Se7en: Revisited

Rating: Null/10 (10 November 2004)

Well I finally saw Se7en for the first real time last night. Don't get me wrong - of course I saw the seminal serial-killer flick when it originally came out in '95, albeit when it first hit videostores. At that time, for some reason unknown to me today, I simply didn't care for it. It didn't hook my attention, and something about the directorial style jarred me rather than impressed. Well that all changed - dramatically - last night when I sat home alone and watched it very carefully on DVD. Some of you already know that David Fincher is one of my very favorite directors, mainly because of FIGHT CLUB, but also for his other mindtrick movies such as THE GAME, and even ALIENS III to an extent - a movie I feel deserves more appeal than it seems to receive. PANIC ROOM was a bit of a disappointment to me arriving on the heels of the senses-shattering Fight Club, but there was no mistaking the genius that went into its craftmanship. Now back to Se7en, and its stunning, brutal beauty. There is no room in my mind left for doubt that "Jonathan Doe" wins the blue ribbon prize for most brilliant serial killer ever captured in a movie, and the now familiar actor who portrays him delivers what I feel must remain as his most chilling screen role to date. Whatever it was I "didn't get" about Se7en nine years ago, I can only try and imagine; but I needn't bother now that I've fully digested this tightly focused morality tale about the sins of modern man which we all take for granted throughout our daily lives. Morgan Freeman delivers such a solid and outstanding performance as Detective William Somerset, that he helps rise this film above the normal gamut of such typical police procedural fare, and into the realm of art. His character provides the much needed humanity that is the focus of the movie's themes. Brad Pitt portrays the cocky Detective Mills in his usual easy going, fluent style that makes him such a box office success. The movie is an outstanding depiction of all the baroque details that make up a squalid life in a rundown section of New York city, itself symbolic as the diseased heart of a country passing into sociological ruin and decay. To not recognize Se7en as a true masterpiece of film-making is to have committed one of the deadly sins of movie-going: not paying enough attention. Because that is what I was guilty of - not once, but twice did I see this movie on video during the past decade, and I was obviously not engaged to the point of committing myself to the inherent dynamics going on in the film. All I can say today after having this stark and disturbing psychological thriller drilled into my mind for the third time, is that I have learned what not paying close attention to the works of David Fincher can result in: simply missing out on what could be considered one of the most talented and brilliant film auters of our generation. They say hindsight is 20-20, and in this case that certainly turned out to be true, as I now consider Se7en to rival Fight Club as contendor for not only Fincher's best movie thus far, but most certainly exceeding Silence Of The Lambs (in my mind) to claim the prize as the #1 Best serial-killer movie ever lensed.
The movie is a triumph of thematic values that far exceeds the ambitions of Silence Of The Lambs. In Silence, there was not much beyond the tightly controlled unspooling of the plot, and of course there was the dynamic and chilling performance from Sir Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Lector: his character was that film's dark heart. But to compare the two films beyond their "serial killer cores" would be a mistake; they are truly two different enterprises altogether. In Se7en, we have the decaying city itself as the heart of what is unfolding around all the characters; it is as if they all dwell within its sickened superstructure, in a sort of grim resolve to continue on until it reaches its final, shuddering spasm & ceases beating altogether. And within this structure haunted by ceaseless violence and hopelessness, humans dwell in their daily struggles to get on with their lives, or even try and devote their lives to doing something about it, as in the case of Pitt's detective Mills. Meanwhile, there are those who have already spent their lives in futility against the ever looming, oceanic tide of sin, filth, and murder that has been washing in daily since as long as they can remember, as in the case of Freeman's detective Somerset, who is intent on retiring so he can escape to the countryside and enjoy some peace, clear air, and tranquility. And caught in between these 2 polarities is the killer, "John Doe", as expressionistic & sadistic a killer as we are ever likely to meet on screen, yet imbued with an underlying philosophical outlook that nearly demands the unsettled viewer's sympathetic understanding even in the face of his indisputably loathsome acts. The arc these 3 characters represent serves to ennervate the inner wire of that naked 40-watt bulb which weakly flickers on to reveal what is lying in wait inside the darkness enveloping the cellar under everyone's prettied-up homes: that we are grouped together in a darkening basement under the sky, subject to the mass-induced and traumatizing influence of apathy, greed and sloth engendered by the mob mentality of society itself. In Se7en's unrelentingly grim vision, no one escapes this evergrowing cancerous shadow on the face of humanity; not the serial killer "John Doe", who despite all his efforts to "prove" something to his fellows by his heinous deeds is doomed to be swallowed up by history as merely one of it's slightly darker footnotes; certainly not detective Mills who is ultimately victimized where it matters most, beyond hope and redemption; and in the final analysis, not even the well-meaning and morally focused detective Somerset, who in the end must face the traumatizing truth that no matter where he may choose to escape from the city and end out his days, he will never be able to escape the memories that made up his bruised and shattered life. Se7en is, in short, a triumph of artistic film-making on every level, and in this moviegoer's eyes, deserves as many stars as your rating system offers. A true classic in the psychological thriller genre.