Doubt about the ending of Se7en
At the near end of the movie, when a box delivered to the trio in a deserted place is opened, David Mills' (played by Brad Pitt) wife Tracy Mill's face appears for a fraction of a second.
Wikipedia's plot summary of the movie suggests that his wife was murdered.
Doe claims to represent the sin of "Envy"; he was jealous of Mills' normal life, and killed Tracy after failing to "play husband" with her.
But the viewers don't have first hand account of whether the murder actually took place.
Is it possible that John Doe (played by Kevin Spacey) didn't actually kill his wife? If he really did, how can the viewer be sure of the murder other than the subliminal appearance of Tracy Mill's face when the box was opened and John Doe's account to David Mills?
Best Answer
The context and the character of the participants makes it very clear
Note, as far as I recall the viewer never gets a glimpse inside the box, so, in one sense, the movie deliberately withholds evidence from the viewer. This might leave you doubting that Jon Doe had murdered Mills' wife.
But the context of the scene does not. We know the characters of the individuals: John Doe is clearly capable and motivated to commit the murder and, to make his epic point, he has to commit an act capable of inciting Mills to the sin of Wrath; Somerset has a deep understanding of human motivation and the specific pattern of Doe's crimes; Mills is in love with his wife and is not such a poorly controlled cop that he would react with vengeful wrath to many insults.
The scene plays out with Somerset opening the box. Somerset's reaction to seeing the contents suggests he knows immediately what Mills will do. He attempts to stop Mills obvious action by persuading him to disarm before looking in the box. What other possible content in the box could cause this reaction? Mills then looks and reacts with vengeance. What else could have persuaded him to do so? Mills has seen other atrocities committed by Doe and did not react this way.
The only possibility here is that Doe has done what he claimed and the box contains Mills' wife's head. The fact it is not shown explicitly actually makes the climax more tense. You don't need to see everything to know what has happened (subtlety is good and treats audiences as intelligent people).
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What does the ending of Se7en mean?
The ending sees the seven sins properly represented and cements the film's setting as a purgatory-like location, with Somerset staying on as a detective to continue to fight against the evil that John Doe embodies.What was the original ending of seven?
The writer, Andrew Kevin Walker, completed two separate drafts of the ending. The first is the one that we see, and the second is one where John Doe is killed by Somerset instead of Mills.What happens to mills at the end of Se7en?
He wants Mills to kill him, thus making the detective Wrath, the final sin in Doe's design of a perfect seven kills. Unable to overcome his grief and anger, Mills kills Doe and fulfills the final act of the killer's master plan.What does Morgan Freeman say at the end of seven?
Conversation. Please tell me what in tarnation Morgan Freeman says to Mills at the end of Se7en. "You made her a suspect, David?" I'm going crazy.Se7en Ending Explained - When Evil Wins
More answers regarding doubt about the ending of Se7en
Answer 2
Given the "credibility" of the Kevin Spacey character (he hadn't failed to follow through...ever) I would think he can't possibly be "faking" his climax.
Answer 3
It is possible, it could have been a fake head in the box etc. However, going on Mills's character I think it is more likely he actually killed her and sent the severed head.
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