#10 – Seven Pounds
Gabriele Muccino directed Will Smith in this fantastic 2008 drama. Tim (Smith) tests people to see if they are good before donating organs to them. He donates bone marrow, a lung lobe, part of his liver, and a kidney to different people before giving his house to a struggling woman. Finally, he chooses the last two candidates before committing suicide by climbing into a bath of ice with a lethal box jellyfish.
Why would he do this? Through flashbacks we discover that two years previously, Tim caused a car accident which killed his fiancée and six other people. Wracked with guilt, all of Tim’s actions since have been part of a mission of atonement. Smith’s performance is outstanding, and Tim’s suicide is heartbreaking. The final scene reveals the man who received Tim’s corneas meeting the woman who received his heart. The mixture of joy and sadness in this moment will make you cry.