Somerset's switchblade in "Se7en"; subverting Chekhov's Gun trope

Spoilers

Chekhov's gun is a pretty common trope in literature, cinema and television. TV Tropes does a pretty good job explaining it. The definition goes:

Chekhov, master of the short story, gave this advice: If it's not essential, don't include it in the story.

The term has come to mean "an insignificant object that later turns out to be important." For example, a character may find a mysterious necklace that turns out to be the power source to the Doomsday Device, but at the time of finding the object it does not seem important. The necklace was essential to the story, but its introduction downplayed its importance. Chekhov's advice was not necessarily to conceal importance, but to just not spend time on things that are not important.

A lot of people consider the phrase "Chekhov's gun" synonymous with foreshadowing. They are related; a gun that goes off in the third act that hasn't been in the play at all before then is going to feel like a real Ass Pull, but that's not key to the meaning of the phrase.

Indeed, plenty of short stories and novels, as well as movies and TV shows (especially the ones of thriller, mystery and horror genre) still follow that advice/trope. But there are some cases (rare, but most commonly found in movies) where that trope is subverted. One of the particularly good examples is Se7en, and its portrayal of detective Somerset's switchblade.

To say that Se7en subverted the trope is arguable, since the swutchblade, in a way, does serve an important use in the end. But that doesn't play out the way most people would expect it to.

Detective Somerset's switchblade is featured multiple times throughout the movie, though it is not portrayed as particularly significant. We first see it at the beginning, on Somerset's nightstand, while he is getting ready for work. Around halfway into the movie, Somerset uses his switchblade to cut the paper cover on the back of the painting in the victim's office; and his partner, detective Mills, actually inquires about the knife. Later, near the end of the movie, Somerset seems to practice his knife-throwing skills, using the switchblade and the dart board on his living room wall.

All that is a clear example of foreshadowing. Why focus on Somerset's switchblade so much, unless it is important in some way? It stands to reason that it will play a big role in the climatic final scene. Many people who first watched the movie probably expected some kind of final battle, where Somerset's switchblade will play an important part. Maybe Somerset will use it to stab the bad guy during a deadly fight? Or even throw the knife at John Doe in the crucial moment?

But nothing like that happens. Yes, the switchblade is used in the movie's climax, but not as a weapon against the villain. It isn't used to save the day in the last moment, like many people might have expected. Somerset simply uses his switchblade to cut open the box that John Doe had delivered into the desert; thus revealing the horrifying truth, and playing right into John Doe's plan, up until the bitter-and bleak-ending.

That also fits the dark, nihilistic tone of the movie: things don't always turn out the way we want them to, good guys don't always win, and no matter how hard you try, there are some things you just can not stop nor fix.

Submitted May 23, 2020 at 09:42PM by Elementaryfan https://ift.tt/3cYlWWv