Fact-checking for film "Seven Pounds" (open spoilers)

[CookingWithGas]

**Open spoilers, as noted in title.

**I just watched Seven Pounds on DVD yesterday. There are a few things that kind of jumped out at me (a movie that may have technical inaccuracies, surprise, surprise).

1. The main character commits suicide by allowing himself to be stung by a box jellyfish. Is that certain death if untreated? How long would it take?

2. The main character becomes an organ donor. If the venom from the jellyfish is that potent, wouldn’t that disqualify you from being an organ donor?

3. A blind man is given sight by this donation.The blind man goes from having blue eyes to brown eyes, and the final scene also suggests that the blind man has received entire intact eyes (female lead gazes into eyes of man with restored sight to once again look into the eyes of her departed beloved). I have heard of cornea transplants, which would not change eye color, but not whole-eye transplants. Are whole-eye transplants ever used to restore sight?

[Skara_Brae]

I cannot speak for 2 or 3, but a box jellyfish sting can certainly be fatal, usually by cardiac arrest.

I am not sure this is th best way to kill yourself though, especially if you plan to be an organ donor.

[don_t_ask]

I’m sure Will Smith made this movie so that, if people asked, “What is the worst movie that Will Smith has appeared in,” anyone could answer “Seven Pounds.”

It has one of the worst telegraphed “surprise” endings of all time. The plot is riddled with stupidities and I am now annoyed that you have reminded me that I ever saw it.

[CookingWithGas]

@don_t_ask

It has one of the worst telegraphed “surprise” endings of all time.

Well, since the ending is shown in the first 60 seconds I’m not sure they intended it to be a surprise, although it took me about 45 minutes into the movie to figure out what he was doing.

The plot is riddled with stupidities and I am now annoyed that you have reminded me that I ever saw it.

Oh, well, sorry about that.

[Ferret_Herder]

I work in ophthalmology; IANAD/N. I am not aware of any whole eye transplantation, though I assume someone has tried it experimentally. Corneas are regularly transplanted, and apparently the sclera (white of the eye) can be transplanted to repair an eye damaged in some way. I would have to say there is almost certainly no kind of eye-related transplant that changes eye colors.

[obfusciatrist]

From the National Eye Institute’s FAQ (part of NIH):

Is a whole eye transplant possible?

The optic nerve, which sends visual signals from the eye to the brain, consists of about one million fibers. Because transplanting a whole eye would require that the optic nerve be cut and then reattached, scientists do not expect that this type of procedure will be possible. Researchers are focusing on how to regenerate damaged optic nerves and how to replace damaged retinal cells with healthy transplants. However, this work is in its early stages and it may be many years before there are any findings that could be used to restore vision in humans.

[Superhal]

It was probably just the cornea, not the whole eye.

Yes, when I watched it, I thought the donated heart would be full of poison so it would be unusable.

But hey, what’s up with all the hate? 7 Pounds is Will’s way of getting away from his “typical” roles, and allowed him to make more serious dramatic roles like Pursuit of Happyness. While it might not be the greatest film of all time, he had the courage to expand his range and try something that his fans would probably not like, but would introduce him to new fans.

[garygnu]

@Superhal

…But hey, what’s up with all the hate? 7 Pounds is Will’s way of getting away from his “typical” roles, and allowed him to make more serious dramatic roles like Pursuit of Happyness. While it might not be the greatest film of all time, he had the courage to expand his range and try something that his fans would probably not like, but would introduce him to new fans.

Except he’s done dramatic roles before, such as Six Degrees of Separation. Plus, Pursuit of Happyness (2006) was two years before Seven Pounds (2008). The “hate” is for the movie being horrible in multiple ways. Smith can produce a film with him in any type of role he wants, all we ask is that the movie doesn’t bring us to nausea.

[Death_of_Rats]

@don_t_ask

I’m sure Will Smith made this movie so that, if people asked, “What is the worst movie that Will Smith has appeared in,” anyone could answer “Seven Pounds.”

He had already crossed off that To-Do list entry with “Wild, Wild West”

[Malleus_Incus_Stapes]

I usually don’t feel like I have the right to denigrate shows I don’t watch, or books I didn’t read, but I have two exceptions, on the theory that the basic plots are so stupid, the clone of Will Shakespeare couldn’t save them:

1. Twilight

2. Seven Pounds

3.[del] Hi Opal[/del] nada else

[Ferret_Herder]

@Superhal

It was probably just the cornea, not the whole eye.

That wouldn’t change the colored part (iris) of the eye, though. The cornea is clear and rests over top of the part of the eye that includes the iris, pupil, and lens. Diagram.

[bouv]

I had originally thought a box jellyfish’s poison (venom? I can never keep which is which straight) was a form of tetrodotoxin, but I don’t see it mentioned in the wiki article on box jellyfish or tetrodotoxin.

Of course, I don’t know if tetrodotoxin can be “flushed out” of an organ, but I know some toxins/poisons/venoms can be. But it still does seem silly that he chose that as a method to die rather, than, drowning himself…especially if he drowned himself in a large container of ice water, thus helping to preserve his organs even more, making for a better chance at a transplant.