Seven reasons why you should love "Se7en"

Rating: 9/10 (27 April 2007)

ONE: original and well-built story. Initially, "Se7en" is a story about two detectives who investigate on a peculiar serial killer. This murderer gets inspired of the seven deadly sins to choose his victims and their punishment. Just a reminder, the seven deadly sins are: gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, lust, pride and envy. The summary is well enough to convince people about the originality of the story. Scenarist Andrew Kevin Walker builds a script that hooks and never exhausts itself during the full two hours that the movie lasts. The movie is full of surprises and plot twists and reaches its paroxysm at the very end with an astounding, exploding and almost-miraculous climax that has already become legendary and which reflects the atmosphere and the ideology of the story in an adequate way.
TWO: the main actors. "Se7en" also works because of its two main actors. Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt both deliver extraordinary performances. Freeman is Detective Somerset, ready to take his retirement, while Pitt is Detective Mills, who has been hired to take on Somerset's job after the latter leaves the homicide section. The most striking aspect about both characters is the chemistry between them. Sometimes, we see that they like each other and sometimes, it appears that one of them is about to jump on the other one. Pitt is by far the best of both actors with his detective with a boiling and impatient attitude and with methods that are too radical to Somerset's taste. If there's another actor that deserves to be mentioned, it's Kevin Spacey who plays the mysterious killer. He can't prevent himself from saying that he acts for the good side and he pretends to be an example to follow. But he nevertheless remains a sadist and he's one of the most horrifying killers in cinema's history.
THREE: horrible images. For those who love horror movies, they will get well served with the pictures that they'll see. Even if none of the murders are portrayed on screen, the aftermath is horrible anyway, mainly because of the nauseating pictures shot by the crew of director David Fincher. In fact, the committed murders are so horrible that it's not even necessary to look at the corpses to feel repulsive sensations. The only thing that's needed, it's for somebody to tell the murders and the listener will certainly get grabbed by an impression of terror.
FOUR: the cinematography. Apart from its images of horrifying murders, "Se7en" also impresses by its general cinematography. The title sequence is catching and the sinister music that comes along sets the table for the general atmosphere of the film. The lighting belongs without a doubt to a modern-era film noir, putting emphasis on the darkness of the unknown metropolis shown in the movie.
FIVE: its vision of the world. "Se7en" isn't only a movie about a sordid murderer. It's also a movie having a pessimist vision of the world, where nobody is good, nobody is fine and everybody is bad. That's a vision which doesn't look like any other that was seen before in Hollywood. The only movie similar to "Se7en" that I've seen is "Taxi Driver". In the city that is shown, it's always raining, it's always dark and sinners move into the streets. Despite the fact that Spacey is a sadistic and insane killer, the fact remains that he's the most philosophical character of the lot and he wants to get sure that the viewers don't leave the theater with a smile upon their faces. And it's precisely the movie's objective. And even if the killers gets himself killed at the end of the movie, Fincher manages to make it look like it's not an happy ending. This pessimism is also present in "Fight Club", which is better than "Se7en", but not by far.
SIX: its description of police work. "Se7en" is also remarkable for its accurate description of the police world, more specifically the homicidal section. Pitt and Freeman, as well as their colleagues, look like real police officers and not actors. We really could feel that we're in a real investigation instead of a fictitious story. We visit many places and we assist to the use of sophisticated techniques.
SE7EN: redemption for David Fincher. Overall, "Se7en" is a powerful movie that charges like a locomotive and it wants to be sure that the viewers don't leave it unscathed. It really is one of the most striking thrillers of the 90s and it's a great example that Hollywood isn't necessarily synonymous of censure and respite. It's also a redemption for David Fincher who was only known at the time for the disappointing "Alien ³". From now on, Fincher could show that he was an exceptional filmmaker and he kept going with other masterpieces, such as "Fight Club", "Panic Room" and "Zodiac".