Deadly Seven: Feature-film Synopsis
Deadly Seven is a Gothic, Psychological Thriller with political undertones which takes place in Manhattan, NYC. The protagonist of Deadly Seven is Amanda Burke, a psychologist, who is seen working with seven clients over the course of seven weeks. Within the first couple of sessions she begins to align each of her clients with a deadly sin. Once she realizes that it is impossible to put an end to their madness, Amanda decides to lead her clients toward their deaths. Some deaths of her clients, however, are unwillingly pursued on her behalf, given that some clients, such as Giorgio Campagna (Greed) and Warren Otieno (Wrath), decide to take on her 'God Complex', thereby pursuing some of the murders themselves. The core idea of Deadly Seven is that obsession (sin) ultimately leads one to destruction (death).
Amanda, a history graduate, takes on the role of the psychologist for seven clients. As a psychologist, Amanda attempts to 'play God' by seeking an omniscient, 'Frankenstein'1 ego and gains controls over each one of her clients' lives. To maintain her 'God Complex', Amanda tries to remain neutral by repressing her homosexual desires. She achieves this concealment by expressing a Conservative attitude towards favoring traditional values (deadly sins of the Holy Bible 2), hierarchy (position as a psychologist) and strong opposition to changes ('disordered' or 'flawed' nature of her clients). This categorizes Amanda's public realm ('Mask'). However, this 'mask' that Amanda presents is eventually abolished once she expresses her sexuality and subconscious desires through her client, Larisa Volkov (Lust), in which Amanda finally becomes, inherently human.
We are firstly introduced to her client, Giorgio (Campagna), a transgender film-producer with an obsession of possessing a 'man's ego'. He portrays a great sense of greed towards his brother, Stefano Campagna (Sloth), who he regards to be a lazy man that has been overestimated for his success. Despite his obsession with masculinity and power, Giorgio can be classified as a transgender homosexual, who only sleeps with a lot of women to fulfill his 'masculinity'. Despite his homosexuality, Giorgio does not regard homosexuals as "real" men, hence further prescribes his greed towards Stefano who, although born male and masculine, is also gay. Giorgio can be regarded as a Socialist thinker, who desires changes and constant transformation in his masculinity and exploration of gender-role reversals in cinema.
Warren (Otieno), born and raised in Kenya, continuously refers to his brother's death (Michael), which occurred during his childhood years. Warren blames the female Caucasian doctor who was unable to save his brother's life. As a result, Warren adopts a 'Dr Jekyll' mask 3by becoming a qualified doctor in Brooklyn, where he deliberately kills Caucasian clients to gain revenge against the West. Warren's thirst for murdering Caucasian clients can be highlighted from the fact that his brother was killed by a Caucasian (Western) woman. Although Warren bears Conservative values, which is indicated through his Islamic faith, he resorts to his 'hunter' instincts, in which he exerts flawed, evil and self-seeking actions due to his wrath towards the Caucasian doctor who did not save his brother's life. Although possessive in his public life, Warren is actually asexual and holds no interest in family life. He is however, a cross-dresser in the bedroom and bears a thirst for necrophilia. These fetishes are indicated through his obsession with murder and naked bodies, in which Warren only has sexual relations with people that he is capable of murdering. Amanda labeled this attitude by referring to Warren as "the cigarette after sex".
Larisa (Volkov), who has worked as a woman of the night, is a Russian model, well-known for her glamorous image and sex appeal. Given that her first sexual experience consisted of rape, she copes with her trauma by engaging with multiple partners, both male and female. Larisa uses her bi-sexuality as a 'power' tool amongst people to get her way. This is suggested through her first meeting with the psychologist, where Larisa flirts with Amanda as an attempt to get a free appointment. By not wanting her rape experience to damage her sexual nature, Larisa constantly abuses her sex. As a client, Larisa finally gives Amanda the power to rape her mind, which is the first time someone is aware of her traumatic experience. This results in Larisa becoming both mentally and physically numb from all her sexual experiences, whereby she rejects Amanda's emotional attachment by indicating that their connection was "just sex". Larisa can be regarded as a Liberal due to her interest in freedom of expression, sexuality and addiction.
Greg Walker (gluttony), Larisa's ex-boyfriend, battles a binge-eating disorder which was influenced by his break-up, leading him to obesity. Amanda considers hunger and sexual drive as correlating instincts which reveal one's sexual appetite. Therefore, Greg's gluttony presents his natural instinct for sexual hunger, in which he also identifies Larisa's anorexia as an indicator that she 'naturally' does not want to have a sexual appetite. In reality, despite her sexual escapades, Larisa does not enjoy sex. Although Greg does not express any particular political stance, his Cold War4 analogy of his relationship with Larisa employs a power struggle, in which he interprets his relationship as a bi-polarity5 - a battle between him (as the USA) and Larisa (as Russia).
Priscilla Cummins (Pride) is a pompous and cheerful actress who suffers from Narcissism and delusional visions of reality. She constantly falls in love with her own image as an actress; her Schizophrenic behavior can be outlined from her delusional visions of herself in other people. The psychologist takes Priscilla to a younger stage in her life, where Priscilla admits to not having any friends and refers to herself as being "the subject (she) understands best". Priscilla seeks the psychologist to discuss techniques for seducing her film-producer, Giorgio, to get a role. Amanda introduces a technique entitled, 'The Garden of Eden Position', which mirrors a religious allegory of Eve, the snake and the apple. Priscilla is sexually fluid ('Pansexual') and believes that it is possible for both men and women to be attracted to her. This is seen from her assumption of Eleanor Aeshelman (Envy), Giorgio's wife, as a bi-sexual after the media speculated a three-some affair between the three characters. Priscilla is not particularly attracted to any individual unless they indicate a sexual attraction or interest towards her first. Priscilla primarily uses her beauty to deceive people as a means to climb her way up to the top.
Eleanor Aeshelman is Giorgio's wife, a model who experiences a great amount of jealousy towards other women. Aware of her husband's continuous cheating, Eleanor admits to sleeping with her brother-in-law, Stefano, and stated how she felt that he had a greater sense of masculinity compared to her own husband. During her first session with Amanda, it is confirmed that Eleanor's father, Robert Aeshelman, had a lot of polygamous relationships with women when she was a child and hints at the absence of a mother (figure). The psychologist suggests in her writings that Eleanor's 'breast enhancement' (implants) can be associated with 'motherhood' and 'femininity', qualities which she believes Eleanor lacked during her childhood. Hence, Eleanor's envious nature results from insecurities, which were primarily developed due to her father not valuing or giving her full attention as a young woman. Although her eyes are a natural shade of green, Eleanor's eyes transition to an unnatural, shiny green ('Sin City' effect6 ) whenever she experiences great jealousy towards another person.
Stefano Campagna (Sloth), Giorgio's brother, is a successful film-producer who is loved by many actresses. He has been over-credited for his work ethic, which seems to be rather inadequate when compared to the achievements he has earned in his career. Although he has engaged in sexual relations with many women, from Eleanor to Larisa, Stefano is a homosexual. He never really questions or challenges his sexuality. Stefano also appears to be Agnostic and hasn't come to any defined conclusions about God or life after death.
Once Amanda begins to establish connections amongst her clients, she begins to align each one of them with a deadly sin.
The psychologist is seen to encourage Giorgio to take his brother's life. Although she isn't directly involved in Stefano's death, Amanda goes give Stefano a 'heads up' by hinting his death through questions regarding his 'after-life'. During Stefano's final scene, he is seen with Giorgio. Stefano is at a numb state and ironically not shocked with his brother pointing a gun at him. He finally credits that although he lived a great life, he never experienced the sense of feeling "alive" - evidenced by his final words' "As you can see, there is no life for you to kill".
Giorgio comes to terms with his transgender struggles with the psychologist - he discusses his experience of winning an award and seeing a younger version of himself in the crowd - a young school girl. Although Amanda attempts to take him back in time, he...
