Se7en
I want to start by saying I have never seen "Se7en" and I thought it was a fantastic film. Although, I have to admit, I was definitely looking behind me as I was walking back to my apartment after class...just in case.
I wanted to focus on race in comparison to the other films we have watched thus far. Out of all the films, I think "Se7en" deals the least with race. Race does not even seem to play a part, however, age does play a role. Morgan Freeman plays Somerset, the older, wiser cop which is a stark contrast to Brad Pitt's young character, Mills. While Mills had a great deal of experience at his prior job, the cops at his new job treat him like a rookie. Somerset, however, is treated with a great deal of respect and admiration and his boss even tries to convince him not to leave.
What I found most interesting about the two cops was how their roles seemed to reverse as the film progressed. Somerset started out as the clear leader and Mills, though he had his own case, was still looking to Somerset for advice, placing him in more of a sidekick role. While Somerset was wise and stoic throughout the entire movie, he became more of the sidekick even asking Mills to allow him to stay on the case of the 7 deadly sins until it reached a conclusion. By the end of the movie, Mills has become the central focus . I also found it very interesting that in the opening credits, Brad Pitt was the first name listed, not Morgan Freeman. This indicates Pitt is the primary character in this film, but he is not the primary character from the very start.
The relationship between Somerset and Mills became very much a buddy cop relationship as the film progressed. They had the initial dislike, they had their bonding moments, they even had a few homosexual references that King would run wild with (when they are in the restaurant and Mills does not want to sit next to Somerset for fear of looking gay). What I did not understand about their relationship was why Somerset respected Mills so much. Yes, Mills was an intelligent cop to an extent, but his intelligence did not get close to Somerset's. Mills is spontaneous and does not think through his actions. He is an impatient, not well-read, foul-mouthed man. All conclusions made in the 7 deadly sins case were made by Somerset, not Mills. Why would Somerset have any reason to respect Mills as a cop?
I wanted to focus on race in comparison to the other films we have watched thus far. Out of all the films, I think "Se7en" deals the least with race. Race does not even seem to play a part, however, age does play a role. Morgan Freeman plays Somerset, the older, wiser cop which is a stark contrast to Brad Pitt's young character, Mills. While Mills had a great deal of experience at his prior job, the cops at his new job treat him like a rookie. Somerset, however, is treated with a great deal of respect and admiration and his boss even tries to convince him not to leave.
What I found most interesting about the two cops was how their roles seemed to reverse as the film progressed. Somerset started out as the clear leader and Mills, though he had his own case, was still looking to Somerset for advice, placing him in more of a sidekick role. While Somerset was wise and stoic throughout the entire movie, he became more of the sidekick even asking Mills to allow him to stay on the case of the 7 deadly sins until it reached a conclusion. By the end of the movie, Mills has become the central focus . I also found it very interesting that in the opening credits, Brad Pitt was the first name listed, not Morgan Freeman. This indicates Pitt is the primary character in this film, but he is not the primary character from the very start.
The relationship between Somerset and Mills became very much a buddy cop relationship as the film progressed. They had the initial dislike, they had their bonding moments, they even had a few homosexual references that King would run wild with (when they are in the restaurant and Mills does not want to sit next to Somerset for fear of looking gay). What I did not understand about their relationship was why Somerset respected Mills so much. Yes, Mills was an intelligent cop to an extent, but his intelligence did not get close to Somerset's. Mills is spontaneous and does not think through his actions. He is an impatient, not well-read, foul-mouthed man. All conclusions made in the 7 deadly sins case were made by Somerset, not Mills. Why would Somerset have any reason to respect Mills as a cop?
posted by Madeline Obler at 3:57 PM
6 Comments:
A good question indeed.
Does Somerset respect him? He seems frustrated with him a great deal, especially outside John Doe's apartment when he kicks the door in and then hires the hooker to lie.
Does Mills even do good cop work? In a way he seems like Gillespie, out of his league.
You made a very interesting observation of Brad Pitt’s name being before Morgan Freeman in the opening credits. I agree that Brad Pitt does become the more central character, but I don’t necessarily look at Somerton as being the sidekick. Do you think Guerrero would think this was racist, and that Somerton was kind of pushed aside or not as central because he is black? The two cops relationship was typical of buddy cop films. I thought they especially had a lot of one on one time together, such as driving in the car or out to eat, etc.
I think Somerton came to respect Mills but not until the end. They work differently and don’t agree on how to approach most situations, but they work well together and seem to balance each other out. I think Mills character just as some growing up to do.
I like the connection that you made of the role reversal between somerset and mills. I think it is also the fact that Mills progresses as a new detective and gains more experience. Also he learns how to deal with his new parter Somerset, while tough also wants to teach the young detective the rules he goes by.
I think that is a really good question, there are a lot of reasons why Somerset should not have given Mills the respect that he did. Mills was not wise or smart enough to solve the case on his own. He also let his emotions take a hold of him which cause him to be in harms way. His extreme behavior cause him to make the biggest mistake of all, which was killing John Doe. I think Somerset stuck with Mills because of his wife and because he saw potential in him somewhere. Meeting Mill's wife gave Somerset a look at them more personally and made him stick with it.
I think you bring up an interesting point that Se7en deals the least with race. In this movie race was definitely not part of the cops relationship. I think that it had more to do with their age and experience in the field. If you recall in one scene where Detective Somerset is talking to the Chief he states “this kid is not ready for a case like this, he should be reassigned.” This paints the picture to the audience that Somerset is a veteran in this field. I also agree with you that as the movie progressed the two cops roles reversed; Somerset started out as the clear leader and Mills but eventually turned into the sidekick. Do you think one of the reason the director may have done this is because he was setting up Mills towards the end of the movie to kill in cold blood?
I didn't realize the role reversal in the film in the same way you explained it....It makes sense through to have the younger, more hot-headed cop to succumb to the tricks of the villain but we still want to see them grow as cops of the law as well. I feel as if poor Mills took his life a whole step backward with his inability to separate his job from his feelings. I wonder if the killer chose Somerset instead to kill would the stakes have been as high for him, being someone with no ties to hold him back emotionally
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