"Wanting people to listen, you can't just tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer, and then you'll notice that you've got their strict attention."
Se7en. This is another movie directed by David Fincher, starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. It came out in 1995 (my birth year!), and I was introduced to it by my father about two years ago. I've watched it several times since, and it's easily one of my favourite movies of all time, and definitely my favourite Fincher movie. The theatrical release grossed 300 million dollars, more than 10 times it's budget, and it's widely regarded as one of the best crime investigation movies out there, and it revolutionised my own view on the horror genre, even thought it's not entirely a horror movie. What makes it different is that it's really really clever, compared to most other horror movies that come out today. The fact that it has a message and not a single cheesy jump scare proves this perfectly.
The movie takes place in a a dark, damp, gloomy city where it's always raining. Police veteran William Summerset (Freeman) and the rookie David Mills (Pitt) are on the hunt for a sadistic serial killer, who stages each of his crime scenes reenact one of one of the seven deadly sins. As the hunt for the killer drags out, Summerset and Mills reveal gruesome and unthinkable secrets about what they're dealing with, and we get to see how they react to and are affected by the things they discover, both professionally and personally.
One of the things that really works for this movie, is the bleak and hopeless tone it has to it. The city is cold and dead, and the people who live there are indifferent and depressed. Living in this city seems to be just about as exciting as watching moss grow on a wall, it's a place you don't want to have your children grow up. This sad feeling is present from the very beginning, and the movie has a really cool intro that totally sets the mood with it's shifting pictures of bandaged fingertips, knifes, blood and freaky music.The only person who still has any hope for the city is David Mills, and you root the shit out of him because of his will to change things for the better. He almost takes on a batman-like role in this movie, being the only person to believe that everything isn't lost.
Taking his inspiration from the seven deadly sins, the killer showcases something he misslikes about society with every one of them, and they all have a deeper meaning that i cant talk too much about without spoiling the ending and the main message of the film. I can however say that the finale to the movie, even though some might have seen it coming, is completely awesome and perfectly written. I was completely blown away not only by the ending, but also by the surprising twist and turns that the movie seems to take all the time. The gory crime scenes are really cool as well, and you can tell that it took a lot of time to make them all look as sadistic and unthinkable as possible. Especially the crime scene of the deadly sin "pride" blew my mind, because is was so cleverly written, and out of all the seven sins, I felt as though this was the one where the main message of the movie shone the brightest.
Even though their characters are vastly different, the chemistry between Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt works great in this film. It's entertaining to watch their partnership evolve over the course of the movie, and by the end you really care for their characters. Freeman kills it in this movie, but what really surprised me was how good Brad Pitts was. His efforts in Se7en opened my eyes to how great an actor he actually is, and since watching this movie I've not seen him put on a bad performance.
After i watched this movie for the first time, it left me scared and chocked, jet i knew that i had just witnessed something special. I absolutely hate horror movies because they usually are just there to scare you, take your money, and nothing more. Eery once in a while though, we come across one that says "Hey! I'm a shit-your-pant horrifying movie, but I have an interesting and captivating story to tell, whilst I make you soil your tighty-whities!", and if it does it well, it's usually fantastic movie.
Se7en is one of those movies that i can't really say anything negative about. All I can do is bow down and praise it as the masterpiece it is. Anyone who appreciates good storytelling, suspenseful thrill rides and immensely clever mysteries, will absolutely adore this movie. Se7en is totally my kind of movie, and is without a doubt movie magic. (6/6)
Se7en IMDb page here
Se7en trailer here
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