mrkwooSe7en (1995)
January 17th 2009 16:00
Detective William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) is about to retire in 7 days. He's tired of the urbane decay he has to face everyday in his line of work and has lost all hope that his efforts can make any difference. A new headstrong detective David Mills (Brad Pitt) is to take his place. A string of horrific murders are revealed and the clues left behind by the killer indicates that the victims are each guilty of one of the 7 Deadly Sins - lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. Mills and Somerset decide to work together to find the killer before he strikes again.
The film appears to borrow a lot from Dante's The Divine Comedy. Mills is like the naive poet journeying into the depths of urban hell with Somerset acting as his wise and weary guide. The victims, like in the poem, go through an unimaginable torment for their sins. The city is a living nightmare, with complete moral decay and apathy spreading like a malignant disease. The film is almost always darkly lit, making everything appear claustrophobic and miserable. The music is unsettling, eerie and ominous, never fully allowing us to settle, forcing us to be continually on-guard for the next emotional onslaught.
Morgan Freeman gives a quiet but rock solid performance, acting as a shepherd in this haze of decay. He gives the film its much needed calm and reflection in the face of this nightmarish world that is portrayed. He has seen too much to allow himself to care and wishes for nothing else but to be able to turn away from this hellish life. But he is conflicted by his choice to turn away, and we see his inner battle as he faces this baffling and confronting case. Freeman is perfectly contrasted by Brad Pitt's brash, naive young idealist easily manipulated in his emotions. He is the audience rejecting the nightmare he is confronted with and is desperately searching for light in the heart of darkness, and the compassion that is hidden inside Somerset. Gwyneth Paltrow is Mills' quietly suffering wife Tracey, an angelic figure who weeps in despair about the dark new world she has been brought into.
The film is remarkable in its ability to keep us watching even with all this horror we are confronted with, as well as its ability to get us off-guard. Although little violence is actually depicted onscreen, the audience feels brutally assaulted in its implication. The third act is especially amazing in how affecting it is. It takes a sharp turn into a completely unexpected place, and its conclusion is a work of brilliance in its writing and its execution by Fincher. It ends on such a shocking note that we know none of the characters could ever recover in their lifetime.The whole film is beautifully shot, it is a picturesque depiction of the absolutely grotesque.
Se7en raises disturbing but important questions about the state of humanity in a contantly urbanising world. How sinful and apathetic has the world become? Can any of us say we are free of sin? Are any of us capable of becoming a killer? At the very least, Se7en is a totally unique spin on the serial killer thriller that is always a step ahead. It really set the standard for modern crime cinema. 9/10
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