Se7en (1995)
My coworkers had asked the films I had to watch for class a few weeks ago. When I told them Se7en was one of them, they started making this joke about a box. Now, I had seen the memes, never the film. Needless to say, I was left confused for a bit. Now, I get it. Ironically, I think the joke is more hilarious in context. I know that is horrible.
Anyway, the movie. When the intro credits began, I thought of Nine Inch Nails. I said this sounds a lot like the song "Closer" by them. Then some of the lyrics were at the end of the intro, and I knew. I said, "I can fuck with this movie." And, to my surprise, I loved this one. The murders were brutal. But, I think we all have some fascination with the idea of the Seven Deadly Sins. I think a lot of media forms have used the sins, one if not all, to capitalize on psychopathic plot lines. However, I really never get tired of watching an excellent full Seven Sins Killer.
Our killer is wrapped under the idea he is doing some Divine Power's work. Jonathan Doe, never named. I feel like the lack of naming was the whole point. Doing a "great deed" should remain private by nature. We all question why so many people feel compelled to film themselves doing a good deed. This movie relieves us from that burden. However, his murders are so extreme and over the top that they make heads turn. The excuse for that? Because everyday people turn a blind eye to those "sins." So, to make them see, it must be extreme. If you believe in such things, do you turn away from them? We all fit comfortably in one or more traits of the sins. Is that why people are so keen to look elsewhere? I believe in human decency and morals, but not any religious structure or higher power. I have a conscience, not a religion. So, my line of thinking is much different from someone who believes in the idea of sin.
Every move is planned out by John, which is fascinating alone. He hides in plain sight, under people that would typically be overlooked, such as a reporter. He also looks ordinary. Just another guy on the street mixing with other people. There is no real distinction. We know that this is rather typical of a psycho as well. However, the unexpected is always unexpected. I have also seen some very knock-off versions of a Sin Killer. You know, the ones where the murders just barely have to do with the concept of the sin? Yes. Those. But, in this film, John is pretty damn accurate concerning the crimes and ideas. It is hard to pick. My favorites are a tie between Pride and Lust.
The thought of the phone and pills; life after. The woman murdered under the sin of Pride was so fabulously done. To also think, the fact the killer knew she would not call on her own, so he did was a creative and exciting touch. The Lust murder was just brutal. I love brutal. While the other crimes: gluttony, greed, and sloth were equally on par, they had no chance of topping either of those.
That is enough of me fanning over the brutality. My only qualm with this film was the end. Nope. Not the part where the head is in the box, assumingly. Though, there are a few gory things I wish we got more of, the head in the box was one. While I also was not happy Mills shot John and finished the cycle, I am not referring to that either. I mean the very end. Mills is being driven away in the back of a cop car. I felt this left no resolve for the viewer. Why end it in such a way? As against Alexis as this is going to sound, I rather have had Mills finally learn to control his emotions and not kill John. I guess I was looking too hard into character growth than a mere cliff hanger with no resolve.
Why am I just now responding to this? I don't know--my bad.
ReplyDeleteI have been making "What's in the box?" jokes since I first saw this about a decade ago to many a confused look. I too would've liked to see the head. I'm okay with the artistic decision not to show it (I also wonder if that could've been something that would've taken this from R to NC17), but I still would've preferred the alternative. And only partially because it's Gwen Paltrow.
I like the point you bring up about people filming themselves doing good deeds... I took PR classes as an undergrad that focused on getting people to donate and support non and not-for profits. The main lesson of the courses boiled down to, you gotta make the people want to do it for their own selfish reasons. They want pats on the back. They want their name to be on the top of the donor list. They want a calendar they can point out to their friends to say "I got that for donating $10 to save the African children!" It's the kind of thing Mr. Doe would absolutely despise, and in those moments, he's understandable which makes him an even more fascinating character.
Another thing that makes him so fascinating, that didn't really click until I read your post, is how he has everything planned. As you say, there's the way he goes ALL IN with connecting his killings to sin he's addressing. But, at the same time, he's not a character from a Bond or Christopher Nolan film that is able to go beyond planning things into straight seeing into the future. (Ain't no way any of the Joker's plans from the Dark Knight would've panned out just the way he envisioned them). John Doe is thrown for a serious loop when they manage to track him down before he expected them to. He rebounds, yes. But he wasn't prepared for them to come knocking on his door and that made him that much realer. He didn't know whether he was going to kill Mills or not until he had the gun on Mills's head.
Since I'm writing this AFTER I already responded to Joyride. His reaction to events not going as planned was much more satisfying than Wayne's.