SE7EN IS THE REAL DEAL

Rating: 10/10 (26 May 2000)

Let me get something off my chest straightaway. The Silence of the Lambs doesn't hold a candle to this one. And the fact that SOTL was awarded by the Academy, angers me beyond belief. Se7en has been criticised for being too morbid, gross and dark. Which it is - and it should be, it deals with serial killing, for Pete's sake!
What happens at the end of Silence of the Lambs? The killer utters a snappy one-liner ("I'm having an old friend for dinner") and the audience kill themselves laughing... Yeah, right, we have just witnessed humanity at its cruelest and most debased and we laugh. We certainly don't think. You won't laugh after seeing Se7en - and you shouldn't. You WILL be depressed - and you should be. You WILL question society's morality (or lack thereof) - and you should. Most of all, you will recognise your own apathy.
Se7en is the first and only (fictional)serial killer movie that treats its subject with the respect it deserves. And by subject I'm not referring to the killer (John Doe), but the devastation he leaves in his wake and society's complicity. Yes, it is not only in terms of the seven deadly sins that this is relevant, but also in the eighth - APATHY, which is society's sin. And John Doe is its physical manifestation.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS!! POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!
Apathy is what allowed John Doe to commit his atrocious crimes in the first place. A man is tortured for a year and no-one misses him, his landlord doesn't give a hoot because his rent is paid on time. John Doe goes in and out of offices and apartments he's not supposed to be in, but no-one cares. The police sell information without a second thought to the possible consequences. Everyone brings packages and suitcases into a whore house, so who cares what the contents might be used for. And that is why these things happen in real life, why women are taught to yell "FIRE!" and not "HELP!" when they are being attacked. Because everybody turns a blind eye.
To quote John Doe (regretfully!!): "Wanting people to listen, you can't just tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer". And that is exactly what Se7en does. We can't afford to ignore its message.
This is not a movie to be enjoyed, rather it has to be experienced. So be prepared for that sledgehammer!
10/10