Gluttony. Greed. Sloth. Lust. Pride. Envy. Wrath ... What's Your Deadly Sin?

Rating: Null/10 (27 October 2014)

Blazingly original, darkly disturbing, downright shocking, extremely grim, relentlessly brutal, insanely powerful & emotionally devastating, David Fincher's breakthrough effort is an intensely haunting masterpiece which today is widely & rightly considered amongst the greatest thrillers ever made, and is also notable for marking the commencement of an impressive legacy that continues to get stronger with every new Fincher film.
Taking place over the course of a week, the story of Se7en concerns two homicide detectives; the soon-to-retire William Somerset & the newly transferred David Mills, who become deeply involved in the recent case of appalling crimes relating to the seven deadly sins and desperately try to hunt down the sadistic serial killer before his mission is accomplished. The plot also covers the detectives' initial friction with each other & the contrast in their working methods.
Ingeniously directed by David Fincher, the film is a staggering work of perfection from start to finish in which the smallest of details end up contributing to the whole premise & the dark plot in itself feels like something that was spit right out from the abyss. The screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker is very carefully but masterly structured with each event, character, their motivation etc being properly weighed before it is penned down in the script.
Coming to the technical aspects, production design team does a stellar job in providing the decaying & dismal environment to the whole picture which is further enhanced by its bleak photography that adds to the inhospitable look this film was aiming for. Editing makes sure every sequence is relevant to the plot & smoothly unfolds the events as the film progresses while Howard Shore's score effortlessly elevates the nerve-jangling tension to a nearly unbearable level.
As far as performances go, Se7en features a very dependable cast in Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow & others but what truly makes it work is the remarkable chemistry between Freeman & Pitt as Detective Somerset & Mills, respectively. Freeman plays his character in a very calm & composed manner and is instantly likable. Pitt does go a bit overexcited in few scenes but his performance still stays within the realms of his character's dimensions.
Yet it's actually our serial killer who ends up stealing the show from the moment he reveals himself to the audience to the very twisted, bone-chilling & unforgettable finale that's powerful enough to haunt its viewers for a long time. Also, the opening credits sequence alone is in an entirely different league as the sense of creepiness it invokes only serves as a warning for what lies ahead and the film as a whole works immensely well as a fascinating meditation on evil.
On an overall scale, Se7en is one of the darkest, creepiest & finest examples of psychological horrors that remains as effective today as it was back at its time of release. The extent to which its story tries to delve into the minds of serial killers is pretty unsettling yet the uncompromising approach the director took in envisioning a sinister script on the silver screen makes it all the more admirable. A dark, brooding & unrelenting terror of epic proportions, Se7en is certainly David Fincher's darkest film to date & definitely one of the greatest achievements of its genre.