I still jump out my skin watching this

Rating: 9/10 (2 August 2001)

Se7en entered British cinemas and I'm not entirely sure we were prepared for such an intelligent and demanding movie. Spacey, Pitt and Freeman turn in some of the best performances imaginable for this type of movie and I could not believe that they were so ill-rewarded for their acting efforts. A film that stretches the brain (literate film viewers whooped with joy to see such references hauled into public awareness) whilst recognising that most might not get all the clues (cue Cliffs Notes folks), well it makes a change from cheap devil-worshipping mythologies.
Walker created a screenplay sizzling with wit and intrigue. You see almost nothing of the SEVEN that stalk the plot (though I swear a minor edit has occurred on the video version at the end regarding Tracey). And the cinematography (of which much was made in the press regarding silver prints to highlight the darkness) has to be some of the most imaginative ever providing for a thriller drama of this kind.
I still find little intriguing details to attend to whenever I watch this movie - like others in my fav raves catalogue (Memento, The Usual Suspects, Twelve Monkeys, Fight Club) it demands something from the viewer's intellect and attention that some felt might have bypassed the "Star Wars" generation of special effects kids. Wrong - I'm of that generation too, and trust me, there is still room for the literate thriller to pull the punters.