Question: When shaving their chests by the end of the movie, Mills and Somerset are joking and then Mills gets serious, says "You know...?" and then stops. What do you think he was going to say? Maybe he was going to be nice to Somerset, but then refrained himself?
Answer: I've always wondered this question as well. I think he was gonna say something along the line of "you know I haven't talked to my wife all day And that's very weird." Especially since Somerset just said be prepared for anything while transporting Doe. Speculation at best though.
When Mills and Somerset enter the station building just before John Doe gives himself up the female desk sergeant tells Mills his wife had phoned this puts Mills' wife into the mind of the viewer. When Mills says to Somerset during the chest shaving scene 'if I keep coming home late my wifes gonna think something up' is placing Traci again in the mind of the viewer. Then Mills says 'You know?' prompts the question what has happened to Traci.
Answer: Since he stands for wrath in the plot, in the said scene he was probably going to acknowledge his short-tempered nature. He doesn't and therefore he looses a chance of confession. What say?
Could be right. He certainly has explosive episodes of anger throughout the film. He may, just for an instant believe himself to be wrath. I think he ignores the thought because he is always optimistic, caring and believes in good. Therefore, due to these virtues he cannot be wrath. Somerset, the calmer, more laid back character is the pessimist who sees evil everywhere. One would think he would be angry at the world. Maybe he was like Mills when he was younger.
Answer: I've also seen Seven hundreds of times. I've spent hours breaking down each and every scene inside my own head and I still have a hard time fathoming how insanely perfect the relationship Andrew Kevin Walker created between Mills and Somerset. Somerset's ability to pick up on the smallest comments Mills makes helps reinvigorate his passion for being a detective at a point in his career where he has all but given up hope for the world around him. Mills shows moments of vulnerability many times during the film but maybe not more so than the chest shaving scene. Personally I don't think his statement of "you know?" has any literal reference to anything physically happening in the story. I think he's merely gathering the courage to thank Somerset for his help, guidance and mentorship over the course of the past Seven days. I think he stops because he feels simply saying "thank you" will make him appear weak in front of a man he's no yet ready to open up to.
Question: What happened at the crime scene at the start of the film when Somerset asks the other police officer if the victim had kids? (Before Somerset meets Mills).
Chosen answer: A woman shot her husband. The other detective on the scene says to Somerset, "he's dead, his wife killed him."
Answer: It doesn't have anything to do with the main plot of the movie. It's intended to show two things. That Somerset is quitting the police force, and that he values humanity and the world around him no matter how much he may want others to think.
Question: What did Gweneth Paltrow do to deserve being killed? I know Brad Pitt was supposed to kill Kevin Spacey, but I've never understood how it fitted into the 'Seven Deadly sins' that were the basis for the other murders.
Answer: Doe claims to represent the sin of "Envy" when he killed Mills wife; he was envious of Mills' normal life, and killed Tracy after failing to "play husband" with her. After that Mills kills Doe by shooting him repeatedly, becoming the embodiment of "Wrath".
Answer: The significance actually dates back to the Medieval Period. Taking the life of a man's wife and children was considered equivalent to taking his life. This makes Mills the wrath victim. By taking Doe's life, Mills turns him into the Envy victim.
Answer: Traci was an innocent victim. She wasn't one of the sins, nor being "punished" for being a "sinner." She was actually just a mechanism to trigger (no pun intended) WRATH in Mills, thus completing "the Seven." Also, you could consider that her death - the shattering of Mills' life - acts as the "punishment" of the sin of Wrath. But that would be punishment before the actual sin, so idk if that makes sense, really. Just a thought.
Answer: When John Doe kills Tracy Mills, he triggers "wrath" in David Mills. Earlier in the film, Doe must have identified the wrath in Mills (short-fused temper) when Mills explodes at Doe for being an annoying, low-life photo journalist. Doe uses Mill's wife as a trigger/catalyst to bring out the wrath in Mills that he knows is just under the surface; the taking of the life of Mill's wife and child is also the equivalent of taking of Mill's own life metaphorically speaking because Mills has lost the two things that he had that made life worth living. Finally, when Doe tells Mills that he paid his wife, Tracy, a visit because he admired and ENVIED Mills and their normal life. At this point, Doe is the one whose sin is ENVY and when Mills kills Doe, Doe has used Mills to complete the 7 Deadly Sins murders. Both Mills and Doe become victims 6 and 7. Wife and child are murdered and represent murders committed out of ENVY. In turn, Mills kills Doe out of WRATH. Very ironic and crafty ending.
Question: I'm confused by how Victor (the Sloth victim) managed to "survive" an entire year of being tied to his own bed. Even if he had an IV keeping him alive, surely he would have died after a few months, even weeks? Also, how did no one notice him missing when he was trapped in a populated apartment? Surely someone would have noticed his absence; he was an infamous drug-dealer after all.
Answer: Laying in bed for a prolonged amount of time would cause serious damage, yes, but John Doe likely moved him around, changing beds etc. (nurses do this with comatose patients in hospitals). As for why no one noticed him missing...well, he was a drug dealer. Most people wouldn't accustom themselves with such a person in the first place and even if someone did notice him gone, opening their mouths could risk them getting caught by the police. Also, it was stated by a police officer that landlord said there was no reason to be concerned. His rent was always paid in full, on time. As far as Victor dealing drugs; junkies aren't concerned with their dealers. If one doesn't answer the phone, they move on down the list. Drug dealers and junkies disappear everyday.
Answer: John Doe gave him antibiotics through an IV. You can survive without food, not water. Maybe Doe gave him Ensure as a source of food. As far as being a drug dealer, people would have thought he skipped town, went to jail, or was killed.
Question: How did Doe manage to kill Mills' wife? He says "this morning" in the last scene, but that morning he was already in jail.
Answer: He had a busy morning. It is a bit far-fetched, but Somerset did express appreciation for how "methodical, exacting" John Doe was. So it's not totally unbelievable that, 1) Mills leaves for work - maybe even earlier bc he picks up Somerset, 2) John Doe arrives at Mills', maybe he even bought a box the night before to save time, 3) He finds a delivery guy, gives him the box plus $500 - good chunk of $ in 1995 (even more in 1986), 4) Hails a cab, to the police station. My question is...what was the cabbie thinking? Guy is covered in blood and asks for a ride to the police station.
Well, the guy wanted to go to the police station. He probably told the cabbie he'd been the victim of or witnessed a crime he needed to report immediately.
Answer: The events of John Doe arriving at the police station and the last scene where Mills kills him takes place on the same day.
What about the 7:01 am time?
When? where do you see that? What is the significance? Would be nice if you could give that info so I won't have to search myself.
It was 07.01pm. You will remember at the end of the film Mills was in the police car at night. If it was 07.01am more than 12 hours would elapse before Mills was picked up. Highly unlikely.
Question: How is Sloth, a decomposed corpse, able to miraculously come back to life?
Answer: He never technically comes back to life. Apparently, he digressed into a coma like state, at some point he becomes startled and brain activity comes back on some sort of primitive defense level. From what the doctor says later on, there's no chance at all he'll survive, he's basically just a bundle of reflexes.
Maybe he was started because he thought it was John Doe leaning over him versus the police officer.
Question: I know this question is somewhat subjective, due to unknowns such as location, but can anyone hazard a guess as to what kind of punishment/sentence Pitt would be likely to get after shooting Spacey? Bearing in mind the unusual situation and that he is otherwise a model citizen.
Answer: Based on my extensive legal training (that being watching just about every episode of "Law & Order" in syndication), I would say Brad Pitt, Detective David Mills, is guilty of manslaughter. It is clear that the execution of the defenseless John Doe without benefit of trial in a court of law is, by definition, illegal. If prosecutors were to proceed to indictment, it would likely not be for the crime of murder. More likely, the charge sought would be "voluntary manslaughter," defined as killing with intention to kill or to cause serious harm, but with mitigating circumstances that reduce culpability - in this case, extreme emotional distress. Given these particular circumstances, however, Detective Mills would have an excellent chance of being found either not guilty, or not guilty by reason of insanity at trial by a jury of his peers. It is also quite likely he would not even be prosecuted given the extreme circumstances under which the killing occurred. However, a State's Attorney or District Attorney should pursue charges, as a clear violation of the law has occurred, regardless of how sympathetic or understandable the context.
The District Attorney has wide discretion and can refuse to prosecute. If the DA does not think there is sufficient evidence to get a conviction if the case were to go to trial (no prima facie case), the case will be dismissed. (That's how prosecutors are able to attain such high conviction rates.) This case would not be likely to be prosecuted, regardless of the evidence. However, IF the case went to trial, the defense attorney would probably start by asking for a dismissal. If that didn't work, the defense attorney would most likely assert that, under the circumstances of the case, it was an excusable or justifiable homicide and the defendant is therefore NOT GUILTY.
Answer: According to the "letter of the law" Mills would be subject to a reasonably lengthy prison sentence. I'm thinking Murder 2 or Voluntarily Manslaughter. In an academic vacuum he should be looking at 25 years minimum. However, with the extreme nature of the circumstances I could definitely see a prosecutor (and general public) go very light on Mills as it's not exactly a difficult situation to imagine the stress Mills was under at the moment. Historically the legal system was a pretty forgiving when it comes to acts of revenge in cases of intimate offenses. In the real world the cops simply would have fixed the scene and Mills would have walked away scot-free and probably been back to work on Monday lol.
Question: What exactly did the killer do to the Lust guy? I never understood what happened there.
Answer: It was very grim! Basically he got a man who was with a prostitute and gave him a choice of having sex with her or be shot. The issue being that he forced the man to wear an elaborate 'strap on' device with a 12 inch blade attached. Ergo he was forced to choose between dying or killing the prostitute in an horrendous manner. This would of course pretty much destroy the rest of his life anyway. The woman was the real Lust victim.
Question: What sort of charges would the male Lust victim be facing, if any?
Answer: Given the circumstances, it is highly unlikely the district attorney would file any charges. But if they really wanted to, they could charge him with murder, since he carried out the act that resulted in the prostitute's death. Even though he was threatened with his own death if he didn't do it, in a court of law, being coerced into committing a murder is not a lawful defense, though it probably would have resulted in a lesser sentence.
Question: First time I saw this film was when my parents rented it shortly after it's initial VHS release. I distinctly remember a scene taking place on Sunday morning where the killer knocks on the door to the Mills' apartment and Tracy opens. I have not seen this scene on TV, yet I'm sure I saw it originally since that was when I realised what would happen in the end. Is this scene still left in some editions and why was it taken out?
Answer: It's the Mandela Effect, that scene never happened. And it wouldn't make sense to the movie, the ending is supposed to surprise the audience the same way it surprises the detectives. Including a scene in which John Doe shows up to see Tracy would definitely foreshadow something happening to her, which defeats the purpose of the movie ending the way it did.
Answer: I feel like I remember seeing a commercial or something for Se7en that has a scene of Tracy opening the door looking surprised but I may have imagined it.
Answer: As with any movie, the TV version is missing certain due to time constraints, so this may explain why you didn't see the scene on TV. However, the DVD version I have includes the scene, if I remember correctly.
The DVD version I have never shows Doe go to Mills' home.
Question: What did John Doe do to Tracy before he killed her? He says that he "tried to play husband." What does that imply?
Answer: It implies that he may have raped her, but it's never said outright.
Answer: This is one of those moments in film and storytelling where leaving it up to the viewer's imagination is 10x's worse than showing anything on screen.
Question: Had John Doe not been killed by Mills, what charges would he be facing exactly?
Answer: At the very least, six counts of first degree/premeditated murder (the five sin victims, plus Tracy); six counts of assault and battery; three counts of home invasion; and two counts of kidnapping (Gluttony and Sloth). His lawyer says that he planned to plead insanity, but this could not realistically have been defended, at the very least because (as Somerset points out) his threat to do so would be admissible evidence.
Also, adding to the fact that he's blackmailing them... Given the circumstances that the crimes are related to the "Seven Deadly Sins" and they've only got 5 to that point, that does lend credence to the threat of there still being 2 more victims out there. However, there's countless missing persons. It's not the same as if a specific victim is missing, with a family being left unknowing of their whereabouts.
Question: Okay, I don't get what happened to Victor exactly. Was he tortured? I get that his fingers were somehow used for fingerprints, but I don't get what else. And if he was (technically) still alive, why would all of those air fresheners seen in his room be necessary? What was done to him to make him be only technically alive? And - which victim was he and do we learn what exactly he'd done to earn the killer's malice?
Answer: John Doe simply strapped him to the bed for a very long time, keeping him alive while his body wasted away. Even though Victor isn't dead, the smell would probably be pretty horrendous - he won't have washed for a year and parts of him would start to decompose, hence the need for the air fresheners, to avoid the stench drawing unwelcome attention prematurely. The psychological effect on Victor would be horrific - trapped, unable to move, at the total mercy of a lunatic, fed only enough to keep him just above the point of death. There would have been no mental stimulation at all, except to wait in fear for Doe's next visit - Victor's mind would have snapped long before he was found. His body was alive, barely, but any capacity for rational thought would be long gone. Victor was the Sloth victim, hence the method of killing him by trapping him in a bed. His crimes were listed by Somerset (Freeman) once his prints are matched up. He's the drug dealer John Doe (Spacey) mentions in the car at the end.
Answer: Doe was forcing Sloth to continue his stagnant life, as attrition.
Answer: I believe that Doe had Victor drugged constantly as well, contributing to the mind-mushing.
Question: I don't get why Mills gets arrested for killing John Doe. Yes, the killing was motivated by revenge, but Doe was a serial killer, so surely it was a justified death. Can anyone explain this to me?
Chosen answer: Doe was in police custody, being escorted by Mills and Somerset, to say nothing of the other units involved. He was not a physical threat to either, and thus his execution (no other word works to describe what happens) cannot be legally justified under any definition of the phrase. Mills killed a defenceless prisoner in his custody with multiple witnesses - there is simply no justification for what is essentially a murder. He would likely get off with a lesser charge, given the situation and his grief, a temporary insanity defence would likely work, but that doesn't lessen the fact that he did it. His arrest is absolutely warranted.
Question: How did the police locate Victor's apartment?
Answer: It's no mystery...it's standard police procedure, and every step is shown in the film. Victor is known to the authorities as a drug dealer, and they match his fingerprints to those found at a murder scene. So they look up his address in their system, and go there.
Question: Would Victor have felt any pain by the time he was found, or would he be so insane that he wouldn't be able to feel anything? And if so, how long would it take for him to become that insane? Also, would he be aware of where he is and who's in the room once he went completely insane, even if he's not able to communicate? And if he's no longer aware of reality, would he still feel pain? I'm a bit confused in that regard, as well as how long it would take for his brain to become mush.
Chosen answer: The question presupposes that there is a "level" of insanity wherein one stops feeling pain, which there is not. If his body still has active nerve endings, he would continue to feel pain no matter what his state of mental deterioration. As to the second part of the question, the examining doctor describes his brain (read: mind) as "mush", suggesting that he is too far gone to be aware of reality anymore.
Question: Did John Doe torture Victor, or did he just leave him tied to his bed?
Answer: Judging by what we see on screen, Doe did not torture Victor, apart from cutting off his hand. It's torture enough to spend an entire year by yourself in an empty apartment, without any stimulation whatsoever, unable to move, and at the mercy of a religious lunatic.
Answer: I've seen se7en hundreds of times, and I've always wondered what Mills was trying to say to Somerset, and here's my take. If you've noticed, the recurring theme between the two was their conflicting views on how they see the world around them. Somerset is the grizzled, experienced detective who has been through the ringer, so he's views are more pessimistic in nature. Which I can sympathize with. Mills being the rookie detective that he is, was the optimistic, "I'll be the hero" kind of guy. So much so that Somerset called him out for being too Naive, and that he can't be like that. So getting back to the question at hand. During the chest shaving scene, I believe Mills was about to tell Somerset that his dark pessimistic view of the world around them makes sense. Mills wanted to say that Somerset was right, which he wasn't able to bring himself to do.