Seven is about two homicidal detectives who are chasing a serial murderer who kills victims by each of the Seven Deadly Sins. Morgan Freeman plays Detective Somerset who is close to retirement and trying end his days on the force. Brad Pitt plays the young Detective Mills who has just moved New York to replace Somerset's job on the force. Mills and Somerset must work together if they are going to stop John Doe before his plan of deadly judgement comes to fruition.
The impressive thing about Se7en is that this was David Fincher's second film after Alien 3. Se7en showed many signs of improvement since Alien 3 for Fincher. The biggest of which includes tension and lighting. Teaming up with Cinematographer Darius Khondji, who also deserves a lot of credit for the tone of the film, Fincher gives Se7en a dark ambiance that fits perfectly with the script. At the same time, he uses tension to his advantage in every scene. In the aftershocks of Doe's crime, Fincher allows our imagination to do the work instead of trying to show the madness. The best example of this is the "Lust" murder in which we never actually see the victim but we do know how it happened. Indeed with movies like Friday the 13th, it seems that the scariest things are the things we do not. It seems that Doe is not just torturing the detectives but the audience as well. Let us not forget the awesome opening credits sequence that sets up the tone of the film while sending a chill up everyone's spine.
Se7en is a movie about a lot of themes. It is about Acceptance. Somerset must accept his new role in life outside the force. Unfortunately as the movie progresses we see that Somerset is having a harder time accepting not only his fate, but his life at the same time. An important scene shows Somerset throwing his metronome, the one thing that allows him to block away the troubles of his situation, and in fact causes him to see himself for what he really is. At the end we see an uncertain future for Somerset, it seems that he will be returning to the force and unable to accept his life outside detective work just yet.
It is also a movie about reflections. The biggest reflection is between Somerset and John Doe. Doe represent the religious extremist who will use any means to get his message across even murder. Somerset, who appears to be non religious, tries anything but violence to resolve problems. Another strong reflection in the film is between Somerset and the Mills. The Mills, who are a happy couple and soon to be parents, seem to be everything that Somerset wanted in life. The closest reflection is between Mills and Doe which are more similar than one might notice. In fact, in the final act, Doe proves that Mills deep down is no different from Doe and will use murder for his passions.
This movie is thanks to the wonderful cast and powerful story. Pitt while at points seems to be over doing it, still does a great job as Mills and captures the young burning spirit detective. Freeman is phenomenal as Somerset and this wouldn't be a great film without him. While I am not a fan of Gwyneth Paltrow, she did a surprising great job in the few scenes that she was in. She shows us the struggles of a new wife and adapting to the Big Apple while dealing with a bun in the oven at the same time.
Still the story knocks this movie out of the park. It's full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing throughout. It original and terrifying and some stuff will never leave you mind. The ending is one of the best in cinema and takes the message, meaning, and impact of the film to a whole new level. So make sure to catch Se7en if you haven't already. Its classic Fincher and its classic cinema. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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