"Ernest Hemingway once said the world is a fine place, and worth fighting for. I agree with the second part."
- Det. William Sommerset
So says Det. Sommerset (Morgan Freeman), in voice over, at the conclusion of Se7en, a film that is one of the most gruesome pieces of filmmaking I have ever seen, yet is surprisingly graphic only in the details of the crime scenes. Had this movie been made today, where we have been desensitized by Saw and Hostel, we might have gotten scenes of the killer actually carrying out these acts of torture, instead of the intelligent mystery that is wrapped around the reason for these killings.
Today, the movie might have opened with John Doe (Kevin Spacey) torturing the gluttony victim, instead of Sommerset and Det. Mills (Brad Pitt) meeting at an unrelated crime scene. Thankfully David Fincher, who had only been known for Alien 3, defined a very unique style that he would lay out in two other films in which the minds of the insane are explored. This is still my favorite film he's made, unlike Fight Club (1999), which is entertaining for two viewings, and then becomes overrated with each subsequent observation.
The movie is about a killer who's M.O. is the seven deadly sins as laid out by Dante and observed in many classic books (Canterbury Tales and the Divine Comedies are mentioned frequently). Sommerset and Mills set-out to try and solve the case: Sommerset is retiring, on his final week, and Mills is new, training to make a difference in the world.
The characters exist in a city that has the look and feel of Los Angeles in the 40s, and the weather of Seattle. The film bleeds of film noir in every frame, as muted colors, especially blacks and grays, are used throughout the film to establish the somber mood. Is this movie an allegory of our times, still relevant today? Definitely. Sommerset hates living in the city, where petty murders happen a mere four blocks from the police station and are ignored for the higher profile murders of famous lawyers.
The film does a very good job of incorporating the cop buddy cliché into this movie because rarely have we ever seen it used in this setting. If you think about it, the relationship between the cops isn't any different the relationship between Danny Glover and Mel Gibson in the Lethal Weapon films. Sommerset is established as very traditional and studious, going to the library to research the seven deadly sins and tying his own ties (a lost art, apparently). Mills, on the other hand, needs CliffNotes to get through the Divine Comedies, and has all his ties pre-tied for him. The contrast between the two is very distinct, most obviously in Sommerset's placidity and Mills' yearning to get things done.
A question I kept posing myself throughout the film was why do I like this, and for that matter, why is it so good? The film is depraved on many levels, but a little depravity probably isn't a bad thing, as long as mature viewers are witnessing it. But one could argue that the film is merely a slideshow of gruesome acts dressed with classic literature to give it some sense of higher meaning. The meaning of it all, though, is only evident to John Doe, the crazed mastermind behind it all.
We do enjoy villains who are articulate, who say exactly what they mean to say. Why else was Hannibal Lecter so appealing? Kevin Spacey is terrific as the killer, and it is to this movie's credit that he doesn't show up until the last half hour of the film, and that he isn't a raving lunatic. He is crazy, but like all crazy people he believes he is working for a higher cause, that he was chosen to carry out the acts laid out before him.
"Only in a world this shitty could you even try to say that these were innocent people and keep a straight face. But that's the point. We see a deadly sin on every street corner, in every home, and we tolerate it. We tolerate it because it's common, it's trivial. We tolerate it morning, noon, and night." This is how John Doe puts it when asked why he murdered the innocents. Yes they were imperfect human beings, and so are all of us. That's John Doe's sermon: our world has gotten so bad that these Seven Deadly Sins are seen by many on a regular, daily basis. And who can say they haven't experienced gluttony, greed, pride, sloth, lust, envy, or wrath at some point in their lifetime? I can attest that I have experienced at least gluttony and/or sloth on more then one occasion (those two go together, almost).
As I stated before, there is no real exhibition of actual violence in the film, save one chase scene. However, the film graphically depicts the violent acts the victims undergo throughout the course of the film, and leaves the actual crime to your imagination. The crime scenes even help clearly illustrate to you how the crime scene is played out, but the film isn't here for all the gory details. We don't every see the whore's mangled body, or the disfigured face of the woman, though we do see the fat man, the lawyer, and the drug dealer who has been lying down for a year.
I guess the great irony of the film is that only in a society such as ours could a film like this be considered excellent, a real tapestry of violence and insanity. Of course, the film is merely an adaptation of the great works of literature it displays in the film. The Bible is very bloody, as are some of Shakespeare's plays (Merchant of Venice is directly referenced here, and we can thank God John Doe decided not to take note of Titus Andronicus). Violence has been a natural part of society, from the gladiators to the current spectacle we see depicted on celluloid.
Every year I make a list of top 50 favorite movies I have ever seen, usually to incorporate some new discovery I have made in the past year, or to reorder something I don't particularly agree with now. On the four lists I have made thus far, I have consistently ranked Se7en as one of my favorites, a couple of times in my top 10. What makes this movie so sublime, I think, is that every time I watch it I discover something new and yet am able to relive the suspense the first time I saw the movie. Even though I anticipate that ending, it still makes my jaw drop in horror every time.
Though the final moment of the climax is something I continually agree and disagree with regularly. The movie has an alternate ending that personally sounds like a better one to me. Mills has too much time to think about the action he is going to take, and Sommerset just stands there and lets him think about it without physically intervening. It's a moment that wouldn't happen ever, but as I've said, this movie incorporates the buddy cop formula into a deadly situation.
Ultimately, Se7en is a movie I will always love, despite my minor disagreement with the final moment of the ending. But it's a film rich with acting, set design, directing, writing, and of course, a killer ass opening credits sequence. If I ever make a list of the 10 best opening credit sequences of all time, Se7en will definitely be on that list.
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