Freeman is the impetus in this modern film noir masterwork

Rating: Null/10 (4 February 2002)

Like `The Silence of the Lambs', `Seven' is a film that uses intense characters and psychological intrigue to move beyond the limitations of gore and decadence in serial killer flicks. It is, after all, easy to make a film drenched in the depravation of a society approaching anomie, but it is not a simple matter to make it smart and fresh.
Truth be told though, for all the well-exhibited talents of Pitt, Paltrow and Spacey it is Freeman who saves this film from trapping itself into a sordid mess. He provides just the right edge as one of the most interesting cops ever on the big screen. His profundity makes him a pariah to his peers, as he is azygous to the point of being incongruous among lesser thinkers. This is juxtaposed nicely in the scenes where he goes to the library to construe John Doe's literary inspirations, while Mills (Pitt) snags some Cliff's Notes. We quickly note that while Somerset (Freeman) is a bete noire in the police department (probably feared as many smart people are) he is the only person with the intellect required to defeat John Doe.
It is Somerset's contrast that provides suitable pauses in the tumult and allows for Pitt's intensity and Paltrow's tenderness to have convincing voices. It is his erudite manner of investigating the grizzly murders that makes them more than psychopathic folderol in the long book of inhumane criminality. If violence is truly an atavistic impulse, then Somerset reminds us that compassion probably is also.
A very disturbing, yet worthy effort that pays attention to numerous details. A well made film that is highly recommended.