Dark, Chilly, Brilliant and Disturbing

Rating: 9/10 (5 April 2007)

David Fincher's best movie until date, Se7en is a dark portrayal of a genius psychopath killer, brilliantly played by Kevin Spacey. He is on camera for no more than last 30 minutes of the movie, but so dominant is his character that the entire movie seems to be cast around his uncanny-ness.
The hero of the movie though is neither he nor Brad Pitt nor Morgan Freeman  the two detectives entrusted with the task of tacking him down. It is the plot and the script, extremely brilliant though very murky and enticingly morbid. You see gory murders that leave trace of heart-rending torture, but all that it makes you do is become more inquisitive about the killer. The killer is the sole obsession with the detectives too and the contrast between Brad Pitt's edginess and Morgan Freeman's poise is very well portrayed. It parallels the contrast between the killer's poise and the edginess of the action sequence.
The climax of the movie is startling, revealing and disturbing. It characterizes the essence of Se7en, a movie that stirs you and makes you sit up and take note of it. Calling Se7en a psychological thriller is understating its significance. It is a movie that goes well beyond that, making you aware of the morbid possibilities that exist in human mind. The movie is also remarkable for the fact the cinematic climax does not provide you any catharsis, it just sets your mind thinking  not in the least about what it takes to craft a script as this and to make a movie as disturbingly poignant as Se7en.