Seven

Seven

1995

Director: David Fincher

Writer: Andrew Kevin Walker

127 Minutes

This is an exciting moment for John Doe (Kevin Spacey). He has done this homework, filled the gaps, and completed his masterpiece.


For this moment, it’s his game. He's made his choices. And these “choices” will lead to one of the great film endings in cinema’s history.

“What’s in the box…”

But in the scene above, John explains himself – for the first time – the Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) and Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) about his motivations behind his horrendous crimes.

But John is patient, intelligent, and confident. He believes he was chosen. He has an answer for everything.

“Wait a minute, I thought all you did was kill innocent people,” Mills instigates.

And finally John loses his temper and explains his reasons:

“Innocent? Is that supposed to be funny? An obese man... a disgusting man who could barely stand up; a man who if you saw him on the street, you'd point him out to your friends so that they could join you in mocking him; a man, who if you saw him while you were eating, you wouldn't be able to finish your meal. After him, I picked the lawyer and I know you both must have been secretly thanking me for that one. This is a man who dedicated his life to making money by lying with every breath that he could muster to keeping murderers and rapists on the streets! A woman... so ugly on the inside she couldn't bear to go on living if she couldn't be beautiful on the outside. A drug dealer, a drug dealing pederast, actually! And let's not forget the disease-spreading whore! Only in a world this shitty could you even try to say these were innocent people and keep a straight face. But that's the point.”

This speech is the entire movie. This speech, even though crazy, makes sense.

And when Detective Mills fires back with petty insults, Somerset knows better. Somerset knows this criminal is not simply a psychotic killer, but an ingenious mastermind.

John Doe says to Mills by saying the only reason he's been taken into custody is because he wanted to be.

It’s true. He turned himself in.

And Doe follows up by saying the only reason Detective Mills is alive is because he spared him. And to remember that. And to remember the life John Doe allowed him to have.

It’s true. Joe could have killed him, but didn’t.

These words grab Mills in a way that makes him lose a handle on the situation, furiously. And not that anyone would have a handle of this situation. It’s too gruesome and fearless to comprehend, except by a madman.

That’s what makes this scene great is a madman explaining his actions and making it understandable, even to a optimistic audience. And though the audience could never kill, rape, or torture, the audience can nod at he notion of sinners walking the streets without any repercussions. They couldn't kill, but they can respect killing the psychotic, pathetic, and useless people on the streets.

It crosses everyone’s mind. Has it crossed yours?

And if it doesn’t, then you're committing the greatest sin of all: ignorance.

In the end, this is not a film you walk out of saying, ‘It was good,” It’s a film you walk out of, saying nothing, get to the car, and driving away you ask, “what the hell just happened…”

It took seven deadly sins to make a masterpiece. And only a madman like Fincher could put it together.

Bravo.