THE INDISPENSIBLES - #12: SE7EN
This will be written as if Se7en is unknown to you. Although its third act reveal is pretty much common knowledge now and the film is legendary as a result - defining a ‘term’ in movie-making as a result - and although its [then] secret casting is now very much out there, such matters will be going undiscussed (or should I say “unspoilt”?) by me here on in:
When people discuss David Fincher’s Se7en in terms of making shallow comparisons, they’re quick to liken it to other cop-hunting-serial-killer movies like The Silence Of The Lambs or other buddy movies with a wise old cop and a kung-ho young rookie. They always seem to skirt past the most accurate comparison of all - William Friedkin’s The Exorcist:
Both are dark, grisly, horrifying and intelligent, both are pitched perfectly to scaring and intimidating their respective audience to the maximum level possible and, best of all, both directors understand that, although they are complete separate in subject matter, the true mastery is not in showing us scenes of a horrific nature but simply bringing us in on the aftermath and letting our imagination provide the real scares. Yes, The Exorcist has its fair share of crucifixes being stabbed into vaginas and the like, but for the most part – like Se7en – it’s power is in suggestion!
Se7en is a serial killer movie without, by and large and pulling all the technicalities in the world into play here, any actual serial killing going on for us to see on screen. It almost removes itself from comparison to other subgenre siblings as a result. If Se7en were a naked woman it wouldn’t be the horrifyingly coarse and vulgar antics of the likes of Jordan or Jodie Marsh, it would be in the mould of an arty, suggestive, beautifully shot 70s “grot” magazine!
The film opens on Somerset (Morgan Freeman), a meticulous veteran cop who lives a lonely bachelor’s life in what looks like a furnished single room. Then he meets Mills (Brad Pitt), an impulsive young cop who actually asked to be transferred into Somerset’s district, bringing with him his primary-school-teaching wife, Tracey (Gwyneth Paltrow). The two men investigate a particularly gruesome murder, in which a fat man was tied by his hands and feet and forced to eat himself to death. His crime was that of Gluttony.
Soon Somerset and Mills are investigating equally inventive murders involving Greed, Sloth (one of the film’s genuinely brilliant masterstrokes in terms of set-up and execution!), Lust and the other deadly sins. In each case, the murder method is appropriate, and disgusting (one victim is forced to cut off a pound of his own flesh; another is tied to a bed for a year and left to die; a third, too proud of her beauty, is disfigured and then offered the choice of a call for help or sleeping pills to overdose on and another unfortunate is forced to butcher – with a psychotically designed sex aid – the prostitute that he regularly ‘uses’). Somerset concludes that the killer, ‘John Doe’ as he has been nicknamed, is using his crimes to preach a sermon to the sinful masses. The detectives realise they have to hunt down and stop this killer before he completes his masterpiece. Eventually, it becomes clear that the killer’s sermon is being preached directly to the two policemen, and that in order to understand it, they may have to risk their lives and souls.
This is filmmaking of an extremely high order. Fincher blasts away all thought of his disastrously handled big-screen directorial debut (the misfire that was Alien3, a film hugely butchered at the hands of 20th Century Fox and which Fincher alone had to carry the critical flack for but has since disowned). Screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker, previously scraping a living working at Tower Records in California, provides one of the strongest screenwriting debuts in the history of cinema. Morgan Freeman confirms his status as one of the greatest living actors and Brad Pitt destroys any notion of himself as just the “sexiest man alive” by delivering a fantastically nuanced performance no one thought him capable of. The material by itself could have been handled in many ways, but Fincher goes for evocative atmosphere, and Andrew Kevin Walker writes dialogue that for Morgan Freeman, in particular, is wise, informed and poetic.
Se7en is a very dark film in both visual terms and that of its content, obviously. Only the flashlights of the detectives or the headlights of passing cars seem to illuminate many a scene. Even when all the lights are turned on in the apartments of the victims, they cast only small, insignificantly hopeless pools of light. The lighting almost suggests there was never any chance for these victims. God was never looking in their general direction. They had ‘sinned’, John Doe was to absolve them of such sins in the only way he knew how and there wasn’t a thing God could do about it.
Although the time of the story is the present, the set design by Gary Wissner alludes to a sort of “every-time”. Somerset appears as a character that walks the streets of the 50s. Mills dresses very much as a man of this era. Buildings and locations, save for the finale, suggest a brash amalgamation of every decade, past, present and future. Then there’s the rain. The never-ending rain, which is present incessantly throughout the film, is almost a character in itself. Ever present until the movie’s climax when the blistering sun seems to shine in ironically the most darkest of moments.
Se7en is extremely unique in that it brings the killer onscreen with half an hour to go, and gives him a speaking role. Instead of simply being there to be “got and shot” (as Steven Seagal famously described how he liked to see his villains portrayed) he is revealed as a twisted but articulate antagonist, who has devised a truly horrifying plan for concluding his ‘sermon’. The actor playing the killer is not identified by name in the advertisements or opening credits at both his own and David Fincher’s request. This was because, at the time of the film’s release, this particular actor was on the rise to where he stood on the Hollywood ladder at that time (funny how the triple whammy of Pay It Forward, Beyond The Sea and getting “mugged” whilst walking through renound London homosexual hang-outs, can fuck with a man’s career huh?) He felt that if he was advertised then people would be waiting for him to come into the film and, when he had not made an appearance by the half way mark, they would correctly deduce that he must be the killer. The effectiveness of his late, and surprise entry, into the film strengthens the genuine shocks that follow as a result!
Where Se7en achieves true cinematic greatness is in its finale – not to be discussed here within this essay and whose revelation should be ignored by all who are unaware of it. It is possibly as dark, disturbing and wince inducing as an ending could possibly get in a commercial film. Anyone who tells you they saw it coming is a liar of the very worst kind! The kind that will steal your girlfriend, your car and your last ten quid and then say “It wasn’t me!”
It remains intact from the very first draft of the screenplay due to the bravery of all those involved. Brad Pitt signed on specifically because of that ending and had to threaten to breach his own contract and walk off the film when he found out that the studio had pulled the original ending in favour of a one revealing the killer to be a disgruntled priest, with an ensuring shoot-out in a burning church! The studio tried to appease him by altering the ending to the killer being shot through the window of Mills’ apartment, by Mills and Somerset from across the way on the train platform, as he stalks down the corridor towards an unaware, showering Tracey. Again Pitt threatened to walk away. Morgan Freeman backed him one hundred percent – even when the studio offered to keep the original ending but switch the protagonist of it to Freeman’s character, in order to alter the ‘victory’ that results within it’s framework (this was actually shot and can be found on special edition versions of the DVD). Pre-production closed and Fincher started to look at other projects. Eventually New Line, the studio producing the film, recanted and one of the most shocking endings in cinema since The Wicker Man was saved.
Perhaps the reason the film avoids full recognition as a genuine modern classic in the eyes of the masses is because it isolates too many people with its subject matter. The film is not a gore-soaked horror movie. It is much more intelligent and cleverly presented then that and will only serve to disappoint when “pigeon-holed” – it isn’t just a serial killer movie, it isn’t a “buddy” movie, it’s not your typical Brad Pitt movie (back when there was such a thing). It is just its own wonderfully dark, unique little creation that cinema is all the better for having. It perhaps defines the term ‘modern masterpiece’ don’t you think?
Related Posts:
- THE INDISPENSIBLES - The Bibliography
- THE INDISPENSIBLES - #15: HALLOWEEN
- THE INDISPENSIBLES - #0: THE SET-UP
- THE INDISPENSIBLES - #21: GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES
- THE INDISPENSIBLES - #9: MARTY
12 Responses to “THE INDISPENSIBLES - #12: SE7EN”
Seven is such an amazing film. Number 4 on my top 100 movies list, it’s an absolute masterpiece, almost perfect. Fincher is an absolute genius, plain and simple. Speakin; of, it’s criminal that Zodiac was so overlooked during awards this year, and se7en too actually was criminally overlooked. Hopefully that’ll be rectified with a few nods for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
I hope this essay did the film justice for you then! I do worry as we march ever closer to the TOP TEN whether what I’m saying serves the selected films the way they deserve!
It definitely does, nicely written, you pick out a lot of the great things in se7en that more often or not get overlooked. It’s such an econmical, brilliant script. We spent a full hour just analysing the opening scene of Somerset getting ready in college back in the day. There’s so much information layered throughout that scene that you already know exactly who Somerset is before he eeven opens his mouth.
I thought Fincher was one of the people who was instrumental in getting the ending put back in though. I remeber reading in Empire when it came out and I think in teh commentary in the special edition that he got involved after the rewrite which had the more hollywood chase ending but got sent the earlier draft by accident and was blown away by the original ending, and was the one that started the fight to get it reinstated. Of course I imagine it’s the kinda thing that everyone wants to take credit for!
The ending Fincher first seen in script form was the one in which DOE is in MILL’s apartment and the 2 detectives have worked out the “plan” and that TRACEY is a target and there’s a car chase to get back to the apartment. You know the whole trains rumbling past in the movie? That was “set-up” as MILLS and SOMERSET get stuck in traffic, MILLS gets out and runs, he gets up onto the train platform and levies his gun at his ajacent apartment. DOE goes stalking down the corridor towards a showering TRACEY. MILLS goes to open fire, a train pulls in blocking his view. SOMERSET is now at the apartment, racing up the stairs. MILLS jumps on to the roof of the train and smashes through the apartment window, he lands in front of DOE. SOMERSET bursts in behind him. DOE charges MILLS. SOMERSET and MILLS open fire and shoot him dead. *THE END*
Fincher stated he loved the script but absolutely flat out detested the ending. New Line stated that they already had Walker at work on the ending because they’d never liked the original ending and they didn’t like his ‘new’ one either.
Pitt was ready to commit but said that the script he had read, and loved had a completely different ending to the one that his agent was now brandishing in front of him. He signed on in agreement that they were going to go back to the original ending.
Fincher in the meantime, went back over ALL the drafts and found the ORIGINAL ending and decided he wasn’t going to move from that. That was what he wanted to shoot and that was what the ‘essence’ of the film was.
Meanwhile, New Line pushed on with the idea that JOHN DOE was a disgruntled priest and that the ending would be a shoot-out in a flaming church with SOMERSET giving his life to save Mills.
Pitt threatened to walk unless the original agreement was honoured (to reinstate the original ending) and Morgan Freeman backed him one hundred percent – even when the studio offered to keep the original ending but switch the protagonist of it to Freeman’s character, in order to alter the ‘victory’ that results within it’s framework.
Eventually, in order to get the production rolling the agreement was that the original ending would “go” but that a variation of it would be shot to appease the studio. That’s what you see on the DVD.
Rumour has it that Fincher, Freeman and Pitt deliberately “fudged” the shooting and acting in the appeased variation so that it would hit with less impact AND be considered not-usuable!
Yeah I knew there was a fairly convulted series of events leading to it, just Fincher wasn’t mentioned in that part of the article, and I was sure I remembered him being part of teh whole fight to reinstate the original ending. Thank **** they all had the integrity abd balls to stick to their guns, especially Fincher considering the amount of shit he was forced to swallow with Alien 3, if it wa sme I would’ve just said ‘**** this!” and walked away.
Did you ever see that “leaked” script for EI8HT (I shit you not!) many years ago? God only knows if it was real or fanboy written:
… Turns out that “JOHN DOE” was part of the ‘game’ and not the mastermind, and ‘things’ kick off again (despite the fact that… erm… the ’seven deadly sins’ thing was accomplished!) and SOMERSET has to drag MILLS out of a mental asylum to help him with the case!
It was HORRIBLE! And the great thing about it was that for like 2 years straight afterwards all the trades, were talking about the ‘developing of this sequel’ and Fincher, Pitt and Freeman were like “No!” “No!” and “No!” so there was a relative degree of safety in the fact that you knew it wasn’t really going to go ahead!
I’m a bit of a sequel junkie, it has to be said, but even I’m precious regarding certain film materials and the idea of a sequel to the likes of SE7EN or SHAWSHANK or DO THE RIGHT THING would just smart on me something rotten!
However, I would LOVE to see an OUT OF SIGHT sequel. I just would… I know it would never be as good as the original but if they got EVERYONE involved again, it certainly wouldn’t be “shit”. And I would love to see those characters interface with each other again!
PS
Can I just take this opportunity - sorry about the tangent - to vocally exclaim once again to my friend ‘Page 7 Fella’ that Samuel L. Jackson at the end of OUT OF SIGHT is NOT, I repeat NOT, playing the same character he did in JACKIE BROWN! Seriously… two different names, two different appearances, two different timelines… STOP with the argument now!
Yeha I remember hearing about ei8ht way back when, but I was hoping if I ignored it, it would go away, much like my genital warts.
Sam Jackson may not have been playing the same charcter in both films but Michael Keaton was. Which I thought was pretty cool, despite not particularily liking Jackie Brown.
Oh yeah, the Ray Nicolette thing is very obvious, but I have a friend who is OBSESSED with trying to prove that the Sam Jackson thing is true!
Saying that, this is the same person that refuses to accept that he has not seen, nor does it exist, an American remake of THE KILLER from 1994 with Richard Gere, Armand Assante and Mimi Rogers, directed by Walter Hill!
Say it loud, say it proud:
“…. DIDN’T. HAPPEN.”
Haha, that reminds me of the family guy bit in the latest series when somone mentions being ’stubborn as a mule’ and it cuts to a guy and a donkey on a couch, with the donkey insisting…well whadya know it’s on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jmrd1MbNkFs
I just liked the Ray Nicolette thing because Elmore Leonard does that a lot in his books, has characters pop up in small cameos that had larger roles in other books.
I know, I thought it was a very nice touch.
That FAMILY GUY clip is good. But it’s nothing to equal the one where they cut to MAGNUM PI and Magnum is bitch-slapping Higgens until he refers to himself as ‘Tattoo’ (from FANTASY ISLAND).
when i saw this movie i said “HEY its the same beautiful amazingly shockingly attractive individual from that shaekspeare movie!”
this is where brad pitt started going out with her (piece of shit asshole)
oh shes so beautiful (!!!)
if you can read this gwyneth…can i carry your books for you!!? do your laundry!?
ahhhh…..<3
PLEASE:
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