John Doe-Seven
I think we are more fascinated by villains than we are heroes. In fact, I know we are. Heroes bore us. To the majority of us “good” comes a little easier than “evil”…or maybe it’s the other way around. Anyway, there is always something much deeper and more interesting about a villain. You don’t question a hero’s motives or wonder what kind of great household he grew up in. You don’t concern yourself with the inner thoughts of Superman as he is flyng around the earth in order to save Lois. What we do think about is how fucked up Jason Voorhees must be to run around in that hockey mask hacking people into chunks.
Evil is just more intriguing than Good.
A good “bad guy” will make a movie. John Doe from the movie Seven is about as bad as it gets. Not in the guns a-blazin’ kind of way, but more subtle. A quiet, outwardly peaceful man who very matter of factly states his disdain for the world and his plan to make it “right”, John Doe is not a villain in his mind, but a hero. “Wanting people to listen, you can't just tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer, and then you'll notice you've got their strict attention." Wow! He hits them with a fucking hammer all right.
The most amazing thing about this character is that you never see him lay a hand on anyone. He admits to the other brutalities, Greed-Lawyer sliced along his fat gut, Pride, maybe my favorite-“cut off her nose to spite her face” sleeping pills and a telephone, Lust-the fella who bangs the chick with a razorblade strap on, Sloth-I give the makeup crew props on this one, absolutely terrifying, Gluttony-dry heave and no more spaghetti please, Envy-“whats in the box” and then Vengeance-blood splatter in the field, but you never see him perform any of the acts. John Doe’s confidence in Brad Pitts ability to lose it in the end, is frightening.
Late in the movie when Morgan Freeman (if my life was a movie he would narrate) and Brad Pitt are discussing who this serial killer might be Morgan Freeman says something to the effect of, if this guy turns out to be the devil, I mean Satan himself, then it might live up to our expectations. At this point, as you watch, you kind of agree, but as John Doe first appears “Detective!!”…blood all over his hands, you kind of believe he is the devil.
In no specific order John Doe is our first villain. An intelligent villain, a creative villain, and most of all a terrifyingly insane villain.
