Fincher and Tarantino both thrive on unconventional ideas of setting. One notices that the directors rarely choose domestic spaces to set their movies. The most obvious example is Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, in which almost the entire movie takes place in a warehouse and at times, we visit car transit sequences and very limited views of public spaces. This parallels Fincher’s Se7en, in which most of the movie is set on crime scenes, in public areas, or in transit. They both use these settings as blank slates for the emotions of the characters to be clearly underlined. Similarly, Tarantino seems to love capturing dialogue in cars, as it gives his films a constant movement forward. Both directors make excellent use of plot development during transportation of characters, and it gives their movies genuine 21st century auras.
Panic Room is an exception, as almost the entire movie takes place inside a domestic space. This domestic space, though, is treated similarly to the warehouse in Reservoir Dogs. We see the characters move through this space for the entirety of the film and we know that the film is building suspense. Tarantino says this about the building suspense of the climax in his newest film Death Proof, “…If I did it right, you want that crash to happen. You’re caught up in it. You’re caught up in the emotion of it, you’re caught up in the adrenaline forward. And if at the last second they avoided it, you’d be mad at me.” (kcrw.com) Tarantino builds the suspense of his film the same Fincher does in Panic Room. This, the audience can sense, will undoubtedly utilize the grandiose space to work its way to the climax of the film and we will finally see how the space plays a role in these characters’ lives.
One of Tarantino’s signature themes is male bonding. Fincher’s Se7en seems to draw influence from this motif, as detectives Mills and Somerset share a very close relationship. Their interaction with each other particularly seems to emulate that of Mr. White and Mr. Orange in Reservoir Dogs. As a veteran detective, Freeman eventually takes Pitt under his wing, despite Pitt’s naivety and irrationality. It is these character flaws that eventually lead to Pitt’s downfall, as he shoots and kills villain Kevin Spacey in the closing sequences of the movie.
While Mr. Orange ultimately meets a significantly more macabre fate, it is his friendly relationship with Mr. White, breeching confidentiality issues, that leads to their demise. In both films, these “father/son” relationships take away from the professionalism of the characters and doom them. Professionalism is something both directors focus on, especially in these two specific films (but also in Fight Club) and when these men lose sight of their true purposes, they are ultimately destined for failure.
Se7en’s plot is based largely upon mythology, as the killer (Spacey) bases his murders on the seven deadly sins. A sequence is filmed in a public library where Freeman researches Dante’s The Inferno in an attempt to predict the killer’s next move. This is comparable to the mythology present in Pulp Fiction, as Jules constantly references the bible in his monologues regarding “the good shepherd”. Both Jackson’s character and Freeman’s character have a sort of faith in a higher power and their insight into this wisdom provides them with the strength and the motivation to be successful in their careers. Both directors deal with ideas of motive and what influences their characters to work how they work and do what they do.
Screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker mentions in the special edition audio commentary that the film is very influenced by exploitation film, featuring seven sins based on seven murders, and having the film end at 7:00 P.M (this is very reminiscent of the structure of an exploitation film, basing it on one theme and keeping that theme prevalent through the end). Tarantino is known for his love of exploitation films, and it is evident that both directors draw influence from this genre.
Fight Club was released in 1999, and is arguably the film Fincher is best known for. Much like Se7en, Fight Club again features strong male bonding, chiefly between Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. The movie also features a scrambled chronology--reminiscent of Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction--as the first scene in the movie is a flash-forward to the ending sequence. Also, similar to Reservoir Dogs is the blatant disrespect for police officers that is written in the script. Here is a clip that is extremely reminiscent of Reservoir Dogs. Not only are all the characters dressed in the same white tuxedos, but they torture a man that works for the government (obviously these films have the same take on how criminals treat state elected officials). Also, the men all walk out of the building in a motley crew sort of manner, very similar to the way Tarantino shows his “dogs” as a group of men, bonding.
Fight Club... or Reservoir Dogs?
Tarantino dark humor throughout all of his work, and it makes the audience question why they are laughing. This is exemplified in Pulp Fiction when Jules shoots Marvin, an awkwardly humorous scene. Similarly, a scene in Fight Club makes light of testicular cancer, as Norton’s character mentally describes a patient as having “bitch tits”. The viewer is thrown into a situation that seems funny, but when analyzed, is far from it.
Panic Room is a perfect example of what Tarantino would call “contemporary American storytelling,” (kcrw.com). The entire plot is revealed within the first 20 minutes, as foreshadowing reveals that something will happen inside of the panic room. Both directors are clearly influenced by Staley Kubrick’s The Killing. Reservoir Dogs deals with the same ideas of professionalism versus non-professional crime and they both have a non-linear structure that makes the audience work to put the film together and make sense of where and when each characters is affected by the sequence of events. In Fincher’s revision of this film, we see him reference the same idea of hopelessness with the loss of money. At the end of Panic Room, Forest Whitaker’s character is the only surviving burglar, just like Sterling Hayden’s character in The Killing. Not only is Fincher playing with the idea of failed criminal activity, but the film ends the exact same way as Kubrick’s ending. As the police corner the burglar, he surrenders and lets all of the twenty-two million dollars he holds fly away into the wind. Both of these characters come to the harsh realization that there is nowhere for them to run and they submit to the police.
Panic Room Ending
Fincher may deny the idea that Tarantino has influenced him, but it is very clear that many of their signature motifs and themes are the same or very derivative of the same historical film genres. Both filmmakers have a refined sense and taste in the realm of cinema and are both big enough cinephiles to look at film in a revisionist sense. Both love film enough to understand what makes a film relevant for a certain time and place and have the capabilities to create genre-influenced films relevant to the 20th and 21st century.
Sources:
"Reservoir Dogs." Metaphilm. 20 July 2008
http://metaphilm.com/images/pheatures/reservoir-Dogs15.jpg
"The First Rule of Fight Club." Eagles on Pogo Sticks. 20 July 2008
http://goofybeast.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/fight_club1.jpg
“The Treatment: Quentin Tarantino.” KCRW The Treatment. Mar 28, 20000.
http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/tt/tt070328quentin_tarantino
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