One of the best Serial Killer films ever made

Rating: 9/10 (25 February 2009)

"Se7en" (1995) Dir: David Fincher
There's no cinematic theme I can think of that has run the gamut from Trash to High Art (via Blockbuster) quite like the Serial Killer movie. Throughout the history of the medium, many of these films have failed to captivate large audiences the way that "Se7en" did and continues to do, usually because they were either shamelessly exploitative or far too deliberately psychological in their approach for most viewers. It's a tough balance for a filmmaker to strike, but with "Se7en" David Fincher made it look so simple. It is one of the best Serial Killer movies ever made.
Part of the reason film-goers consider Freeman, Pitt and Spacey so highly today is because of "Se7en". All three actors excel in their roles. Freeman's Detective Somerset is a week away from retirement when he becomes involved, alongside his own replacement Detective Mills (Pitt), in what is surely the most horrific multiple murder case of his long career. Mills is determined not to shy away from his first case in town, and is shown to be more impulsive than the erudite Somerset, who immediately connects the killings to several great literary works including "The Divine Comedy" and the writings of St Thomas Aquinas. They are always lagging behind the killer, walking solemnly through endless downpours to survey the crime scene of these increasingly sick murders, barely able to grasp the calculated depravity of the man they are chasing.
There are brief meditations on human apathy by both Freeman's character and the killer himself but aside from these, "Se7en" is essentially plot- and character-driven. This works to its great advantage - too much philosophy would have affected the momentum of the film, which is expertly weighted and allowed to accumulate at the right points. Nothing is clichéd, and there are no simplistic 'red herrings' to stretch the action out. It is a thoroughly modern crime film that borrows the religious themes from Horror and parts of its aesthetic from Film Noir, successfully widening its appeal in the process.
I've learnt to slightly concede in my critical judgement over years of watching silent films, art films, propaganda films, slow-moving European epics, counterculture movies et cetera, and so part of the reason I enjoyed "Se7en" so much is that I didn't need to concede anything while watching it. Quite the opposite, I was never anything but totally gripped by it. This is the power of really decent American film-making when it successfully balances visual style, directorial control, individual performances and, above all, a great story (which I won't spoil for you any further by elaborating upon in this review!)