John Doe And The Genre Film example essay topic

A dark masterpiece of modern horror, which involves a veteran cop, Detective William Somerset who is about to retire, and Detective David Mills, who breaks in his replacement. They both become involved in a grisly, serial killer investigation. This twisted serial killer chooses his victims from people who exemplify one of each of the seven deadly sins, as he sees himself as being the flaming sword of God, dispensing judgment on these sinners. As the movie opens, we meet Somerset, a meticulous veteran cop who lives a lonely bachelors life in what looks like a well decorated apartment. Then he meets Mills, an impulsive young cop who actually asked to be transferred into Somerset's district. The two men investigate a particularly gruesome murder, in which gluttony makes an appearance in the film in the form of an obese man being force fed to death.

Within the chosen sequence, genre conventions such as camera movement, editing and lighting are all insights for the viewer to seek out the films genre. Camera angles for example, are very personal within this film and give away a lot about Somerset and Mills' life. The two are very contrasting and there is a lot to learn from each character and what they offer to the plot of the story. From the start we find that Somerset offers a challenging depth and dimension for a character in this genre. Somerset is much more interested in the art of crime solving. However, Somerset is burnt out after 34 years on the force.

He feels he is not making a difference anymore and therein lays the conflict of the story. Somerset is a man who had it and he's giving up. He's seen too much. Mills is a cop who has transferred into the department and is full of optimism about the difference he can make as an individual. The two look at the same situation with dramatically opposing points of view. The film is set against the background of a bleak, gloomy, and nameless city, where the rain does not stop.

The lighting is very low key and this is very common in films of this genre. The photography is muted, grey and dimly lit. The rain only adds to that creeping feeling in your mind, and it allows a passageway for the viewer into a dystopia that may be in the not too distant future. The main editing effects are in the opening titles. The editing is called montage editing; a series of short cuts spliced together. This works well as it is very disjointed, a lot like the film and the killers' mind.

From the opening titles it is to much clearer light that the images shown in the opening titles are associated with John Doe and the genre film is going to be of an action thriller genre, maybe even to some a horror, however it does not contain many elements that's horror genre would require. Images that are shown include fingerprints, diaries, forensic equipment, bodies, blood, handwriting etc... Alongside this was a well-devised piece of music, which was extremely disjointed to go with the film, the music was a lot like urban rock and had many sinister sounds that went well with the imagery shown. Although the film possesses the same formula as "The Bone Collector" and "Kiss the Girls" and quite a few other films, two cops get thrown together on a case neither really wants, and they don't like one another too much. However, this is where the formula ends. Somerset and Mills can't stand each other, and Mills' wife Tracy.

She knows that her husband can be a bit immature when he's out in the field, so she takes it upon herself to smooth things over between the two. She brings Somerset into their lives to show him the vulnerable side of Mills. Meanwhile a killer is baiting the two of them with murders, tortures and various other brutalities based on the seven deadly sins. Most of the above is within the narrative that unfolds in the opening scenes. Captivation is caught by Mills' obsession with the case and Somerset's inability to walk away when the day of his retirement came.

Somerset feels that Mills can't handle the job now take it seriously, he's not a gun-blazing, door-kicking, macho type, and he's a very cerebral puzzle solver. The narrative is very similar to that of other movies in the same genre due to the fact that this presents a problem, which for a while puts the viewers mind on a different path, not letting them think about the real plot of the story. The look of "Se 7 en" is crucial to its effect. This is a very dark film, the gloom often penetrated only by the flashing lights of detectives. Even when all the lights are turned on in the homes of the victims, they cast only washed-out, helpless pools of light. The photography director Darius Khon dji presents dark and disturbing screen image.

The world depicted is frequently somber and bleak, and sometimes nightmarish and hellish. Seven is a brilliant exposition on the nature of evil, which for a Hollywood movie may sound too deep. After the first five minutes I have forgotten about muscles and Satan drivel like "End of Days", I find myself concentrating more on the conflict of good versus evil and when the last time this was done right. I somewhat compare the film to William Fried kin's "The Exorcist". Seven is a thesis on the nature of madness and evil.

When John Doe feels he is doing what is justified and necessary, who are others in society to say, "you are wrong". With the amounts of religious fanaticism stretching out from every corner of the world, and in the context of the film, how could one not see and understand that God is justifying the reorganization of sin. This is what the script and the killer are trying to tell us. In a sickened and morally bankrupt modern society, distracted by technology, and money, and material possessions, do we lose sight of the good and right? Just like John Doe said, "Wanting people to listen, you can't just tap them on the shoulder anymore.

You have to hit them over the head with a sledgehammer, and then you " ll notice you " ve got their strict attention.".