Se7en Movie Review

"But if you choose to have this baby, you spoil that kid every chance you get."

-William Somerset

One question that I never really like being asked is what my favorite movie is, simply because I don't have a clear answer. Numerous movies pop into my head and compete for that number one spot, and Seven is easily one of them. Last night I saw this dark psychological thriller for about the fifth time over the past few years and it really is just as great as I remember it being. As many movies as I watch, I enjoy watching an amazing film with people who have yet to see it. It makes it a new and more enjoyable experience for me as opposed to watching it again alone. It is hard for me to find things about this film to complain about so this review is going to be all-around positive. Seven stars Morgan Freeman as Detective Somerset, Brad Pitt as Detective Mills and the fantastic Kevin Spacey as John Doe. Directed by David Fincher and written by Andrew Walker.

The film spans over the course of seven days where each day these two detectives find a different murder, each based on one of the seven deadly sins. Mills is a rookie who just transferred in from a different city and Somerset is a week away from retirement before the case sucked him back in. One of the great things about this film is the character development. From the start you see specific characteristics and flaws with both of them. Somerset is clearly worn down after countless years on the job and is very senile while Mills seems to think he's invincible and willing to take on anything, like many young people are. The first murder scene they are called to is in the basement of a poorly maintained house. Here they find a morbidly obese man, dead, face first in a bowl of spaghetti. It's a pretty disgusting scene and after some examination they rule it a homicide. This first murder represents the sin of gluttony, as the man was forced to eat himself to death.

There was a murder a day throughout the week and on the second day a lawyer was found dead in his office. He died of blood-loss after being forced to cut off a pound of flesh. On the floor in his blood was the word greed. At this point Somerset was sure this was the beginning of series of serial murders based on the seven deadly sins. At the scene they find fingerprints that they track back to a man who was previously a child molester and a drug dealer. When they storm the apartment they find someone in a bed, but someone that did not look human. It was very creepy and graphic scene because the man almost looked like a zombie. He had been kept alive, bed-ridden for exactly a year to the day, and was missing a hand which is why his prints were found at the previous crime scene. Above the bed was the word sloth and this was when the detectives realized these murders had been planned for at least a year. 

One of the things that really stand out in this movie is how eerie and rainy the city it. Just about every single scene up until the end of the film that takes place outside is pouring rain. Not just a drizzle or a shower but pouring! It's pretty depressing how much rain there is and how it correlates with the increase of crime and poverty in this urban setting. Nothing in the film is put in by accident and they have some pretty dark meanings. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Mill's wife Tracy who is struggling to adjust to the move and her new life. The chemistry between these three is perfect. One of my favorite pieces of dialogue in the film (the quote above was taken from that scene) is between Somerset and Tracy at a diner when she tell's him that she is pregnant. It's a very emotional scene that questions the society we live in and the affects of bringing children into this world of disorder. Throughout the film the relationship between Somerset and Mills develops and it's just so fun to watch these two amazing actors interact and bicker and deal with the ups and downs of the job.

At one point they tracked down the killer, named John Doe, through his library records and as they approach his apartment they spot him and get into a gun fight. As the chase concludes Doe has Mills at gunpoint but abruptly lets him go and disappears. After finding his apartment they had an endless amount of evidence but still no fingerprints which is unbelievable. The next murder victim found was a beautiful model who John Doe found to be guilty of pride. He butchered her face and gave her the option of living with her deformed face or just ending her life with sleeping pills, and she chose the latter. The final murder and definitely the most gruesome was that of lust. A man was forced to to have sex with a prostitute while wearing a custom designed strap-on with a blade attached. Not only was it a brutal death but the poor man was traumatized beyond belief. 

With a pretty interesting turn of events, before the last two kills were found, John Doe played by Kevin Spacey shows up at the police precinct and turns himself in. Baffled by what just happened the detectives push to figure out what is really going on. John Doe makes a deal that he will lead, only Mills and Somerset to the last two bodies, and if they agree with these terms he will write out a full confession. By this point there are about 20 minutes left in the film and it is one of the most nerve racking and frustrating 20 minutes ever. Even though I knew what was coming, I was getting nervous for my friends to see it just because I remembered the first time I experienced it. The car ride out to the desert is just epic. Kevin Spacey played a sadistic psychopath so excellently and every one's true character was really brought out. Mills was losing his composure while Somerset was clearly nervous and skeptical but still very composed. Between the music build-up in the background and the dialogue being exchanged in the police car, you literally are dying to see the climax of the film.

"What's in the box?!" A line that will live throughout film history and for anyone who has seen this movie will automatically be associated with shocking plot twists. When I think of crazy plot twists Seven is usually the film I reference first. So what's in the box? The culmination of everything this film has led up to and something that you won't be able to shake off after the movie end. You should definitely see it for yourself if you want to find out what's in the box. Reading it is not the same as seeing it, that's for sure. With a truly compelling script, an outstanding cast, and layers of depth to analyze, Seven will always be one of my favorite films of all time. Truly the only complaint I have is the sound in the film. It's heavy on the dialogue but I often times find myself struggling to hear what's being said. I can understand that lighting may be gloomier to enhance the darker themes but it can be pretty annoying to strain yourself to hear some things. Aside from this I give Seven a 9.5 out 10.