Aside from Stephen Spielberg being one of my favorite movie directors, David Fincher is my all-time favorite director. He didn’t go to film school, he had experience with being a cinematographer for the special effects studio Industrial Light & Magic. His directorial debut was Alien 3, it was mired in studio interference. It got to a point where he disowned the film and had the film use the name Alan Smithee to be the assumed director of the film. Se7en is what I consider a reset film. Where you had a stinker for a debut, but an utter masterpiece for a second film.
1. The Opening Title Sequence
Rarely does a film have a unique title sequence that I must bring it up. Let me back up a but for context. We are introduced to the seasoned Detective Will Somerset. He’s investigating a homicide and suicide at an apartment. He’s thorough and asks a detective if the new guy has seen the crime scene. The detective couldn’t care less, and thinks the crime is nothing.
They talk and Somerset asks why Mills is in the homicide department. From there we see just how different the two detectives are. Somerset wants to personally know him, and Mills wants to get into the action. As the vet goes to sleep, he turns on a metronome to drown out the noise.
Now, I absolutely love the title sequence. It sets the immediate tone with what we’re going to see. Creepy is an understatement since we see someone clipping together a journal and various writings and pictures of people. To really punctuate it a remix version of Nine Inch Nails’ song Closer. Also, the credits themselves have the scraggly penmanship to it, to really emphasize that the person we’re seeing putting together the journal is not well.
Aside from the aesthetics, it shows just how meticulous the mystery killer is. While we don’t see him commit a murder, the overall attention to detail with how the journal is being assembled is scary. It works since it is being communicated to us, he’s precise and has everything planned out. Since we see other journals near the end of the sequence, we can assume that this isn’t his first rodeo.
2. Mills and Somerset
These guys are the main detectives that see the recent crime scenes plaguing the city. The two have this nice dynamic that really works. As I mentioned prior, Somerset wants to know him while Mills wants to dive into the investigations. It’s established that Will wants to retire from the department but is paired with the new guy by the commissioner.
Other than the title sequence being foreboding, when they first investigate the crime shows the two at their finest. They see a severely obese dead man, and the two have a unique way of investigating a crime scene. Somerset is very meticulous with whole crime scene, with looking around the room and seeing that the corpse has barbwire on his wrists. Mills meanwhile already has everything thought up to what could be the reason why the man is dead.
What the film does so well is that we don’t see the killings before the duo arrive. As they arrive and figure out the connection between the massacres, we can only imagine just how messed up it would’ve been portrayed prior. My favorite scene involving them, is actually when they aren’t together. But one of them actually scared me. There were even real SWAT members who are in the room. They even get startled by the surprise during the crime scene.
If I had to pick out my favorite moments between the duo, it's actually when they're apart. Somerset goes to the local library and picks out books to analyze. Meanwhile, Mills attempts to picture the reasoning of the killings, like he’s Sherlock Holmes. It sets the tone and really gives them depth with how they're attempting to rationalize and figure out who's carrying out the crime.
I feel like Somerset is a miserable character. Not that he's terrible, but having him be weathered as a veteran works since he's put to the test with the deadly sins crimes. Mills is implied to be going down the same path, with each crime scene getting progressively brutal and too close to home. There is one nice scene to break the tension, it's when Mills and his wife invite Somerset for dinner. It's a nice scene, but there's a moment where the subway passes and rattles the apartment. I think it's a warning of what'll happen.
3. Surprise Twist
I really don't want to elaborate but it's what makes the whole film great. Oh hell, I'll just be vague on purpose. The killer is finally revealed when he arrives into the police station. From there, we get to understand his reasoning as to why he fashioned the killings into the seven deadly sins. He sees that anyone innocent can be sinful. Where they deserve to die for living a lie or being unkempt health wise. John Doe is the perfect nemesis for Somerset, they're both tactile and intelligent.
4. Overall
Without giving a lot away, Se7en is one of my favorite David Fincher films. Throughout his career, he would continue pumping out more films that were either great or developed a cult following. This movie is absolutely a must watch.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.