Lawrence Gordon (character)
Encyclopedia
Dr. Lawrence Gordon is a fiction
al character
in the Saw film series. He is portrayed by Cary Elwes
. He was first seen in the original film Saw
as one of the main protagonists.
cancer
. A hospital orderly named Zep Hindle hinted to John that Lawrence had been cheating on his wife, and his appearance in Saw
confirmed the fact that he was having an affair with his medical student, a woman named Carla. This, together with his uncaring attitude at work and his crumbling relationship with his wife and daughter, is the reason he was targeted by John Kramer, now known by the media as the Jigsaw Killer.
and Steven Sing found Lawrence's penlight and began to suspect him. Brought in for questioning, he established his innocence by proving that at the time of death, he had been in a rendezvous with Carla, one of his medical students. Lawrence was released from custody after watching the detectives interrogate Amanda Young
, a survivor of one of Jigsaw's games. However, after a raid on Jigsaw's hideout that led to Sing's death and Tapp's wounding and discharge from the force, Tapp again began to suspect Lawrence. He watched Lawrence carefully, setting up video surveillance across the street from his house and hiring Adam Stanheight to follow and take pictures of him.
After leaving his home, supposedly to go to work, Lawrence arrived at a motel where he had been called to meet Carla. Annoyed with her for paging him at home, he decided their affair was getting too risky and broke it off. However, before he left the room, someone called, revealing that his affair was no longer a secret. At the time, Lawrence had no idea that he was being followed and photographed. While leaving the parkade, Lawrence found himself locked in and unable to call to get out. Before he could get back in his car, he was attacked and rendered unconscious by somebody wearing a pig mask.
When he awoke, he and Adam were shackled to pipes on opposite sides of a grimy industrial bathroom. Between them, just out of their reach, was what appeared to be a dead man who had shot himself in the head, lying in a pool of poisoned blood. A gun was clutched in one of the dead man's hands, with a cassette player in the other. Working together, Lawrence and Adam learned what they had to do to escape, from a pair of cassette tapes which left them clues about objects around the room.
Lawrence learned that he had to kill Adam by 6:00 if he wished to escape, also learning that his wife and daughter's lives were at stake as well. Enclosed with the tape was a key and a bullet for the dead man's gun. Both Adam and Lawrence were supplied with hacksaws, which they found were unable to cut through their chains. It was then that Lawrence realized that they were meant to cut through their feet, not their chains. He then informed Adam that he knew that the Jigsaw Killer was the one behind the "game", and revealed that he was once suspected to be Jigsaw.
By following the clues, Lawrence obtained a box (which his key opened) that contained two cigarettes, a one-way cell phone, and a lighter. Also in the box was a note, meant just for him, that told him that he did not have to shoot Adam; he could instead taint one of the cigarettes with the poisoned blood and let Adam smoke it. The pair attempted to stage Adam's death in this way and fool their captor, but the plan was foiled when Adam was given an shock, which a corpse would not have reacted to.
Lawrence then received a call from his daughter and wife, both being held hostage by Zep Hindle, telling him not to believe Adam. He then discovered that Adam had been taking pictures of him for Detective Tapp, and that Zep was in his house. The two men ran out of time, and Lawrence, desperate to save his family, cut through his leg to free himself. He then crawled over to the corpse, took the gun, loaded it and shot Adam in the shoulder.
Later, Zep showed up in the bathroom. Lawrence, furious, tried to attack and shoot Zep with the empty gun. Zep was about to kill him when Adam attacked and killed Zep by beating him with the toilet lid. Lawrence then told Adam that he had to go and get help for both of them, or else he would bleed to death. Adam begged Lawrence not to leave, but Lawrence assured Adam that he would bring someone back to save him. He then crawled out of the bathroom.
and Saw III. On added note for Saw II during the video explaining the "Venus Flytrap" the man performing the operation, whom is revealed by Saw 3D to be Gordon, can be seen walking to the operating table with a limp, due to what we know is his sawn-off foot. He also appeared in a brief flashback during Saw III, having been rendered unconscious and placed in the bathroom as part of the setup for Saw. His name is seen outside his office door during flashbacks in Saw II and Saw IV
, as John enters to learn of his cancer diagnosis. It was revealed in Saw III that Lawrence worked at the same hospital as Lynn Denlon. Also in Saw IV, Lawrence is referenced to, but not by name, when Detective Fisk notes that another doctor from the hospital went missing (referring to Lynn Denlon); the "another" is in reference to the fact that Dr. Gordon went missing before Dr. Denlon.
In Saw V
, Lawrence's name appears on a list of Jigsaw victims taken by FBI agent Peter Strahm as he starts his own off-the-books investigation. This film also includes a flashback sequence in which Jigsaw gives Lawrence's penlight to Hoffman to plant at the location of another trap, where it is later found by Tapp and Sing. A flashback to a conversation in Saw VI
, between John and William Easton, mentions him by name as well.
his wound. After John sealed Adam in the bathroom, he found Gordon, congratulated him for surviving, and fitted a prosthetic foot. He then made him one of his apprentices to help with some of the traps from the earlier films. He is shown sewing the key behind Michael's eye (Saw II), suggesting Lynn Denlon as a test subject to John (Saw III), stitching Trevor's eyes shut (Saw IV) and writing the second "I know who you are" note that Mark Hoffman found on his desk (Saw V). In Saw VI, Jill Tuck
went to Saint Eustace Hospital and dropped a package off. In 3D, it is shown to be a video tape instructing Gordon to watch over Jill and act should she be harmed. After Hoffman kills Jill, Gordon and two other accomplices (revealed in the DVD commentary to be Brad and Ryan from the Love Triangle trap) capture him and shackle him in the same bathroom from Saw. When Hoffman attempts to grab a hacksaw, Gordon snatches it (saying, "I dont think so".), and throws it away. He then announces that the game is over and closes the door, leaving Hoffman to die.
asked Cary Elwes
what he thought about his character's fate on the commentary for the Saw: Uncut Edition DVD, Elwes responded with, "Let's face it, guys. He's severed his whole leg off. The loss of blood alone, even with that pathetic tourniquet he made with his shirt. It's a wrap. He's not going to get two blocks." Also, Darren Lynn Bousman has said on the DVD commentaries for Saw IV that his intent was to leave Dr. Gordon's fate an unanswered question and let fans make up their own minds.
According to Elwes, much of Gordon's development throughout the film was not in the script but improvised and discussed as the film went on, "As far as his breakdown is concerned, that was not in the script. That was something that James and I worked on- we said we have to take this guy from being the paternalistic character who was trying to calm Adam down at the beginning of the film and by the end, they have swapped roles. I said to James I thought that would be an interesting dynamic if we did that, so we worked on that until there was a nice balance there. I tend to not think in terms of likability for the character. I think the grey areas are much more fascinating to play because we're all grey. No one is black and white or good or bad or happy or sad or what have you. [We all have] particular idiosyncrasies that make them fascinating and that's how I tend to approach a character. I try not to judge them because if you get into the area of judging the character you're playing you're getting into a sticky area."
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al character
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Saw film series. He is portrayed by Cary Elwes
Cary Elwes
Ivan Simon Cary Elwes , known professionally as Cary Elwes, is an English actor. The son of Dominick Elwes and Tessa Georgina Kennedy, Elwes acted in off-Broadway plays during college and moved to the United States in the early 1980s. He is known for his role as Westley in the cult classic The...
. He was first seen in the original film Saw
Saw (film)
Saw is a 2004 American independent horror film directed by James Wan. The screenplay, written by Leigh Whannell, is based on a story by Wan and Whannell. The film stars Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Ken Leung, Whannell and Tobin Bell...
as one of the main protagonists.
Saw: Rebirth
Dr. Lawrence Gordon's first chronological appearance was in Saw: Rebirth, which portrayed him as the doctor who diagnosed John Kramer with terminalTerminal illness
Terminal illness is a medical term popularized in the 20th century to describe a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and that is reasonably expected to result in the death of the patient within a short period of time. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as...
cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. A hospital orderly named Zep Hindle hinted to John that Lawrence had been cheating on his wife, and his appearance in Saw
Saw (film)
Saw is a 2004 American independent horror film directed by James Wan. The screenplay, written by Leigh Whannell, is based on a story by Wan and Whannell. The film stars Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Ken Leung, Whannell and Tobin Bell...
confirmed the fact that he was having an affair with his medical student, a woman named Carla. This, together with his uncaring attitude at work and his crumbling relationship with his wife and daughter, is the reason he was targeted by John Kramer, now known by the media as the Jigsaw Killer.
Saw
While investigating the scene of a Jigsaw trap, Detectives David TappDavid Tapp
David Tapp is a fictional character from the Saw franchise. While introduced as a supporting protagonist in Saw, Tapp did not become a major character until Saw: The Video Game, which featured him as the lead protagonist and player character. He also made an brief appearance in a flashback in Saw V...
and Steven Sing found Lawrence's penlight and began to suspect him. Brought in for questioning, he established his innocence by proving that at the time of death, he had been in a rendezvous with Carla, one of his medical students. Lawrence was released from custody after watching the detectives interrogate Amanda Young
Amanda Young
Amanda Young is a fictional character in the Saw film series. She is portrayed by Shawnee Smith. At first a minor character in the original film, her role expanded in the sequels until she became one of the most important characters in the series, being the only character besides Jigsaw himself to...
, a survivor of one of Jigsaw's games. However, after a raid on Jigsaw's hideout that led to Sing's death and Tapp's wounding and discharge from the force, Tapp again began to suspect Lawrence. He watched Lawrence carefully, setting up video surveillance across the street from his house and hiring Adam Stanheight to follow and take pictures of him.
After leaving his home, supposedly to go to work, Lawrence arrived at a motel where he had been called to meet Carla. Annoyed with her for paging him at home, he decided their affair was getting too risky and broke it off. However, before he left the room, someone called, revealing that his affair was no longer a secret. At the time, Lawrence had no idea that he was being followed and photographed. While leaving the parkade, Lawrence found himself locked in and unable to call to get out. Before he could get back in his car, he was attacked and rendered unconscious by somebody wearing a pig mask.
When he awoke, he and Adam were shackled to pipes on opposite sides of a grimy industrial bathroom. Between them, just out of their reach, was what appeared to be a dead man who had shot himself in the head, lying in a pool of poisoned blood. A gun was clutched in one of the dead man's hands, with a cassette player in the other. Working together, Lawrence and Adam learned what they had to do to escape, from a pair of cassette tapes which left them clues about objects around the room.
Lawrence learned that he had to kill Adam by 6:00 if he wished to escape, also learning that his wife and daughter's lives were at stake as well. Enclosed with the tape was a key and a bullet for the dead man's gun. Both Adam and Lawrence were supplied with hacksaws, which they found were unable to cut through their chains. It was then that Lawrence realized that they were meant to cut through their feet, not their chains. He then informed Adam that he knew that the Jigsaw Killer was the one behind the "game", and revealed that he was once suspected to be Jigsaw.
By following the clues, Lawrence obtained a box (which his key opened) that contained two cigarettes, a one-way cell phone, and a lighter. Also in the box was a note, meant just for him, that told him that he did not have to shoot Adam; he could instead taint one of the cigarettes with the poisoned blood and let Adam smoke it. The pair attempted to stage Adam's death in this way and fool their captor, but the plan was foiled when Adam was given an shock, which a corpse would not have reacted to.
Lawrence then received a call from his daughter and wife, both being held hostage by Zep Hindle, telling him not to believe Adam. He then discovered that Adam had been taking pictures of him for Detective Tapp, and that Zep was in his house. The two men ran out of time, and Lawrence, desperate to save his family, cut through his leg to free himself. He then crawled over to the corpse, took the gun, loaded it and shot Adam in the shoulder.
Later, Zep showed up in the bathroom. Lawrence, furious, tried to attack and shoot Zep with the empty gun. Zep was about to kill him when Adam attacked and killed Zep by beating him with the toilet lid. Lawrence then told Adam that he had to go and get help for both of them, or else he would bleed to death. Adam begged Lawrence not to leave, but Lawrence assured Adam that he would bring someone back to save him. He then crawled out of the bathroom.
Saw II through Saw VI
None of the following five films revealed specifically whether he lived or died. Lawrence is mentioned in Saw III, and his severed foot is seen in Saw IISaw II
Saw II is a 2005 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and co-written by Bousman and the first film's co-writer Leigh Whannell. It is a sequel to 2004's Saw and the second installment in the seven-part Saw film series...
and Saw III. On added note for Saw II during the video explaining the "Venus Flytrap" the man performing the operation, whom is revealed by Saw 3D to be Gordon, can be seen walking to the operating table with a limp, due to what we know is his sawn-off foot. He also appeared in a brief flashback during Saw III, having been rendered unconscious and placed in the bathroom as part of the setup for Saw. His name is seen outside his office door during flashbacks in Saw II and Saw IV
Saw IV
Saw IV is a 2007 Canadian-American horror film and midquel to 2006's Saw III. It was directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and written by newcomers Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan and Thomas Fenton. The film was released in North America on October 26, 2007...
, as John enters to learn of his cancer diagnosis. It was revealed in Saw III that Lawrence worked at the same hospital as Lynn Denlon. Also in Saw IV, Lawrence is referenced to, but not by name, when Detective Fisk notes that another doctor from the hospital went missing (referring to Lynn Denlon); the "another" is in reference to the fact that Dr. Gordon went missing before Dr. Denlon.
In Saw V
Saw V
Saw V is a 2008 Canadian-American horror film directed by David Hackl and written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan and stars Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor and Scott Patterson...
, Lawrence's name appears on a list of Jigsaw victims taken by FBI agent Peter Strahm as he starts his own off-the-books investigation. This film also includes a flashback sequence in which Jigsaw gives Lawrence's penlight to Hoffman to plant at the location of another trap, where it is later found by Tapp and Sing. A flashback to a conversation in Saw VI
Saw VI
Saw VI is a 2009 horror film directed by Kevin Greutert from a screenplay written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. It is the sixth installment of the seven–part Saw film series and stars Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Mark Rolston, Peter Outerbridge, and Shawnee Smith...
, between John and William Easton, mentions him by name as well.
Saw 3D
In the beginning of Saw 3D, it is shown that after he crawled from the bathroom, he used a hot steam pipe to cauterizeCauterization
The medical practice or technique of cauterization is the burning of part of a body to remove or close off a part of it in a process called cautery, which destroys some tissue, in an attempt to mitigate damage, remove an undesired growth, or minimize other potential medical harmful possibilities...
his wound. After John sealed Adam in the bathroom, he found Gordon, congratulated him for surviving, and fitted a prosthetic foot. He then made him one of his apprentices to help with some of the traps from the earlier films. He is shown sewing the key behind Michael's eye (Saw II), suggesting Lynn Denlon as a test subject to John (Saw III), stitching Trevor's eyes shut (Saw IV) and writing the second "I know who you are" note that Mark Hoffman found on his desk (Saw V). In Saw VI, Jill Tuck
Jill Tuck
Jill Tuck is a fictional character in the Saw film series. She is the ex-wife of the series' main antagonist John Kramer, a.k.a. the Jigsaw Killer. She first appeared in the one-shot comic book Saw: Rebirth as John's ex-girlfriend, however her backstory and appearance were altered significantly in...
went to Saint Eustace Hospital and dropped a package off. In 3D, it is shown to be a video tape instructing Gordon to watch over Jill and act should she be harmed. After Hoffman kills Jill, Gordon and two other accomplices (revealed in the DVD commentary to be Brad and Ryan from the Love Triangle trap) capture him and shackle him in the same bathroom from Saw. When Hoffman attempts to grab a hacksaw, Gordon snatches it (saying, "I dont think so".), and throws it away. He then announces that the game is over and closes the door, leaving Hoffman to die.
Reaction
A special feature in the form of a farce documentary called "Piecing Together Jigsaw," available on the unrated edition of the first film, stated that his whereabouts are unknown as of one year after the first film's events. When Lawrence is mentioned in Saw III, Jigsaw said that he had been Lawrence's patient, and Lawrence had been his.Elwes on Lawrence
When Leigh WhannellLeigh Whannell
Leigh Whannell is an Australian screenwriter, producer, and actor, best known for his work on the Saw franchise.-Life and career:...
asked Cary Elwes
Cary Elwes
Ivan Simon Cary Elwes , known professionally as Cary Elwes, is an English actor. The son of Dominick Elwes and Tessa Georgina Kennedy, Elwes acted in off-Broadway plays during college and moved to the United States in the early 1980s. He is known for his role as Westley in the cult classic The...
what he thought about his character's fate on the commentary for the Saw: Uncut Edition DVD, Elwes responded with, "Let's face it, guys. He's severed his whole leg off. The loss of blood alone, even with that pathetic tourniquet he made with his shirt. It's a wrap. He's not going to get two blocks." Also, Darren Lynn Bousman has said on the DVD commentaries for Saw IV that his intent was to leave Dr. Gordon's fate an unanswered question and let fans make up their own minds.
According to Elwes, much of Gordon's development throughout the film was not in the script but improvised and discussed as the film went on, "As far as his breakdown is concerned, that was not in the script. That was something that James and I worked on- we said we have to take this guy from being the paternalistic character who was trying to calm Adam down at the beginning of the film and by the end, they have swapped roles. I said to James I thought that would be an interesting dynamic if we did that, so we worked on that until there was a nice balance there. I tend to not think in terms of likability for the character. I think the grey areas are much more fascinating to play because we're all grey. No one is black and white or good or bad or happy or sad or what have you. [We all have] particular idiosyncrasies that make them fascinating and that's how I tend to approach a character. I try not to judge them because if you get into the area of judging the character you're playing you're getting into a sticky area."
External links
- Lawrence Gordon on WikiaWikiaWikia is a free web hosting service for wikis . It is normally free of charge for readers and editors, deriving most of its income from advertising, and publishes all user-provided text under copyleft licenses. Wikia hosts several hundred thousand wikis using the open-source wiki software MediaWiki...