Posted by Jan den Breejen on December 02, 1998 at 13:44:52:
It's about a young detective called David Mills (Played by Brad Pitt) and an older, more experienced police officer (played by Morgan Freeman) attempting to track down a maniacal serial killer.
The characters analyzed:
- David Mills: E6CF
eager beaver who wants to prove himself in a dangerous job; not for status or money but just for himself. Edgy and sometimes panicking ('Oh man...')impulsive hero; who wanted to work in the most 'exciting' district of town. No E7; he's 100% Mr.'here and now' and not abstract thinker ('fucked Dante'). As so many E6CF's he imagines himself to be a hero (when he's not feeling desperate); 'Serpico has to go' he says to his ill fated wife when leaving. He's alternating between dependency on his more experienced college ('Do you think it's poison Summerset?' asking him with his eyes wide open) and impulsive rebelliousness (kicking the door of John Does house open, contrary to Sommersets order.) He's traumatized by his first killing ('I was pretty shaky') and he doubts the value of the FBI library data ('I am sorry, are you the serial killer'?); AND he objects to using it because its not obtained legally (E6's mostly want permission; loyal to the rules.) He's self-sacrificing when shooting John Doe; he avenged his wifes rape and death (loyalty). Very functional; to have an E6 protagonist in a thriller; E6's can make you tense by their behavior! There are some more 'functional' E6 roles in Seven: Gould's wife (hysteric,panicks), and the heavily armed police squad invading John Does appartment ('they just love this'.) Can's stand vagueness: 'I've got to know what we are in...'
- William Somerset: E1
the old black grumpy, crusading cop; fighting against the moral decay of today's society (not so much different from John Doe's biblical mind set!!); he's lost his E1 drive to some extend and has become a grumpy old man. This tired crusader is generous with critical comments and moral rhetoric. He;s judgemental, patronizing Brad Pitt,and cultured (wide literary knowledge; another link with John Doe's character!). 'He (Pitt) ought not to be on this assignment...its too soon' (indignant to his boss), Somerset criticizes his collegues when they play poker in the solemn library surroundings: '...all those books, this wisdom...and what do you do? Poker all night!'. He's reserved and distant (reaction formation); doesn't use his surname at work. And his high standards show: he's self critical: 'anyone who spends a substantial amount of time with me finds I am disagreeable' (this also points to 4 as a main driver for this caracter;self abasement). He's indignant about people passing by when a wife gets raped. Another good E1 sentence: old Sommerset says to David: 'leave your emotions out of it!' (emotional control) He wants to prevent the kids from seing the corpse (noble; police ethics, holier than the pope attitude), 'could you please be quiet!', 'I don't understand this city anymore' etc.
- Mill's wife: E9 (played by Gwyneth Paltrow)
When David says 'Serpico goes to work' his wife immediately minimizes/relativates his importance; 'Serpico wants to get rid of this little crusty in his eye?' (E9's hate boasting people!) She's a passive emphatic on-looker; E9's are related to E5's: good memory and observational powers. She's the sitting duck for Joun Does mean plan! About the subway noise (their appartment shakes!) 'it will go away in a minute'; she's not able to cope with the dis-harmonious happenings in life, and doesn't want to be a nuisance to others (I know an E9 wife who tried to commit suicide when she unintentionally got pregnant): 'I don't know why I asked you to come...', 'I don't want to be a burden to him...'. In a recent Human Resources Magazine I read about research under employees about stress related ilnesses; the E9 character scored high because they are not assertive to put their case forward; so they let the stressful things creep to them untill they don't know how to handle it at all and then explode or implode these heavy emotions.
- Jonathan Doe: E4
Most E4's I've seen are shy and introverted women. However I guess the pathological E4 male could very well have the mind of John Doe. E4 is basically a tormented character; lots of mental pain. Now there are two ways the E4 can alleviate this fundamental pain:
a. draw attention to yourself: be a weirdo; behave freakish; moan; show your pain by making original art.
b. enhance the emotional pain of the people around you! In WOII in The Netherlands research shows that despite the dark situation with German boots and war crimes everywhere; suididal cases became almost non existent. Pain is a relative thing: if others have more pain; you have relatively less. That's why E4's sometimes hurt the people on which they are jealous. They can make very E8-ish remarks (mostly related to the observed commoness and banality of the person they envie). I know an e4 wife addicted to booze who consciously made her cousin a drunk.
John Doe is so E4-ish: he makes crime a kind of horrible perfected piece of art; based on the 7 biblical capital sins. His emotional pain gives him s sharp view on reality. He's so jealous on David's common life that jealousy gets him to kill and torture her. Some E4 quotes from the mouth of Doe:
- (from his 2000 diary books:)'In the subway today there came a man to me to start a conversation...a lonely man, talking about the weather and other things...I tried to be pleasant and accomodating, but my head began to hurt from this banality...I suddenly threw up over him...'
- 'If you want people to listen, you can't just tip them on the shoulder anymore, you have to hit them with a sledgehammer...and you'll notice that you'll get then strict attention' (See my review on 'Ruby' and the motives of Lee Harvey Oswald; another E4 killer who wanted newspaper attention for his suffering)
- I tried to take a taste of the life of the common man...I envie your normal life...It didn't work; SO ENVIE IS MY SIN'
- (citing from Milton's Paradise Lost:) 'long is the way out of hell into light'
- 'help me'
In essence John Doe is disgusted by the common tolerance (E9) of modal citizens who see the biblical sins (pedophilia, rape, fraud etc.) but just live on narcotized. Agains this grey tolerance is the colorful avenger John Doe; who dares to stand out (I saw a Chesterfield commercial poster recently which promoted just this way of living: 'be an original'; Doe took this a little too serious!)
I have coached quite a few people now and my cultivated third eye suggested to me after the movie there was more than meets the eye in the combination of characters. Somehow I feel they are related: John Doe is an E4 but has E9 patience (wife of David) and is an E1 (Somerset) crusader (in his own way of course); and seeks his originality in a game of danger (E6CF; the David character). David is tormented too (E6-E4) as is his wife (E9-E4) and Mills melancholy also makes him an E1-E4. Perhaps I go too far with this hypothesis but I think it's not far from the truth...
I like to get you opinion on this!
Bye for now
JdB