It's disturbing that I feel so.. disturbed...

Rating: 3/10 (8 September 2002)

***Spoilers included****
Great. Just what the world needs. Another dark, disturbing, gratuitously violent movie that has delusions of achieving the dizzy heights of a modern classic. Sure- I recognise that the movie has good points. The performances are pretty good, the camera techniques and photography employed effectively enhance the subject matter and hey- there is always Gwyneth losing her head - something that should have happened a long time ago (if you think I'm probably not a Gwyneth fan..well- you'd be right). But my objection lies in the completely depraved scenes that accompany each of the seven (sorry about that - I meant, of course, Se7en) sins. This is torturous violence at it's most debased. And if the movie is about how desensitised we all are to the problems of the world we live in, then why did this movie make me leave the cinema feeling violated?
Don't get me wrong. I'm wouldn't consider myself prudish or oversensitive when it comes to violence on the screen- after all, I am a classic Gen X, who grew up watching violence and sex of some form or another manifest before me. I can usually watch serial killer movies without too many problems (apart from the entirely involuntary hands over the eyes during the critical moments). But this was different. This was disturbing. Maybe I just can't stand the suffering and torture of the human condition that was evident in this movie. Or maybe it was because the good guys definitely don't win out in the end and I've been so Hollywoodised (yeah- I know it's not a word, but it was the best I could come up with) that I can't handle this fact.
Seriously, don't bother with this movie.