Movie Reviews

SE7EN

"Seven" (stylized as "SE7EN") is a 1995 police drama directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt as David Mills and Morgan Freeman as William Somerset. This movie lasts 2h08.
As two policemen are working on a case (unrelated to the main plot, but the fact that it was there confused me a little), we discover the clashing personalities of both main characters: Mills, a young sarcastic man who just moved with his wife in town; and Somerset, a hardened educated older man who has seen his share of horrors and plans on retiring from the police. Their personalities and relationships are somewhat further developed throughout the movie.
Now, this movie is visually nothing really new. The decors are gritty, dirty, dark with yellow lighting, to represent the poor city. I feel like that was a bit… too much overall. By the way, this movie is not for the faint of heart. Quite gory, and quite innovative in the killings.
Speaking of, the main plot starts as both men are put on a murder case about an obese man who was forced to eat to death. Soon, a second victim is found and we see the word "GREED" written in blood near him. The audience quickly understands that the serial killer uses the seven deadly sins to create his murder scenes, but the police is much slower at that, which feels a bit heavy. The killer doesn't seem to simply take inspiration from the Bible, but other religion-inspired works such as Dante's "Divine Comedy". Mills and Somerset start to study those books to try and understand the killer, with more or less patience according to their personalities of course. Around that time, Mills's wife, Tracy (Gwyneth Palthrow) invites Somerset for dinner. We get a glimpse into the more normal side of these people's lives.
All throughout the movie, the killer definitely has the upper hand. Soon after finding the third victim, there is a pretty epic chase of the killer by Mills. After the fifth murder, the killer (Kevin Spacey) actually surrenders to the police. Of course, that is very surprising, as according to logic there are still two murders to take place. The killer declares that there are two more bodies out there, and that he will bring only Mills and Somerset to the crime scene. They agree, and a really interesting and long discussion happens in the police car about the motive for those murders. The killer actually brings up some fair points, for example that virtue isn't held high as it used to. Wanting ever more money, cheating on one's wife, are not illegal offenses but they surely do not belong to any model of virtue. So, were those victims really innocent? I like that they brought up that point and did not just make the killer some crazy religious guy. When they arrive near the crime scene, what is about to happen seems pretty obvious. You haven't guessed? Well, I certainly won't spoil those delicious last ten minutes here!
Now for the deeper analysis. Early on, I didn't like the movie. The first hour is very slow and messy, surprisingly enough despite all the murders happening. Somerset does mention how at this point in the investigation they can only file evidences and reports and then wait around, but still. The second hour though is absolutely amazing. Kevin Spacey is an amazing actor, and his performance easily outreaches Pitt's and Freeman's acting in this film. In addition, a man with a very minor role acts outstandingly as a person under shock. I was really impressed by him. I was a bit confused about one character: Tracy, Mill's wife. All throughout the movie her attitude was very weird, she seemed almost creepy. Upon reflecting on it now, I understand that that was the actress's way of portraying a woman who hates where she lives and can't see herself bringing up a child there (she is pregnant, she even tells Somerset before her own husband). Alright, fair enough then. In the movie there were also other interesting elements and dynamics, such as the chase that I mentioned, the visit of the killer's lair, "flagged books" which when borrowed in a library are filed with the borrower's name on FBI databases, how the policemen and the SWAT team hate each other… all these little things made the movie quite well-rounded, but sometimes a bit messy.
Though today the theme of the seven deadly sins is a bit overdone, it makes for a pretty edgy story for the time, and this movie is both a classic and original investigation film.