Dark, disturbing and fabulous

Rating: 8/10 (15 January 2011)

In a dark, gloomy city where the rain never stops and the signs of urban decay are everywhere you look two detectives hunt down a serial killer. The first detective is William Somerset, about to retire and desperately looking forward to a quiet life in the country away from all the urban misery. The second is young hotshot David Mills. He is to be Somerset's replacement and he can't wait to get started. He actually asked for this assignment. He relishes the opportunity to deal with the worst of the worst in this hellish city. Of course he has no idea what he's in for. Somerset knows. Or at least he thinks he does. Because not even wise, old Somerset could possibly anticipate the events which are about to unfold. These two detectives, one on the way in and one on the way out, will be forced into a reluctant partnership as they work one chilling case. The dead bodies begin to pile up and Somerset and Mills get more than they ever could have bargained for. And quite possibly more than they can bear.
Somerset and Mills find themselves investigating a bizarre and horrifying series of murders. By the time the second body turns up it is clear that an obviously deranged, though also obviously intelligent, killer is planning on murdering one victim to represent each of the seven deadly sins. A morbidly obese man is forced to eat himself to death. Gluttony. A rich attorney is forced to cut off a pound of his own flesh. Greed. And so on. The killings are gruesome. The killer, dubbed John Doe, is a man clearly capable of unimaginably monstrous things. And somehow Somerset and Mills have to stop him before he completes his set. Before he completes his deranged sermon to the world. It all makes for one morbidly fascinating movie. And one with a unique twist. Serial killer movies generally go one of two ways. Either they show you the killer all the way through as you watch him do his bloody work. Or they keep the killer invisible and focus solely on those pursuing him. This movie leads you in one direction and then whips you around and turns everything on its head. Rather brilliant stuff.
As we watch Somerset and Mills do the old cop/young cop routine we've seen in so many other movies the contrasts between the two are exceedingly obvious. These are two very different men, attacking the John Doe case from two very different perspectives. Somerset is calm, collected, a thinking man. And Morgan Freeman, with his quiet dignity, portrays this perfectly. Mills is a man more about action than thought. He's brash, emotional and a little immature. You get the sense early on that this is a man who may not be ready for what he is going to have to face. In playing this part Brad Pitt has his ups and downs. It's not a bad performance by any means but there are moments where the character's words and actions don't really ring true. Mills comes off as being a little too insecure, and at times downright childish. The contrast between Mills and Somerset is supposed to be obvious, and supposed to be a major theme of the film. But at times the contrast is just a little too stark to be believable. Even in the incredibly tense, drama-packed finale Pitt's Mills comes across as much too whiny and immature. His reactions to what he is confronted with just don't seem to fit. Perhaps Pitt went just a touch too far in displaying all of the insecurities and personality quirks which make up Detective Mills. But it's nothing bad enough to really detract from the overall movie-watching experience. Director David Fincher crafted something rather special here. So much more than just another serial killer movie. It's smart, it's riveting, and in the end it's quite jaw-dropping. Maybe Pitt is just adequate. But Freeman is brilliant. And one other performer is even better than that. But that final, perfectly fitted piece to this puzzle you have to discover for yourself.