Seven, 1995

Seven, 1995
Director: David Fincher
Cast: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Gwyneth Paltrow


Stage: Home cinema, TV selection on a nice Saturday Evening

Seven in short: A film about two homicide detectives' desperate hunt for a serial killer who justifies his crimes as absolution for the world's ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins. The movie takes us from the tortured remains of one victim to the next as the sociopathic "John Doe" sermonizes to Detectives Sommerset and Mills -- one sin at a time. The sin of Gluttony comes first and the murderer's terrible capacity is graphically demonstrated in the dark and subdued tones characteristic of film noir. The seasoned and cultured Sommerset researches the Seven Deadly Sins in an effort to understand the killer's modus operandi while green Detective Mills scoffs at his efforts to get inside the mind of a killer...
Preps: Hm.. n'th time to be seeing this. So good I cannot dare to miss it again, even though it's a tv version.


Reality: One of Fincher's most remarkable pieces. I absolutely adore the storyline and the disgusting tone he's following. Pitt brilliantly playing the rookie, Freeman also brilliant in the role of retiring cop. Paltrow one of the side roles, still remains true to the idea of the movie. The murders follow a pattern, still are exceeding each time with the evil note they possess. I have seen several similar case studies involving several murders, after all this is a grateful genre with a wide range of audience, however this one somehow reminds of the Silence of the Lambs in its evilness and making the viewer respect the murderer's actions - in a sense, I am not able to say he's punishing the wrong people. I just disagree with the idea that he is the mesia, taking God's hand into his own. Or justice, for all the atheists like me.
When Spacey is revealed, this is mere a cherry on the top of a pile of delicious fruit. It draws attention even more to the other side, making me respect the mind of someone so vicious and dangerous. The last deed is indeed the most vicious and psychological the hardest one to take into your system and you are just waiting for Pitt to explode in the last scene. Scenery carefully chosen, dialogues are leading to perfection. Some of dark humour involved, especially in the family atmosphere scenes (when Freeman comes to Pitt's home and meets the wife). Seeing the soft side of the rookie is somehow entertaining, however it brings the emotional part to the movie and attaches the viewer also to Paltrow, which was obviously the purpose to see the last scene in the most emot spirit ever.

There are several overachievers in the business, Seven seems to be one of them. In my opinion, one of the best movies in the genre, difficult to miss with its many repetitions. Also, remarkable flow of the cast at the end - vice versa as it was supposed to be. Finally, remark about the music. If you don't notice it during the piece, you will be surely surprised in the defilee - the last words coming out of director's mouth.


My personal rating: 9,5 (absolutely a must see)
Seven on IMDB