A masterpiece!

Rating: 10/10 (19 January 2006)

Se7en is an amazing movie in so many ways. It is, in fact, my favorite movie, and here is why:
To me, the story and themes in Se7en are incredibly interesting and well thought out. It is not so much the murderer, the killings, and the police work that matter, it's what lies beyond these. The movie deals with the fundamental ways with which we look at life. This is demonstrated best by the diametrically opposite views of detectives Mills and Somerset, respectively, but also the views of the killer, in contrast to their views. Apathy is the key word here, while Choice is another important factor, which is intrinsically connected to Apathy. Apart from this, the story is masterfully told; it does not rush anything. It takes its time to make the points it needs, which are plenty, without seeming to add any superfluous elements.
The technical aspects are pure genius. Not only is everything executed flawlessly, but put together it all has a certain synergy that makes it all seem, well, better than perfect, really. The cinematography is excellent. Many of the camera angles are different, but not weird or artsy just for the sake of being either of those. The visuals have a sharp purity to them, and are incredibly clean. So clean, in fact, that you can see the dirt and dust in the air at times (particularly in the Gluttony crime scene.) Many scenes are somewhat dark and gray, for instance all the rain, but it is shown so artfully, which makes them incredibly interesting instead of just depressing. This depressing motif is highly fitting to the themes the movie deals with, though, so it is not at all out of place or misused, in order to try to just seem artsy or dark.
The sound and music is not just good, but so fitting and so well done that it actually enhances the experience of the movie, something I feel sound and music are supposed to do in movies  and not just in the simple and cheap way tension music does it in so many thrilled and horror movies. Both the sound and music go in and interact with the visuals (or the other way around) on just about all situations in the movie. Like the very first scene, where we see Somerset in his kitchen, where the ambient sound actually goes in and gives us audio clues to the surroundings and situation. Or the legendary (often since copied, never outdone or equaled) intro title sequence, where the titles and the gritty, almost evil visuals move and shake in sync with the industrial grinding of Nine Inch Nails' "Closer". A scene standing in stark contrast with that one, but no less interesting, is the Library scene, with Bach playing in the back (until it slowly moves into the front). It is an incredibly aesthetically pleasing scene, almost like a fully fitting music video for one of the most soothing pieces of classical music around.
There are many other scenes that merit at least a page each of praise on the audio and visual aspects, like the Lust scene, the Interrogation scene, the Chase scene and the scenes from the movie's finale, but there is simply not room for it here.
The acting is also dead on. It is just so fitting that it becomes great. Freeman has an aura of experience and intelligence over him, but also a strong sense of having given up and resignation that often shows, as the character is supposed to be portrayed. Pitt might not have gotten equally appreciated with his effort, but living up to Freeman is no easy task. I feel Pitt, with his impatience and visible energy, does an incredible job, playing the diametric opposite to Somerset, which in my mind is the exact way that character is supposed to be portrayed, as well.
The movie, I feel, leaves you stunned. It gets the point across better than any movie I have seen, not just by cheap shock effects, but by a deep, disturbing rumbling that culminates in terrible realization. It does indeed get your attention by hitting you with a sledgehammer.
As a final note, I would like to mention that the amount of gore and violence seen in the movie is not great. Strangely, many people seem to think so. They claim the movie was too harsh and violent, but when you confront them with this, it turns out they only got this impression, but didn't actually see anything. This, I feel, is a testament towards the skill with which the director so expertly implies these things, instead of going for cheap, visual thrills and shock effects by actually showing all the gore.
And that is why Se7en is my favorite movie.