7 Days (2010) Movie Review

Reviews — By James Mudge on July 28, 2010 |

The Canadian, French language production “7 Days” (“Les Sept Jours du Talion”) is a film which has been making a stir amongst fans of tough cinema following its well received and much talked about debut at Sundance in 2010. The film was helmed by television director Daniel Grou (who also goes by the odd name of Podz, and who was responsible for episodes of “Vampire High” and “The Hunger”), and was adapted for the screen by author Patrick Senécal from his own novel. Given its high concept torture premise, the film has unsurprisingly drawn comparisons with popular hits such as “Saw” and “Hostel”, as well as, more tellingly, the likes of Lars von Trier’s “Antichrist” and Michael Haneke”s “Funny Games”. Brave viewers can now judge for themselves, as the film arrives on region 2 DVD via E1 Entertainment.

The plot doesn’t waste much time in getting down to business, as a middle-aged surgeon called Bruno Hamel (Claude Legault, “Everything Is Fine”) and his wife Sylvie (Fanny Mallette, “The Broken Line”) are plunged into hell after their eight-year-old daughter Jasmine (Rose-Marie Coallier) goes missing from school. When the poor girl is found raped and murdered in the local woods, the police arrest the despicable Anthony Lemaire (Martin Dubreuil), who is also the chief suspect in a string of similar crimes. Bruno’s despair and grief quickly turn to rage, and he enacts a bold scheme to kidnap Lemaire and imprison him in a secret location, where he plans to torture him for 7 days before executing him on what would have been his daughter’s birthday. Trying to track down Bruno and save him from losing his humanity is Hervé Mercure (Rémy Girard, “The Barbarian Invasions”), a veteran detective mourning the loss of his wife in a violent robbery 6 months previously.

It doesn’t take long to realise that any likening of “7 Days” to “Saw”, “Hostel”, or any other of the recent wave of so-called torture porn, is nonsense. Daniel Grou sets out his stall early on, and the film begins very much in the manner of “Antichrist”, setting the scene with tranquil normality and marital intimacy, before shattering it with unseen, though still shocking child murder. From then on, it becomes an intensely bleak study of despair and psychological ruin, as Bruno attempts to avenge his daughter, and to atone for his own feelings of guilt, through his increasingly gruesome and inhuman torture of Lemaire. While the film is certainly depressing, it lacks the kind of character detail to make it emotionally gripping, with Bruno never being defined beyond his misery. His sudden transformation is never quite convincing, with some of his behaviour seeming either out of character or having been included mainly to help the director make his point.

To an extent, this does not matter, since Grou is clearly more concerned with creating a psychologically gruelling viewing experience rather than one which is particularly deep, and the film does successfully challenge audiences to ponder what they would do in the same situation. However, the downside is that it leaves the film cold and detached, and though tense and surprisingly effective in standard thriller terms, it is never as gripping or devastating as it threatens to be. This is a shame, as Hervé Mercure makes for an interesting counterpoint to Bruno, and the film might have benefitted from paying more attention to the differences and relationship between the two anguished men.

Oddly enough, the same is true of its visceral content, which, much like the campy “Antichrist” walks a fine line by being too harsh for the average viewer, but probably not going far enough to satiate the appetites of those looking for sadistic gore. The film certainly does feature its share of brutal moments, particularly during the early stages of Lemaire’s ordeal, with Bruno taking a sledgehammer to his legs and proceeding to whip him raw with chains. As he progresses to more surgical terrors, Grou relies more upon implied horror than anything too graphic, and though the film remains grotesque throughout this is to a large extent due to its psychological grimness and clinging sense of morbid nihilism. This sits well with its themes, and the film as a whole has a grounded, chilling air, eschewing the usual trappings of exploitative or extreme cinema. Grou clearly does not intend for the viewer to enjoy any of the film’s deliberately non-cathartic excesses, or perhaps even to identify with either the protagonist or victim, but instead simply to share in their dark and degrading experiences.

Inevitably, this means that “7 Days” is not a lot of fun, and that it probably won’t be enjoyed either by casual viewers looking for a revenge thriller, or gorehounds in search of far out kicks. It is, however, a superior, well made slice of intense bleakness, which is arguably more satisfying than the higher profile “Antichrist”, and is a film which doesn’t shock so much as it profoundly dismays.

Daniel Grou (director) / Patrick Senécal (screenplay)
CAST: Claude Legault … Bruno Hamel
Rémy Girard … Hervé Mercure
Martin Dubreuil … Anthony Lemaire
Fanny Mallette … Sylvie Hamel
Rose-Marie Coallier … Jasmine Hamel
Alexandre Goyette … Boisevert
Dominique Quesnel … Maryse Pleau