Where a misanthrope turned sociopath provides seven deadly lessons.

Rating: Null/10 (29 June 2011)

On this, my second viewing of Seven (after sixteen years), the flaws in the story and production are more apparent. That knowledge hasn't reduced my admiration and appreciation of this film, however: the script is tight and sharp; the acting is just brilliant; and the photography and editing are all you would expect from a finely crafted thriller that uses dramatic irony, terror and horror to great effect. Add to that the moody mise-en-scene in drab, dark de-saturated color which just makes all of the cityscape so much more unappealing and implicitly menacing.
For those who haven't seen it, this is the story: a seriously deranged man plans and implements a series of ghastly murders, each of which is thematically linked to one of the seven deadly sins. Beginning with gluttony and so on to each sin, the plot involves the efforts of a thirty-year, world-weary veteran detective, William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) – Somerset is appropriate name because he's on the eve of his retirement to his rural property – and a gung-ho hotshot youngster, David Mills (Brad Pitt), who together begin the task of sifting through the deliberately planted clues to hunt down the killer. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Mills' wife, Tracy, and does a beautiful job with the few scenes she is in; more importantly, she acts as the linchpin for the final horrific ending.
So, to that extent, it's normal fare for a crime thriller (recall, for example, The Bone Collector or, more recently, No Country for Old Men).
What sets it apart, to a large extent, are the succession of extremely bloody and violent crime scenes we see as a result of each murder, leaving no doubt in viewers' minds about the cruelty exhibited by the killer. Frankly, it's much better filmic technique for developing the character of the killer than witnessing each murder in action (for which we should be thankful, in my opinion).
The story is set in an unnamed city (but was shot mostly around Los Angeles) and it's raining most of the time. Actually, not quite: it's raining on cars when there are interior shots in autos but, in the background, it's mostly sunny, quite obviously. A slight flaw, I know, but it's very obvious on second viewing. More serious, in my opinion, is the story itself: the whole premise of using the seven deadly sins as thematic, murderous underpinnings for each crime lacks credibility. In the real world, it's just not believable – the sine qua non, after all, for excellent story-telling – when all of the factors about the killer's preparations and implementation are revealed. Hence, to that extent, Seven is fantasy.
Granted, The Bone Collector (1999) suffers in the same way. But, not so No Country for Old Men (2006). And still the best, recent example of believable story about serial murders is The Silence of the Lambs (1991).
Still, if you like unrelenting suspense build-up, then Seven is a movie to see, for sure. Apart from the good aspects already mentioned above, I have to include a minor spoiler and make special mention of Kevin Spacey who plays the role of the killer: if ever there was a guy meant to play the role, it is he. Even though we see him only in the last half-hour (except for a brief moment in the second act which, if you're not alert, you will miss completely), he dominates everything as only Spacey can.
You can theorize about the rationale for making the movie (other than as money-maker) as an indictment of modern city-living, a commentary on the base nature of humanity in general, or as an extreme example of how the dark side of personality disorder can wreak urban havoc – or all three, of course.
Don't bother, is my advice; just sit back and...be entertained, perhaps? Overall, I give it seven...hmmm.
July, 2011.