Se7en (1995)
You’re no messiah. You’re a movie of the week!
THE SUMMARY: Two detectives chase a mysterious serial killer who murders a victim for each of the deadly sins, to illustrate a point about a wicked, fallen world. It’s tense, it’s suspenseful, and the ending twist is pretty good, but it lacks the philosophical and moral depth the concept could achieve. It’s just perfectly okay.
FROM MOVIE-PICKER ‘THE EVOLUTIONARY CONSERVATIVE’: Easily David Fincher’s best film to date. A pair of detectives struggle to find a serial killer who is murdering his victims according to the seven deadly sins of the Old Testament. Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman do some of their finest work in this crime thriller.
JAMIE AND JEANNE’S SHOW AI ART FOR THE WEEK:
I am once again asking for a hit piece for digital black face
THE BEST:
Decent gore and jump scare: The murder scenes don’t disappoint. They’re gory, they’re nasty, and one of them isn’t actually a completed murder yet (the emaciated sloth guy). In a movie with a premise of a serial killer following a specific pattern, it’s tough to maintain surprise and intrigue, but Se7en pulls it off, from the glutton’s forced spaghetti all the way through the wrath of Mills’ revenge.
Is apathy a solution?: In a scene that seems forgettable, there’s a profound lesson - apathy is no substitute for purpose. In explaining his disillusion, Somerset says to Mills that he can’t continue working and living in a city of amorality and apathy. Nobody cares about what’s right, or what’s worthwhile, and Somerset understands why - it’s easy:
‘I just don't think I can continue to live in a place that embraces and nurtures apathy as if it was virtue… I sympathize completely. Apathy is a solution. I mean, it's easier to lose yourself in drugs than it is to cope with life. It's easier to steal what you want than it is to earn it. It's easier to beat a child than it is to raise it. Hell, love costs - it takes effort and work.’
It’s a great quote that’s also wrong, at least partially, but that’s kinda the point - apathy isn’t a solution. It’s just a perceived one. It’s an excuse, not a justification - case in point, Somerset himself. He’s a single old man with an aborted baby and a demoralizing career that provides for nobody.
The lesson? Take the tough paths toward something, not the easy indulgence of the day. If you’re struggling, good - that means you’re learning something, and it means you care enough to be dissatisfied with the status quo.
It’s more comfortable to label people insane than to consider their perspective: In the car ride to the ending scene, Mills asks John Doe if he knows that he’s insane, and Doe responds ‘it’s more comfortable for you to label me insane.’ It’s an easy path we all take. We call people crazy, rather than consider their perspective and argue the merits. Granted, this case isn’t some debate - it’s serial murder. But the truth is even criminals have their reasons, at least most of the time, and we solve problems by investigating why they happen, not just dismissing them as unexplainable.
A simple life with a wife and kid is indeed enviable: Men: keep it simple. Sure, money, power, women, or whatever other thrills we may chase seem enticing, but there’s no greater fulfillment than you will find in building your own family, which is why Doe envies Mills. You don’t have to be a superhero to find satisfaction and live an enviable life. You just have to stay focused on what matters: a wife and child with your commitment, and in turn, a future.
You are, actually, a movie of the week: It’s a moment that’s hilarious only in this context, but I laughed out loud when Mills yelled at John Doe ‘you’re no messiah - you’re a movie of the week!’ In this case, literally. But even in my own experience with it too - it’s just the movie of the week I won’t think much about later.
He’s alive!
Apathy is a solution
You’re no messiah - you’re a movie of the week!
THE WORST:
The killer’s appeal is lacking: I think the ending car ride scene where John Doe explains himself is actually fairly well performed, but it doesn’t do much to convince me of his motives or plausible justification. The best villains are at least somewhat relatable, and you can understand their reasons. John Doe just hates our toleration of sin. And while I certainly see a similar world where sin is tolerated or even celebrated today, it’s hard to find anything relatable about Doe’s response of violating a Biblical commandment in retaliation.
Then again, maybe this bit is more relatable than I’m crediting. After all, ‘I don’t like sluts and fatties - they should die’ sounds like a quote that could come from a Sunday stream. I just wish John Doe had something more morally compelling to offer in his defense. Instead his explanation is just a dressed-up retelling of what we already knew. It’s just that simple - he savagely killed these people just because he doesn’t like sin. So he commits an ultimate sin. It’s not a very interesting case.
Brad Pitt’s acting at the end: Brad Pitt’s acting upon the revelation of his wife’s murder is atrocious. ‘Oh God! Oh God!’ Or maybe it’s just the writing. It’s just barely better than ‘Oh jeez! Oh golly gee! My wife is dead, and I sure would prefer a different outcome!’ Then again, his wife’s character sucked so bad, maybe Mills really is only pretending to care. Getting Gwyneth Paltrow killed out of your life seems like a really serendipitous win to me.
Mills’ wife is trash: To elaborate, I don’t just hate her character because Paltrow plays her. I hate her character because she’s a trash wife. She keeps the news of her pregnancy from her husband, and consults with a guy she barely knows about getting an abortion, intending not to tell her husband about that either. She got exactly what she was planning for her child - an immoral dismemberment.
The abortion nonsense: Speaking of, Somerset speaks pure nonsense to Tracy at the breakfast meeting in which she makes the pregnancy announcement. He says he got a girlfriend pregnant many years ago, and they opted for abortion, reasoning he saved this kid from an ugly world by killing it. He says he ‘wore his girlfriend down’ to do it. Worse still, despite his own acknowledgement of regret, he still advises Tracy to keep ‘her decision’ from Mills. Yikes.
Sure, Somerset also says he regrets his decision, and perhaps we can understand his decision to be a mistake, but my problem with this point isn’t just pearl clutching about the morality of it. It’s that Somerset is completely inconsistent with himself.
As referenced earlier, he says he needs out of this job because he can’t stand a city that accepts or promotes apathy anymore. And yet, here he is, promoting apathy. Hey Tracy, either kill your kid in secret, or keep him and spoil him every day. It’s up to you - I don’t care. Because I’m the exact sort of morally apathetic person I can’t stand.
Gosh darnit, my wife is dead
The killer explains himself
Murder that baby, or spoil him - I don’t care
THE RATING: 3/5 Wickies. Worth a watch, but not really worth another. There’s some intrigue in the mystery of the killer’s identity and motive, but the moral concepts and dilemmas are half-baked.
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NEXT WEEK: Gone with the Wind (1939)
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