It's never revealed And i bet there is no real answer.

Of course, the question is where is it SUPPOSED to take place, not where was it filmed.

You're right - there's no real answer. It's supposed to take place in ANY megapolis.

Well, it's never stated but it was written during Andrew Walker's time spent trying to make it as a screen writer in New York.

Filming wise it was Philadelphia, Pa. and Los Angeles, Ca.

It'll make sense if this was L.A. since they did go out to the desert for the final scene.

Oh yeah.. forget where they were, a better question is WHAT'S IN THE BOX?!

Yeah that's what I've always understood too. I could swear I heard in an interview or commentary that it left vague on purpose.

I read the book adaptation as a kid, and I thought it took place in NYC.

Gotham. In the sequel, we find Mills, haunted by the murder of his wife, training to be a tireless, avenging crimefighter.

Los Angeles, November 2019

It always looked like the shittiest imaginable part of NYC, but that isn't too close to the desert.

Didn't resemble L.A. to me.

Maybe it was Albuquerque...

True, and the problem with any city in the southwest is that it doesn't rain enough - the city in the movie seemed to have constant rain. The only city in the US that has a good amount of rain, dark days and not too far from a desert is San Francisco - which Fincher grew up near. Though it's obviously not supposed to be San Fran either.

I didn't realize it was filmed in Phila. I'll have to re-watch it.

When I read the question above I don't think immediately of Se7en, as MTV's "What's in the box" clip with Shatner comes to mind first. Comedy gold right there.

Seattle fits, which has constant rain and desert to the east.

I love how this movie brings about so much discussion on this forum. I remember the good ol Was John Doe Right? thread. Good stuff.

Baltimore

I always thought it was Gotham City.

I never even thought about it or cared, since its irrelevant.

What's funny is I saw it when it first came out, and that was all I could think about. Throughout the whole movie, the fact that they never addressed the location (real or not) bugged the fucking shit out of me - it seemed like a really lazy writer's device to me and it made me disconnect and kept me from liking the movie initially. I ended up getting over it, but it's still kinda lazy and annoying just because I need some point of reference, and none is given. Even Star Wars gave us "long ago and far away", which was just enough.

I disagree. I think its a good writers device. They wanted to portray the events that happened could take place in any big city. That all big cities are full of trash. The reason they didn't want to say what city it was is because once they give that away you automatically link your idea of the city with what the movie is trying to convey. So if they say it takes place in LA you might jump to the conclusion that this movie a knock on the shitty people in Hollywood. If it took place in NY you may think that its a knock on the shitty financial people.

By not giving away the place, the writers have to create their own city free of stereotypes.

Then again I never even noticed that they didn't mention the city. I didn't think about it til I read this thread.

Same here. Never crossed my mind.

That's what I always thought.

That doesn't mean it's not a lazy cheat - in fact, that defines it. But I'm okay with it now.

Never thought about it, and even after reading this, I still don't care. I'm in the "puposely vague" camp.

I don't think it ever wanted to reveal where it took place, because from my view it was always a fictional place to start with, it is left to the imagination, it could be anywhere, it seems like it was a madeup city. Which I admire it for.

Makes the movie even creepier.

to John Doe, a man who wouldn't take it anymore and decided to change the world!

Because of the desert at the end, I always assumed it was L.A.