Is murder justified?

Rating: 10/10 (18 June 2014)

The plot of this film revolves around the seven deadly sins and murder investigations over the period of seven days. The lead characters, Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) and Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman), follow clues and do research into the seven deadly sins to catch a killer named John Doe, (Kevin Spacey).
The theme of this film is how the seven deadly sins relate to the actions we choose and why we choose to take them. Many people would agree that murder is a sin but this film makes the viewer question if murder can be justified. Each victim in the movie is guilty of one of the seven deadly sins and each victim is murdered in such a way that it reflects the sin they are guilty of. The film can make the viewer consider that maybe the victims did deserve to die.
Each victim is guilty of one of the seven deadly sins; gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, lust, envy, and pride. Throughout the movie each murder scene tells a story as to what sin the victim is guilty of. Each murder scene also contains a clue that leads Mills and Somerset to the next murder scene. An interesting spin on the movie is that Mills seems to become one of the seven deadly sins himself, when he seeks revenge for his wife, Tracy's, (Gwyneth Paltrow) death. The viewer would typically have empathy for Mills decision and think his actions could be justified.
Lighting, camera angles, sound effects, and raw emotion are successfully employed throughout the film, setting the mood for the enthralling theme. The lighting in some of the murder scenes is low and signifies suffering and death. There is a scene in the beginning of the film that silhouettes a detective who was talking to Somerset. The detective makes the assumption that the victim was killed out of love by his wife. In this scene as he is walking away from Somerset the lighting causes his body to become a silhouette. This is showing the detective's naivety and lack of paying attention to detail.
There are several moments when the camera angle is low. One in particular is of Mills and Somerset standing in the rain, talking. This scene takes place shortly after Mills and Somerset meet and portrays Somerset taking a "you don't know how cruel this city really is" approach toward Mills.
The music that plays in the background adds to the thrill of many scenes in this film. In the opening credits the song that plays is an uncredited remix by Nine Inch Nails and it sets the foundation for the film. There is a scene when Somerset makes a trip to the library to research the seven deadly sins. The night guard turns on music that seems soothing and peaceful. While this music is playing Somerset is looking through books and murder scene photos giving the scene an ironic feel.
Raw emotion allows the viewer to relate to the characters. This raw emotion is present in the last scene of the film when Mills realizes John Doe murdered Tracy. Mills' tears and facial expressions signify the grief he is experiencing and the dilemma he is facing at that very moment. He is suffering an internal battle on whether or not he should kill John Doe to avenge his wife's murder (wrath) instead of letting the justice system do its job. The characteristic of the overall theme to this film, wrath, can be related to the theme in Kill Bill Volume 1 and Volume 2 where the main character seeks revenge as well.
This film has all of the necessary ingredients to bring the viewer into its ironic reality of religion and murder leading up to the final sin at the end, leaving the viewer completely satisfied.