- Directed by David Fincher
- Written by Andrew Kevin Walker
- Stars Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow
- Run Time: 2 Hours, 7 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znmZoVkCjpI
Spoiler-free Judgment Zone
This is very dark and atmospheric throughout. The casting is perfect. The script is amazing. It’s creepy, unsettling, and chilling. It’s a damn fine film that you should see if you haven’t already.
Spoilery Synopsis
Detective Somerset puts on his tie and gets ready for work. He gets called to a murder investigation, where Detective Taylor is a jerk. Detective Mills reports to Somerset; he’s new in town. Mills fought to get transferred here, and Somerset can’t imagine why. Mills will shadow Somerset for the next seven days until Somerset’s retirement. Credits roll.
Monday. The pair gets called to a crime scene. The officer responding says the crime scene is a mess. They find a hugely obese man face-down in food. They immediately assume it was a coronary, but then they find the man’s arms and legs are tied; someone force-fed him.
The medical examiner says the man has been dead for a long time. The man ate until he burst, though a kick in the stomach from someone helped. Somerset thinks the process has some kind of meaning; murder should be a lot less complicated than this. He predicts that this is just the start.
Tuesday. Mills is reassigned, and this is another murder case. A defense attorney has been found murdered. The word “Greed” is written in blood on the floor.
The chief tells Somerset about it; he doesn’t believe Somerset will really retire, being a cop is in his blood. He also gives Somerset some bits of plastic that were removed from the fat man’s stomach. The plastic prompts Somerset to move the refrigerator; “Gluttony” is written back there in grease. There are seven deadly sins, and here are two of them; five more are coming. Somerset goes to the library to research the case. Mills reads the case files. Research montage!
Wednesday. Mills reads the Cliff’s Notes versions (literally) of Somerset’s research. Tracy, Mills’s wife, asks Somerset over for dinner tonight. They have a nice apartment right next to the subway, which everyone finds hilarious. The “Greed” man’s wife looks at the crime photos and points out that one of the paintings is upside-down. Behind the painting, they find fingerprints. The prints don’t match anyone, but they spell out “Help Me.”
Thursday. The fingerprints finally come back for a man named Victor who has a long criminal history. The “Greed” man was Victor’s lawyer. All the cops arrive at Victor’s home. The whole place has a thousand hanging air fresheners and one man in a bed. They uncover him; Victor is a mummy. “Sloth” is written on the wall. There are a series of photos beginning one year ago today, and each following photo is him starving a little more. Victor starts moving, which gives the movie’s only jump scare– he’s not dead yet. The doctor says the man chewed off his own tongue long ago, and his brain has turned to mush.
Friday. Tracy calls Somerset and wants to meet him to talk. She’s not happy about relocating to the big city. She’s pregnant, hates the city, and doesn’t know what to do. He gives her some advice.
Somerset talks to an FBI friend who tips him off to a man who checked out all the wrong books. Somebody shoots at them and runs off. Mills pursues the guy, firing several shots, but he gets away.
Inside the man’s apartment, they find all kinds of weird religious stuff and souvenirs from the previous crimes. There are no fingerprints anywhere in the place. The killer calls and says he’ll be adjusting his timetable because of all this.
Saturday. They follow up on a receipt from Wild Bill’s leather shop. He made something for “John Doe,” and it was a very special piece. Then they get called to another murder. “Lust” is on the wall. It’s a brothel, and there’s a hysterical man there. The man says someone put a gun to his head and made him kill the prostitute by having sex with her with a strap-on knife.
The two cops talk about mental illness and how real people “are.” Somerset laughs at Mills’s idealism. Mills refuses to give up his idealistic ways, and he shames Somerset a little bit.
Sunday. The killer calls and turns in the case himself. “Pride,” this time. A model had her face cut up and her nose cut off, but she chose suicide rather than live like that.
Joe Doe comes to the police station and turns himself in. He cuts the tips off his own fingers to avoid leaving prints anywhere. They can’t trace much about the man.
Mills and Somerset don’t see why Doe would turn himself in. They both know he’s not done– there are two more murders (Envy and Wrath) still waiting. Doe’s lawyer offers up two more bodies if they give him a deal. And only to the two detectives. If they don’t agree to the deal, Doe will plead insanity and probably get off. Mills and Somerset accept Doe’s deal to reveal the last two victims personally.
The two cops get wired for sound and escort John Doe to the unknown location of the final two bodies. John Doe talks as if his entire plan is a masterpiece of art. “I turn the sin against the sinner.” He makes quite a speech about how awful the world really is. He says all of them will be remembered for a long time for this, especially Mills.
They stop the car out in the desert beneath a bunch of high-voltage wires. The wires are in the way, so the helicopter following overhead cannot land. As they walk through the desert, a delivery truck approaches, and Somerset intercepts it. There’s a package inside for Mills. Doe talks to Mills about the life he’s made for himself and that he should be proud. “I wish I could have lived like you with your pretty wife, Tracy.”
The helicopter people want to call the bomb squad, but Somerset decides to open the box first.
Doe admits that he went to Mills’s apartment and “played” with Tracy. Then he took her head. Somerset returns to the duo and demands Mills’s gun. Doe says he “Envies” Mills. “Become Wrath, David,” says Mills.
“David, if you kill him, he will win,” says Somerset.
Mills shoots Doe in the head repeatedly. He’s definitely got some “Wrath” issues.
Commentary
It rains a lot in this dark, depressing city. The whole thing is slow-moving, but the creepy factor builds and builds throughout. It’s a very atmospheric movie. All the acting is just perfect– The two main characters, Somerset and Mills, are very clearly defined and very unique characters.
The ending is super creative, and everything plays right into John Doe’s plan.
Perfect!