grim

Rating: 8/10 (24 April 2010)

David Fincher's fiercely idolized Seven is certainly an interesting and well-made film. Finely acted, meticulously shot and composed. It very effectively portrays the greatest city on earth as dark and Gothic, rotting and falling to pieces, its citizens weary and confused. What prevents Seven from being a true masterpiece is that there is very little meaning or depth below the layers of supposed erudition. It doesn't help to allude to Dante and Chaucer when your film has nothing to do with their work ; it seems to me that these references were deliberately added just to create a false sense of meaning in the minds of viewers who don't know any better. Ah, Thomas Aquinas ! Hemingway !!! Deep stuff this must be......well, not really, though. The film is content to scratch the surface of difficult ideas, hinting at more interesting things but resolutely going for the cheap thrill nine times out of ten. John Doe is a grand and terrifying killer, but one that exists only in the imaginary world of movies.