Great thriller if a little cold and dehumanising.

Rating: 7/10 (15 February 2004)

Two cops - one young, one old - chase a serial killer that is leaving a paper trail.
This is actually one of the best films that I have seen that I have only wanted to watch one. The reason being that while it has an interesting plot, plenty of action and a great twist it also has a horrible aftertaste. Like spending too long trying to clear a blocked drain.
Hollywood has, for far too long, glamorised crime and the chasing criminal so it is surprising to see a film maker going the other way. This is a dark, decrepit and cold world where everything is falling apart and unkept. This seems a deliberate policy move that features in many of David Fincher's films. Interesting - in that is different - but strangely alienating and depressing - and these are emotions I don't want to wish upon myself.
The serial killer and the criminal that leaves clues are nothing new, but the way the plot develops is. If you know the twist the movie will be cut in half and thank god I saw it without knowing the pay-off- although I knew there was going to be one. This is a movie after all.
Brad Pitt never convinces as a professional of any type. Here he seems to have become a cop overnight and without much training. Morgan Freeman does his usual quiet-but-logical act that has bought him fame so late in life. He is nearing retirement (in the film), but I thought all cops were about to retire in movies - I took that as read!
This is very involving stuff and we are drawn to grandstand finish that we will remember forever - but what is Se7en in longterm reflection? A horrible world in which horrible people carry out horrible acts for reasons of self-gratification?
Serial killers have existed since the dawn of time, but America is home to half of the world's population of them. Why is this? Maybe it is the last chance to make a mark on a society where being in the media and being in the spotlight are prized? When you have killed someone you are interesting, when you haven't you are not. Simple.