Se7en – Review
- Directed by David Fincher
- Written by Andrew Kevin Walker
- Starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey
Serial killers are a pretty common commodity in movies, particularly since the release and massive success of ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ made Hannibal Lecter as instantly recognisable a name as James Bond or Darth Vader there’s been a steady flow of lethal nutjobs each with their own gruesome gimmicks and for the most part they have become entertaining but entirely forgettable stock characters driving the plots of equally entertaining and equally forgettable films. At first glance it would be easy to dismiss ‘Se7en’, a mystery thriller about two cops chasing a serial killer who commits murders based on the seven deadly sins, as just another disposable lambs wannabe but that would be a huge mistake. Not only is ‘Se7en’ easily it’s equal but it’s arguably even be better than ‘The Silence of the Lambs’.
Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt star as the detectives in pursuit of the killer, one in his final days before retirement, the other newly transferred in to replace him. Both actors put in great performances and both characters have enough depth to keep them believable and interesting throughout. Kevin Spacey is magnificently creepy as the killer and though he’s not on screen for that long it’s his performance that remains the most memorable and unsettling. Gwyneth Paltrow also gets fairly little screen time as the wife of Mills (Pitt) and though she uses it well she tends to be mentioned a lot less than her co-stars in connection to the film, though that is notably due to the part rather than the actress in it.
It’s worth mentioning that entertaining as the film is it’s one of the darkest things I’ve ever seen and you’re more likely to feel shell-shocked than uplifted by the time the end credits role their way down (not up) the screen. It’s a film that’s worth sitting and thinking about once it’s over but they won’t be happy thoughts. This quickly feels less like a police procedural and more like a journey into a modern day heart of darkness.
‘Se7en’ plays out in an unnamed modern american city but the atmosphere is closer to that of an urban dystopia than a thriving metropolis, almost perpetual rain, dim light and disused buildings are the norm here and there’s only about two or three scenes in which anyone looks happy. This environment is sharply contrasted in the final act by a bleached out desert populated only by a dead dog and some man-made pylons. The effect of the change is startling, mainly because the second setting achieves the feat of being even more depressing than the first, the perfect backdrop for the film’s bleak, nihilistic climax.
The serial killer at the heart of this world is a man who believes himself an instrument of God, reminding a world he sees as plagued by sin of His presence and laws (though he does so with a remarkable disregard for ‘thou shall not kill’). It’s not that you come round to his way of thinking (or if you do I urge you to seek immediate help), but in a world this horrible he’s easy to buy and seems remarkably fitting to his environment. In an unoriginal but nonetheless highly effective move his face isn’t seen until very near the end of the movie, his victims and the brilliantly disturbing opening credits sequence are our only insights into his mind whilst he himself is kept a shadowy, mostly absent presence. He isn’t a compulsive killer, rather he is driven by a cold determination and twisted piety backed up by formidable patience and intelligence that make him a criminal quite removed from the daily grind of either cop’s normal cases.
The men out to catch this killer are not FBI profilers or forensics experts, they are normal detectives who happen to catch the case. Mills is convinced of his ability to do some good in the world and of a recognisable distinction between men like the killer and normal human beings, whereas Somerset struggles to maintain either conviction. Interestingly Somerset’s existence is much closer to that of the killer than Mills, living alone in a neatly ordered home, reading in libraries deserted except for the security guards, losing faith in the world he has spent his life trying to help. Mills by contrast has a wife, pets and an apartment directly above a train line, his existence is messier, more normal, warmer. But is also Mills that experiences the greatest, and darkest, transition over the course of the film.
I feel compelled to write about the ending of ‘Se7en’, since it is one of the most infamous twist endings ever put on screen, but I also feel compelled to avoid spoilers since if you haven’t seen it I refuse to spoil it for you. So I will say only that, like the rest of ‘Se7en’, the impact of the film’s climax is not lost with time and repeat viewings. In a world where most Hollywood films can be relied on to deliver some form of happy ending there is something shocking and also something oddly refreshing about the end of ‘Se7en’.
I thoroughly recommend this film to anyone who is yet to see it and won’t be overly disturbed by the gore, it never stops being both entertaining and disturbing and retains it’s power on repeat visits. This is a darker breed of Hollywood entertainment.
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Great film, I really love this one. Fincher’s movies are some of the few that I’ve made a point to go through all the commentaries and special features on, the guy just makes such great films.
Still waiting on that special edition of The Game if any studio types are reading this; it’d look great next to all the 2 or 3 disc sets of his other work.
Just sayin’…
Awesome movie!!!!
Still think fight club and zodiac are fincher’s best though.
For me Fight Club and Se7en alternate regularly as to which I prefer overall but I definately consider Se7en to be his masterpiece as a piece of direction. I have to confess I’m the one person in the world who didn’t like Zodiac though, I can see why everyone loves it but for some reason it just didn’t engage me.
I can understand that some people have a problem with zodiac. It’s a very long movie and there are many important characters so it’s hard to identify and connect with any of them, but the cinematography, the atmosphere, the superb and subtle historical reconstruction is what makes zodiac one of my favorite films. As for se7en, I didn’t really like how the killer was revealed and I already knew what the twist at the end was because somebody spoiled it for me (that twat!!!).
SPOILER WARNING
I completely agree with you on Zodiac’s achievements and as much as I try I cannot point to a flaw and say ‘that’s why it didn’t grab me!’ but am just left oddly, inexplicably disconnected. Except for the bit with Jake Gyllenhal in the basement with the old film reels, that scared the hell out of me.
I actually (as you can probably tell from the review) consider the ending of se7en to be one of it’s strongest features, for me I think it would have become dull if we’d just followed the killer for another two murders, we’d already had five, and the idea of the killer handing himself in really threw me the first time I saw it. It’s a bitch someone spoiled the ending for you since that also surprised the hell out of me, not so much the contents of the box but rather the sheer bleakness of the final scenes and their conclusions about humanity are so far from most of Hollywood and so deeply disturbing that they still effect me very strongly on repeat viewings.
I am a fan of this film, one of the best mystery thrillers ever.