"There are seven deadly sins, Captain. Gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, pride, lust, and envy. Seven... You can expect five more of these."
-Detective William Somerset
Starring: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, John C. McGinley, R. Lee Ermey, and (SPOILER ALERT) Kevin Spacey
Directed By: David Fincher
Trailer: "Let he who is without sin try to survive"
Premise: Detective David Mills has been reassigned to a crapsack city to replace the retiring Detective Somerset, and as his first case, the two of them find themselves on the trail of a serial killer whose murders are based on the Seven Deadly Sins.
My familiarity with this movie: Watched it in a film class at BCTC when I was a student there. I loved it.
Notes, opinions, general thoughts (beware of spoilers):
- Some people might argue that this isn't a horror film. It's a thriller. Specifically, a neo-noir crime thriller. I understand why you would think that, and I respect your opinion. That said...this is my blog, and I think that, due to the horrifying themes, dark tone, and brutality, I count it as a horror film. So nyah.
- The awesome opening credits sequence is what put Kyle Cooper, a director specializing in title sequences) on the map. Cooper is responsible for the title sequences of such movies as "Men in Black", "The Mummy (1999)", several of the Metal Gear Solid games, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, and American Horror Story.
- The Gluttony victim, being fed spaghetti until he burst...I guess he went pasta point of no return.
- Interesting to see R. Lee Emery, best known for being THE movie drill sergeant...as a relatively calm police captain.
- On that note, him answering a ringing phone by yelling "This isn't even my desk!" then hanging up is hilarious.
- Y'know, some of Mills' mannerisms and personality, remind me of my brother when he was younger. If you're reading this: hi, James!
- Greed: a lawyer bled to death by being forced to cut off a pound of his own flesh
- I wonder if there's anything to the "Greed" victim having a Jewish name? Maybe?
- I really dig the scene in the library. The banter with Somerset and the guards, especially when they decide to prove that they've "got culture coming outta [their] asses" by playing a Bach piece. It's a a funny and oddly touching scene.
- Another funny moment is after the dinner, how Mills offers Somerset a beer, but he declines, prefering wine. So, Somerset gives him a glass tumbler filled with wine. Even better, Somerset doesn't notice until the apartment starts shaking and he picks his glass off the table, giving it a double-take.
- Sloth: Oh god. The most memorable and disturbing victim in the film.
- Tracy doesn't want to raise a kid in the city. Gee, I wonder why?
- Brand Pitt's arm went through a car windshield during the chase scene, requiring surgery. This injury was worked into the film's story.
- Those aren't blank notebooks on the shelves in Doe's apartment. Crew members of the film worked to fill every single page in them, even though most of them aren't seen in the film, and the few pages that ARE shown, are only seen for a few seconds.
- Lust: If Sloth was the worst of the murders, this one is a VERY close second.
- The guy brought in for questioning is played by Leland Orser, who went without sleep for a few days and induced hyperventilating in himself to make his tramuatized performance seem realistic.
- Pride: Suicide after having her face mutilated. Cut off her nose, to spite her face.
- John Doe is played by Kevin Spacey, who was uncredited in the opening, and did no promotion for the film, in order to keep his appearance a secret.
- The motive rant by Doe in the back of the car is chilling, but fantastically written and acted.
- Despite "What's in the box?!" becoming a meme, the tension of the film's climax is also "edge of your seat" thrilling.
- Envy: John Doe is envious of Mills' marriage, so he decapitated Tracy
- And Brad Pitt's tortured performance of grief and barely-restrained rage is really incredible.
- It's been said that there's a subliminal image of Tracy right before Mills pulls the trigger. The common rumor was that it was an image of her severed head in the box. While there IS a subliminal image of Tracy, it's a shot of her, still alive.
- Fun fact: last year (2017), Gwyneth Paltrow, as a joke, went as Tracy Mills for Halloween. And by that, I mean she stuck a cardboard box on her head. Honestly, it was pretty funny.
- Wrath: Mills kills Doe in anger
- The original idea was to end the film after Mills shoots Doe, but the studio intervened and added the extra scene afterwards with Somerset quoting Hemingway to kinda soften the blow of the bleak ending.
- 7 dead bodies (how many were you expecting?)
- 74 F-bombs
- CUTIE ALERT: Tracy Mills
- 10 removed fingerprints
- 1 severed hand
- bladed strapon
- dozens of air fresheners
- unexpected Kevin Spacey
- subliminal image of Gwyneth Paltrow
- 1 unborn child
- severed head in a box
- lots of rain
- too much spaghetti
It's the only real jump scare in the film, but incredibly effective.
The Good:
- The story! The plot moves along at a nice pace, with lots of room for characterization.
- There's a fantastically bleak atmosphere to the film. From the constant rain, the grimy settings, to the way the footage was processed all contributing to the themes of darkness and apathy.
- The cast of characters is great. Mills' optimism and youth is a great counterpoint to Somerset's cynicism and experience, with wonderful performances from both Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. Likewise, Gwyneth Paltrow has a great turn as the innocent Tracy, and what can be said about Spacey as John Doe that hasn't been said before.
- Just like last night's movie, the horror of the movie lies in NOT showing. Aside from Wrath, none of the actual murders are shown onscreen. Instead, they're seen afterwards or described in detail. Several viewers remember seeing Tracy's head inside the box...but it's never actually shown. Morgan Freeman's reaction of horror, and Spacey's description do the job so well that our imagination fills it in.
- There's a certain timelessness to the film's style and setting that help it to hold up today.
The Bad:
- I'm not gonna lie to you: it's a very dark, very bleak movie. No happy ending. Maybe overbearingly so. Definitely not for everyone.
- The plot point about the library card and the FBI feels a bit convenient and contrived. (Though after the Patriot Act lead to that kinda thing actually happening in real life...)
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