Dir. Daniel Grou aka Podz
Directed by Daniel Grou (Vampire High, Big Wolf On Campus, The Hunger), aka Podz, and adapted for the screen by author Patrick Senécal ('5150 Elm’s Way,' 'Evil Words') from his best-selling novel, ‘Les sept jours du talion,’ 7 Days is an intense and disturbing French-Canadian thriller that has been described as 'Saw directed by Michael Haneke (Funny Games) or Lars von Trier (Antichrist).’ Coldly filmed in a stylish, yet detached manner, 7 Days is a harrowing and powerful film, but it is also a startlingly quiet one; the complete absence of music focuses and heightens the impact during the scenes of brutality and drama. Well acted and subtle to begin with, the later scenes of torture leave nothing to the imagination and after the discovery of the daughter’s dead body - filmed in a starkly matter-of-fact way – the film opens itself out into an ongoing debate about morality, human instinct and the overwhelming power of grief.
The ‘spanner in the works’ – any doubt as to the alleged killer’s guilt – is removed early on, and we are told pointedly he is without a doubt guilty. This still isn’t enough to remove grey areas though – human rights are called into question, as is society’s bloodthirsty need for revenge and violence. Does Lemaire deserve this treatment? Does he deserve to be shown mercy? The script doesn’t really make any obvious attempts to colour his character or do anything which may make us feel for him – he is simply presented as a child killer and the audience are left to trawl through their reaction to his treatment. At times this is made all the more difficult because of how Lemaire reacts to his torture. He goads Hamel, and eventually reveals his own sorry back-story involving years of abuse and pain. Viewers are almost defied not to flinch during the scenes of torture in which Lemaire is whipped with a chain until he passes out, has his leg bludgeoned with a sledgehammer and is then forced to stand on his other leg with a noose around his neck, or wallow naked on the concrete floor in his own filth and blood. One cop asks why they should bother to try to save a child rapist from being tortured; to which Detective Mercure (Remy Girard) – who is himself dealing with the loss of his wife who was shot by a robber - responds by claiming it’s not Lemaire he wants to save.
The counter argument – that regardless of Lemaire’s crimes, he still deserves to be tried in a court of law and his fate should be decided by the law, not vigilantes - is touched on with the introduction of the mother of one of Lemaire’s prior victims. She has been attempting to move on with her life and condemns Hamel’s actions. What happens next further separates the audience from Hamel (were we supposed to be siding with him anyway?) and his cause as his actions are clearly no longer those of a man on a personal vendetta – he seems to be cracking; his initial hardcore belief in what he was doing now seems to be in need of validation: his wife has long turned her back on him and the police seem to be closing in.
Ultimately there is no redemption, no relief, no cathartic moment in which Hamel’s need for vengeance feels sated. It is easy to see why this film has drawn comparisons to the work of Haneke – it is brutal, intellectual and challenging, and its lack of any easy answers at times has as much of an impact as its scenes of pain and suffering. Hamel realises that his actions have been selfish, and more importantly, pointless. His daughter is still dead. The fact that the film lacks a big climax ensures that the events depicted within it will haunt the mind long after. The moral melting-pot has been taken off the boil, but still simmers quietly.
7 Days (cert. 18) is a relentlessly dark exploration of the mind of a man driven to the edge of sanity by his own grief. It was released on DVD (£12.99) by E1 Entertainment on 23rd August 2010.