action. There is two sides to everything in life and in death.
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