My favorite movie of all time for a number of different reasons

Rating: 10/10 (8 October 2009)

Se7en is unlike any other movie I have seen before. This movie made me realize the genius of David Fincher. Each scene developed brings a different mindset to the audience because of the surreal art direction that gets into the psyche of the viewer. Each moment on screen gives you a feeling of what it is really like to be in the mind of someone who is insane. Andrew Kevin Walker writes a story that is daring, complex, and brilliant.
The movie starts off with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman inspecting the first murder and the different personalities each detective has in the way they work. Brad Pitt's rebellious attitude and Morgan Freeman's old school antics is a great team of bold and brass. As each murder occurs, we can see the different reaction it has on the detectives and the way their stature is shaken by these events. Each different gruesome murder found increases the shock factor for the audience. To think that one man can do such manipulative and sadistic acts leaves the viewer stunned and wanting more. David Fincher couldn't have created a more suspenseful and elaborate plot to keep the audience on edge.
While Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman play their role to a T, the real star of the movie is yes SPOILER: John Doe himself as played by Kevin Spacey. The shear brilliance of this character is amazing and makes you uneasy with how intellectual and cunning he really is. The famous scene in which he gives himself up to the cops leaves you saying WHAT?! WHY?! and asking many other questions. While this is his first appearance on screen in the film, the presence of his character only gets better as the movie progresses.
The second most famous scene to me has to the be the long monologue the two detectives and John have in the car ride on the way to the murder scene. This to me is one of the most memorable pieces of dialog in any movie i can remember. The genius of this scene is shown mostly in the ways Kevin Spacey answers the questions the detectives throw at him. Example when he questions Detective Mills about the fact that the people he murdered were innocent, actually leaves yourself questioning, Is John Doe really the evil one, or is society the devil itself? This was just a prelude to the most amazing ending to any movie I can remember.
After the long car drive to the scene where John Doe is supposedly showing the detectives where the last two victims of his grand scheme are held, the unexpected hits you like a speeding bullet. In my opinion, I believe that the majority of the people who watched this movie think the last two victims were Mills and Somerset themselves and John Doe was just luring them to the be the final victims of his masterpiece. But David Fincher and company leave you with your jaw dropped and eyes wide open. As the scene progresses, a van is seen coming towards their direction. A man comes out saying he is supposed to deliver a box to a Detective Mills at this time. At this point I'm thinking what in the world could be in that box? Is it a bomb? But as Detective Somerset goes to investigate the box and John Doe says that he admires Detective Mills life, it all slowly starts to piece together.
Once Doe mentions he admires him and his wife Tracy, everything starts to make sense. Once you find out Mills wife Tracy's head is in the box you are left speechless with eyes glued to the screen and cannot look away. John Doe's famous line, "It seems that Envy is my sin" is one of the biggest twists in movie history. And finally telling Detective Mills, "Become vengeance, Become wrath" is still one of the spookiest lines spoken on film to date. When Doe is shot and everything is over, you honestly have no idea how you feel. Its an assortment of feelings like amazement, sorrow, shock and disbelief. A great film is a film that you can watch over and over again and not get bored. This was one of those movies for me.This is by far my favorite movie off all time and if you watch this classic, maybe it will become a personal favorite of yours as well.