Visceral

Rating: 8/10 (13 March 2001)

SEVEN is a movie that won't leave you with that "happy feeling" after viewing but it will affect you emotionally in some way. You won't feel as though you've seen "Sound of Music" but movies with underlying themes are becoming a rare beast in most Hollywood schlock nowadays. Below may contain *Spoilers* so be forewarned.
The film is brilliantly lighted and photographed evoking a noir-like feeling in the nameless, perpetually rain-soaked city it takes place in. The murder scenes are truly sickening and as dark as the crimes that are portrayed but does the movie clearly evoke it's main underlying theme (civilization's increasing apathy causing our decay) or does the viewer lose it's meaning in the movie's superb visualization?
A lot has been said about the gore factor which in reality is somewhat under-stated in the film. No one is killed in a on-camera closeup and all but one of the killings are showed as an aftermath, the victim viewed briefly on screen and then revisited via Black and White 8x10's that fill aproximently a tenth of the frame. Many films show much more graphic violence although Seven alludes to a much more insidious deed and the viewer comes away with the feeling that they witnessed them in a much more graphic way than what was shown. All great horror movies do this as our imaginations are much more frightening than the actual image. It is also what makes well written horror novels much more frightening than the run-of-the-mill slasher movie.
The fact that most people remember the movie as being extremely gory says a lot about it's effective presentation which may also lend itself to being written off as just a gore-fest. If the viewer sees the film as strictly a blood bath of shocks it actually lends itself to viewer apathy since the film can be easily dismissed as a bloody serial killer flick in much the same way Pitt's character dismisses John Doe as "just" a lunatic. The viewer ends up waiting for the next shock instead of looking deeper.
I don't know if Fincher actually meant for this to occur or if it just happened as circumstance but it is interesting to see how apathy builds in ourselves esp. when it comes to repeated scenes of violence.
Freedman's character is used effectively in bringing the viewer back (as well as Pitt's character)to see the "big picture" so we don't get lost in just the gore. In fact he is the stabilizing force in the movie. It is also interesting to note that Freedman's character himself is the one fighting apathy and in the end loses out to it.
All in all a very good movie that at it's least gives some great and groundbreaking visualizes and manages to put some meaning in as well. Very few films by Hollywood of late have been able to do one thing effectively and Fincher has done both well although understated themes are probably lost on 95% of the viewing public which is why we are getting so many romantic comedies and beat em up flicks instead of intelligent films open to commentary and interpretation.
Also the newest release of Seven on DVD is superb and make sure you buy it over the earlier flipper release.