 | Genre: Thriller, Horror |
The seven deaths start incredibly strong, with gluttony being a man force fed to the point of death and sloth being a man tied to a bed,for a year. There is a decline, however, with greed being a literal pound of flesh cut from a lawyer and pride being a facial mutilation of a women addicted to plastic surgery. These up the connection of the sin to the victim, but are far less impressive in set up and complexity on John Doe's part.
Those first two deaths, as well as being elaborate and horrifying for the detectives, are unpleasant for the viewer. The body horror of both extreme obesity and a body wasting away are shocking and make you thankful that there's no such thing as smell-o-vision. These deaths also set a standard other deaths cannot live up to, and the second half of the film feels very disappointing after their magnificence.
The worst death was lust; sloppy and breaking the character's motive to punish sinners, Doe forces a man visiting a brothel to wear a bladed strap on as a sex toy on a sex worker, killing her. Disappointed by the fact that he brought in a third party to do the killing, by the fact that he considered a sex worker who could have been forced into the job the sinner rather than the man willfully buying her services, and by the fact that the bladed sex toy seems more like a fetishist's murder weapon than an ironic punishment, I nearly overlooked the unnecessary inclusion of sexual assault for shock value.
The ending is legendary, with the contents of the box being debated and theorised about, and the acting is superb. However, despite the brilliant emotional talent of Pitt and Spacey's ability to seem evil, it's weak. Highly praised and oft-quoted, it just doesn't hold a candle to the earlier murders. After spending a year paying for a flat and maintaining sloth's existence, slowly killing him without anyone realising and planning meticulously for the detectives to find on the exact right day... We are to believe he simply murders the detective's wife and goads him into shooting him to finish his masterpiece? There is zero irony or punishment for sin in killing an innocent woman, claiming it's your own sin of envy, nor is there in pushing a man to kill in anger for the sin of wrath. Which is a shame, as the concept is original and genius, the first deaths are brilliantly executed, and the artistry of the last scene is flawless.
Of course, if you've read this far without having seen the film, I've thoroughly spoiled it. However, I was intrigued to watch after seeing an analysis of the sloth scene and other things referencing the ending. Even with the plot spoiled, it's worth the watch; there are moments that shock and thrill regardless and the skill of everyone involved is obvious.
Those first two deaths, as well as being elaborate and horrifying for the detectives, are unpleasant for the viewer. The body horror of both extreme obesity and a body wasting away are shocking and make you thankful that there's no such thing as smell-o-vision. These deaths also set a standard other deaths cannot live up to, and the second half of the film feels very disappointing after their magnificence.
The worst death was lust; sloppy and breaking the character's motive to punish sinners, Doe forces a man visiting a brothel to wear a bladed strap on as a sex toy on a sex worker, killing her. Disappointed by the fact that he brought in a third party to do the killing, by the fact that he considered a sex worker who could have been forced into the job the sinner rather than the man willfully buying her services, and by the fact that the bladed sex toy seems more like a fetishist's murder weapon than an ironic punishment, I nearly overlooked the unnecessary inclusion of sexual assault for shock value.
The ending is legendary, with the contents of the box being debated and theorised about, and the acting is superb. However, despite the brilliant emotional talent of Pitt and Spacey's ability to seem evil, it's weak. Highly praised and oft-quoted, it just doesn't hold a candle to the earlier murders. After spending a year paying for a flat and maintaining sloth's existence, slowly killing him without anyone realising and planning meticulously for the detectives to find on the exact right day... We are to believe he simply murders the detective's wife and goads him into shooting him to finish his masterpiece? There is zero irony or punishment for sin in killing an innocent woman, claiming it's your own sin of envy, nor is there in pushing a man to kill in anger for the sin of wrath. Which is a shame, as the concept is original and genius, the first deaths are brilliantly executed, and the artistry of the last scene is flawless.
Of course, if you've read this far without having seen the film, I've thoroughly spoiled it. However, I was intrigued to watch after seeing an analysis of the sloth scene and other things referencing the ending. Even with the plot spoiled, it's worth the watch; there are moments that shock and thrill regardless and the skill of everyone involved is obvious.
