Dark, uncompromising Hollywood shocker

Rating: 7/10 (15 May 2005)

SE7EN
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Sound formats: Dolby Digital / SDDS
On the eve of retirement, a world-weary cop (Morgan Freeman) teams up with his younger replacement (Brad Pitt) in the hunt for a monstrous serial killer whose crimes are based on the seven deadly sins.
Dark, gruesome shocker, with Freeman as a burnt-out cop struggling to make sense of the horrors he has witnessed during his long career, and Pitt as a headstrong character whose flaws lead to a devastating climactic 'twist'. The drama unfolds in an unnamed city where goodness and mercy have surrendered to human apathy, allowing a killer to fester unnoticed, until his monstrous scheme overwhelms the central characters. Andrew Kevin Walker's ingenious script works both as a police procedural and as an examination of society's moral vacuum, though the downbeat ending may strike some as too neat and cynical for its own good. The movie is quite shocking in places - the killing derived from the sin of 'lust' is particularly degrading - though it's also quite playful in its own twisted fashion (note, for instance, how the constant rainfall surrenders to bright sunlight for the horrific finale), and Darius Khondji's elegant widescreen cinematography belies the movie's grim subject matter. A triumph for director David Fincher (following the misguided ALIEN³), this is as close as 1990's Hollywood ever came to a 'daring' mainstream blockbuster, and nervous viewers are urged to avoid at all costs.