Silence… or Se7en?
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looker7 — 9 years ago(December 02, 2016 08:27 AM)
by NEUTRlNO (Thu Dec 1 2016 10:30:13)
Post Edited: Fri Dec 2 2016 07:42:20
"I like Se7en, but mainly because Fincher is a consummate visual stylist, a virtuoso. He never makes an unwatchable movie.
For example, I found the premise to "Panic Room" completely oblique and hard to relate to (unless I summer in the Hamptons and golf with Donald Trump), yet Fincher forced me to like the contrived nature of it (a daughter stuck in a vault who needs insulin shots, of course; and a cell phone that can't get a signal within its walls good design and planning, lol) by making engrossing entertainment.
Se7en is an appetizer before the entree, and "Fight Club" is Fincher's main course statement piece.
But I don't think Se7en is in the same league as Silence, despite - or in spite of - the IMDB rankings (Let's get rid of this 20th century art-house trash and make room for another comic book movie, you guys! This one crammed at least 20 superheroes onto the screen at once!) The latter has depth, psychology, and something meaningful to say.
Se7en is more like a flashy douchebag who wants to throw a party. That douchebague is, of naturally, going to invite some of his best friends: "The Usual Suspects," "The Sixth Sense," "Memento," "Inception," and "Now You See Me" (all interesting movies, some of them very fine even, but of the same "You Might Also Enjoy" vein for me.)
They all stand around at the party being smug, trying to out-do and smugly impress each other with parlour tricks and loud spectacles. They need to make sure everyone in the room knows just how clever they are. Look at me, LoOk aT Me, LOOK AT ME!!!! I'M SO CLEVER YOUR BRAIN IS GONNA 'SPLODE!!!
There's a fine line between being clever and presenting mind-frackery that feels organic to the raison d'etre or core story (The Matrix) and then there's the kind of clever that self-consciously draws attention to itself and to the way the screenplays were constructed by its writer(s).
When Starling found a happy resolution to her problems, I was happy for her.
Now, this may be a consequence of unconvincing acting from Pitt / Spacey / Paltrow , but when , I felt nothing. It was kind of cool that Spacey's smug character got his way.
In fact, some industry big shots and GOOP "haters" probably suppressed a giggle and were happy that in "Contagion,"
Also, Se7en came out after Silence. I feel that the genesis of the spec screenplay ("stop the serial killer") was influenced by the buzz of industry insiders, bestseller books lists, and Silence being shopped around years before that. It feels derivative.
Silence = iPhone 3G, iOS, Facebook status, Amazon Echo Se7en = Galaxy S, Android, Twitter, Google Home. With A Stylish Twist!
After Silence, I doubt any other movie centred around a serial killer procedural will ever again win any combination of Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay - let alone all at once. (I hardly take the Oscars as a year-to-year barometer for cinematic quality, but securing the Big 4/5 is a monumental feat for any film, let alone a thriller / horror genre piece.)
And in 50 years' time, I predict that Silence will be the first (and only ?) serial killer movie academics, film students, and couch potato streamers will reach for. It has been the apotheosis of the sub-genre for decades already. The bar was set really high."
Good post. Nice comparisons and analogies. I agree with what you've said here, for the most part.
Both are well made and highly entertaining films, but, as highlighted by NEUTR1O, I think that TSOTL is the superior film on almost every aspect and level; the only thing I'd give 'Seven' is its cinematography and visual style (the bleached, scratched stock really gave the film a unique sombre green and brown tint paradoxically, a pristine, immaculate, brilliant dullness which really enhanced the the feeling of inescapable chaos and sin; it magnified the feeling of unease and bleakness). -
AnthonySocksss — 1 year ago(August 05, 2024 06:25 AM)
lol it’s not even close, Lambs is far superior. Se7en is tiresome on rewatches with its relentless, stylized bleakness that feels like fincher was jerking off to blade runner whenever he went to his trailer.
The characters in se7en have barely any depth beyond surface cliches and sentimentality (oh, Somerset is the trench coat/fedora wearing, switchblade throwing, “I’m gettin too old for this **** and lost my family, I’m retiring to build a log cabin” disillusioned guy, YAWN). And Mills is just a retarded football player. The only interesting character is John Doe, but he’s also just an archetype, a Machiavellian villain who gets insanely lucky. Lecter, by contrast, is a genius because of the way he calmly works his way into people’s psyches instead of just getting into shouting matches.
There is no scene in Se7en that compares with the emotional final meeting between Lecter and Starling. Silence of the Lambs is as much of a serious psychological drama film as it is a thriller.
Edit: and that doesn’t mean I’m not a fan of the movie Se7en, but SotL is just better overall.
Melton1 Wanted for Pedophilia:
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