Somerset

Author(s): Tony
Location: Pittsburgh

"Somerset"



Directed by David Cronenberg
Written by Andrew Kevin Walker
Produced by Arnon Milchan
Music by Philip Glass

Principal Cast:

Morgan Freeman as Det. William Somerset
Crispin Glover as Martin Schafer
Paul Dano as Young Martin Schafer
Angela Bassett as Alice Dransfield
Beverly D'Angelo as Nora Schafer
Joe Pantoliano as Jimmy Wilkes
R. Lee Ermey as Police Captain

Tagline: “You remember the seven deadly sins, now know what came before”

Synopsis: In 1996 the country witnessed one of the most bizarre killings of the time, a man who rid seven people from their deadly sin. Detective William Somerset and David Mills were assigned to the case, only to be ended tragically. However, what the world didn't know was the story behind the famous Detective Somerset, who often questioned humanity, and looked down on the world vividly. This is his story. Several years before the sins case, Somerset was happy, with a loving girlfriend, great job, and well respected in the department. However, the cause of Somersets mentality came from two occurrences, one of them being his first infamous case, and how the case led to his dramatic downfall.

As a young boy growing up, Martin Schafer lived a very sheltered life. The only remarkable person in his life was his mother. She kept him from being social, locked in the house all day for her to take care of him, all of this Martin questioned. It was until his 17th birthday Nora Schafer revealed the cause of her obsession with her child. Not only did the secret completely frighten Martin, but he was also dealing with personal problems he wouldn't let his mother know. Martin would often be molested by the neighbor across the street, Jimmy Wilkes, but Martin never had the courage to tell anyone, having the state of mind of being anti-social. The only thing in the world Martin cared about was his mother. However, one unfortunate day she got too sick and had past away. This infuriated Martin, as he would later in life become Somersets first big case.

In the dark shadows of the night, a family of 3 (a mother, father, and child) fluff their pillows and start to go into a deep sleep. With a pistol in hand, a killer stalks the house and enters without a sound, only to gather the family in one room to fulfill his need. His barbaric method is to have the mother of the family choose which order her father and child will die in, and if she doesn't make the choice, it only enrages him further, as he endures torture and punishment towards the father and child. Before she makes her decision, the killer lets the family have one last moment together...only for them to appreciate the nurture a mother
provides, and how they should be grateful. When the decision is made, the killer does his deed, leaving the mother helpless and torn.

And now it is Somersets job to find the deranged, emotionally traumatized killer to justice. Somerset gets in the case deep, leading him away from his home life and his state of levelness. The murders start to get to Somerset as he begins to get emotionally attached, feeling as if every time a family goes through this it's his fault. Somerset is broken down mentally, which leads to his break-up...and question of life itself. Somerset never caught up to Martin, as he was found dead with a gun in his hand on the night of his mothers death. This in turn leads to Somersets devotion to the case of the seven deadly sins.

What the press would say:

I'm torn kids, I truly am. With "Somerset" being the prequel to one of the greatest thrillers and bone chilling mysteries of all time, I questioned it myself. Then I remembered who was directing the film, the highly innovative, king of thriller David Cronenberg. What Cronenberg has done is ensure that "Somerset" is the next SE7EN, with only better on screen performances and perhaps more haunting. First we have Morgan Freeman, hey, name me a bad performance from this guy and I'll find you a die hard Michael Moore fan in Texas. It wasn't more than 2 years ago when Mr. Freeman won his first Oscar, it is months in advance when Freeman may be getting another nomination. The depth of Somersets character exceeds his character in "Se7en" massively. His transition throughout the film obviously had taken incredible dedication to the role. Of course with the make-up technology we have, Morgan looks much younger, but lets out the same lustrous emotions from his facial expressions, tone in voice, everything that makes a great actor what he is. Next on the card is someone I'm very high on, Crispin Glover. We always knew what potential Crispin had, but he never really had the chance to showcase it, this is his moment. Naturally the most disturbing scenes in the film are the family death scenes with Glover taking over, no Freeman..just Glover. Crispin is the one that makes it work, whether it's his deep exhausting cries, full fledged anger, or the realistic identity of a mad man, Glover is solid.

Much like Se7en, "Somerset" isn't your yearly mediocre detective thriller, this is an image of what films will be compared to years to come just like Se7en. A fresh look on the genre that doesn't feed off its star power and subpar writing, but rather great chemistry, character development, a stunning script, and great team work.

For Your Consideration:

Best Picture - Andrew Kevin Walker, Arnon Milchan
Best Director - David Cronenberg
Best Actor in Leading Role - Morgan Freeman
Best Actor in Supporting Role - Crispin Glover
Best Original Screenplay - Andrew Kevin Walker
Best Original Score - Philip Glass
Best Editing