7 Days (Les 7 Jours du talion)
Directed by: Daniel Grou
Written by: Patrick Senécal
Starring: Rémy Girard, Claude Legault

I hadn’t read much about 7 Days before adding it to the list of films I wanted to watch at this year’s Sundance and, to be honest, I had completely forgotten what it was about as I made my way to the theatre to see it. A guy I was talking to earlier in the day had said it was one of the most offensive films he’d ever seen so I had an idea it would be a little controversial at the least.

7 Days follows surgeon Bruno Hamel as the murder of his 8-year old daughter manifests in him kidnapping the prime suspect and then embarking on a week-long period of torture as revenge. The film opens at the crime scene of Jasmine Hamel’s rape and murder and her father arriving to witness the horror of his daughter’s bloody and beaten body. It is probably one of the most graphic scenes of a child victim to hit the screen so far and sets the stage for the extreme levels of discomfort to follow.

To say this is an uncomfortable watch would be an extreme understatement. Director Daniel Grou knows how to challenge an audience and you could really feel the discomfort in the theater. The first act of the film is the immediate aftermath of the murder and the parents trying to come to terms with it. There is almost total silence for long slow shots showing the couple grieving together at home and this lack of sound prompted people to awkwardly move around in their seats audibly.

The last two acts of the film are half-police hunt and half-torture. Bruno orchestrates the kidnap and then takes the murderer Lemaire to a remote cabin in the woods. It’s at this point the countdown clock of the “7 Days” begins.

Claude Legault is phenomenal as Dr. Hamel and really allows his character’s rage and desire for revenge to build up subtly throughout the film. His performance is very restrained but this works perfectly in contrast to the high levels of violence throughout.

The torture itself is absolutely brutal. It is very rare that I find myself looking away from a screen but I found myself watching many of the scenes through the corner of my eye. As Hamel’s character is a surgeon, it allowed the script to really take advantage of his ability to commit the most disgusting acts upon Lemaire while also having the knowledge of how to keep him alive. Hamel doesn’t speak to Lemaire and his silence works as a great contrast to the extreme nature of the violence and his victim’s screaming and pleading for mercy.

Scriptwriter Patrick Senécal’s script is fantastic and uses very limited but incredibly effective dialogue. There are particular scenes with Lemaire that truly shocked me and created gasps from the audience, one in particular in which he is describing raping and killing the girl. It really pushes your comfort barrier and I could feel myself squirming at the choice of words he uses.

The aspect of the film I enjoyed the most was the dynamic between Bruno and the detective trying to track him down. The back story of the detective’s family having been killed in a robbery months before and his complete lack of ability to deal with his grief show the contrast between the two men trying to find ways to cope. Their phone calls are designed to get the audience asking what choice they would make as neither men’s solution seems to be helping them.

I’m really not sure what kind of audience this will find. Fans of “torture” films may find this a little too much of a heart-wrenching drama and those who are more interested in the dramatic side may not be able to tolerate the scenes of violence. Aside from those two aspects it’s a beautiful film, style-wise. The slow shots in the beginning, combined with the lack of sound, are really haunting and there is a beautiful use of a grey/blue colour tone throughout.

Although an incredibly uncomfortable experience, I really enjoyed the lack of judgment of any the characters choice of actions and it’s left open to the audience’s ethics as to what to take away from the film. Just be careful going to see this if you have a weak stomach. — Charlotte

You can read more of Charlotte’s Sundance coverage over at The Documentary Blog or by following her on Twitter.

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