A Pure Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (28 February 2019)

Se7en is a crime thriller directed by David Fincher and stars Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. The film is about these two detectives who end up working together on a case of these unrelated murders happening in this unknown city in which they live in that all connect with the seven deadly sins (lust, pride, greed, sloth, envy, gluttony, wrath.)
Se7en can be described in three words: a violent masterpiece. The film takes on the idea of the seven deadly sins as their forefront for the crimes taken place in a creative, interesting and exciting way. The best part about this film is not showing the actual murders taking place. All the audience and the main characters see is the brutal and bloody aftermath of the crime. It fills the audience with a darker and violent imagination of what happened during the murders.
The acting in this film is top notch with some of the best performances I have ever seen with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. Their chemistry in the film is perfect and seamless. As the film goes along, I totally forgot they were Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman anymore as they became their respective characters. This helps with the amazing writer that allowed the acting and chemistry to blossom and be so memorizing.
The story is the best aspect of this film as Fincher smartly makes the audience question what will happen next? We see this in most critically acclaimed thrillers, but this film doesn't let you know where this movie can potentially go because Fincher builds small clues and foreshadows as the moment of time happens in the film. Every scene in the film is important to the overall plot which makes the film feel so long by the end because you never feel like you wasted any time watching it. The climax of the film is one of the most exciting, edge of your seat climaxes I have ever seen. It has high blood pumping energy with great excitement that the film has built throughout its runtime that pays off so well.
The directing is so fantastic that I'm surprised it wasn't nominated for best directing at the 68th annual Academy Awards. Fincher uses great wide shots to capture all what's happening in the frame that keeps the audience in the moment. He carefully uses detailed close ups with his characters in deep emotional scenes that add an extra layer to the film.
The score, composed by Howard Shore, is an amazing score that adds so much to those intense scenes that gives the extra boost it needs to keep you on the edge of your seat. Whether its his dark and suspenseful music as the characters are investigating each crime scene or it's the intense energetic moving music in the action scenes, the score is used appropriately and effectively.
As for the tech specs, the film has amazing cinematography done by Darius Khondji who uses a dark colored palate that is used perfectly with the gritty and dreadful tone of the film the use of light during many dark scenes was used perfectly as it didn't over bear the darkness of the setting. When the film used color, it used dark reds, yellows, etc. that gave a little tiny burst of life it needed to not look so dull and boring. Many filmmakers try to use this dark colored pallet and look for their movie because of the tone of the movie they are making, but it doesn't always work out because they don't know what they are looking to see.
The editing is practically seamless in which scene transition flowed so smoothly that it felt like the movie was shot all in one day chronologically. The action scenes also had incredible editing that it all looked real and presented well.
My only issues with the film are small but need to be addressed. During some of the action scenes, mainly in the middle where Mills is chasing down a potential suspect, there is a lot of "shaky cam" involved where it can be a tad bit distracting watching it, but not bad enough that it ruins the whole scene.
Overall, this film is one of the best films of all time due to its cast and production team. It has an engaging story that is always interesting and feels like something new is about to happen. The film is exciting, gritty, and dark in the best David Fincher way possible. The acting is superb, and the writing makes the film so enthralling throughout. I can recommend to anyone who wants to watch an pure masterpiece in the thriller genre. I give this a 10/10