"It seems that envy is my sin."

Rating: 9/10 (13 June 2016)

Seven is a very disturbing thriller about a serial killer,John Doe (Kevin Spacey), killing people via examples of the seven deadly sins - gluttony, greed, sloth, lust, pride, envy and wrath. The story begins with Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) being assigned to Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman). Detective Somerset is due to retire at the end of the week, and Detective Mills is moving up in the world, and is to take Somerset's place. This is a very disturbing movie. It will keep you enthralled and glued to your seat for the entire 127 minutes. Indeed, I was staggered that I never once lost concentration or was bored with this movie.This is a movie with an unexpected ending that is absolutely unpredictable and which is not at all a "Hollywood" style ending. "Seven" is symbolic of several things in this film: Of course, the seven deadly sins (Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Lust, Pride, Envy, Wrath) are the killer's inspiration; Somerset has only seven days to retirement and he was given this assignment as his final investigation; seven is the also the amount of days that transpire between the beginning and the ending of this case; and seven are the amount of victims that are at John Doe's mercy in that time span.
Gwyneth Paltrow portrays Mills' wife Tracey, and there is a certain sadness to her character, something she reveals to Somerset one day while they are having breakfast in a diner. Even though her role is not one that is major throughout this movie, she is a crucial element that plays itself out in the climax of the film. One of the most haunting ironies I find in Walker's script well portrayed by Fincher's cast is the uncanny similarities between John Doe, the antagonist and Somerset, the protagonist. If you watch that one scene in the car, you will realize that Somerset agrees with Doe, yet although realizing that their consensus does not justify Doe's irrational, yet seemingly rational killings. With Doe's philosophy explaining his intolerance for the prevalence and trivialization of the deadly sins, Somerset's continuous argument that we are becoming too apathetic of a society, only motivated by such things such as our temptations and self-indulgence, there is admittedly a strong parallel that exists between the two characters. Yet, they stand opposed to one another, because while Somerset, although discouraged, managed to keep his faith in mankind, Doe did not, and could not tolerate the injustice any longer. The film has some gory and graphic scenes that might turn some weak stomachs, but it has everything you'd want from a thriller: mystery, suspense, a great plot, great acting and a great, shocking and surprising ending.
Overall rating: 9 out of 10.