Se7en
1995
Director- David Fincher
Cast- Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Gwyneth
Paltrow, R. Lee Ermy, John C. McGinley, Richard Roundtree
As this
blog is devoted to movies about devils, demons, and witches, no doubt many
would disagree with the inclusion of Se7en
in this list. There are no supernatural acts. Neither the Devil nor any demons
appear. I have included this film for two reasons. First, it’s old enough that
a lot of younger horror fans may not have seen it or heard of it. Second, as
detective stories go, Se7en is closer
to Angel Heart than it is to Silence of the Lambs. The movie is so
steeped in religious symbolism and myth that it feels like an occult
thriller. Dante, Milton, and medieval
religious philosophy form the backdrop of a movie so intense and original, it
defies easy genre classification.
Morgan
Freeman plays Sommerset, a New York City detective on the verge of retirement.
He is world weary, having his idealism and hope slowly whittled away by a life
of seeing the worst that the world has to offer. Brad Pitt is Mills, an up and
coming detective full of piss and vinegar and eager to prove himself.
They are
partnered up to solve a series of murders that have a religious theme. The
victims are being murdered for having committed one of the seven deadly sins; lust,
gluttony, sloth, pride, envy, greed and wraith. The crimes are intricate and
clues left at one scene lead to another. I won’t spoil it by describing them;
the revelation is the reward.
In
addition to a very clever script there is a great cast. Pitt and Freeman are
supported by great character actors R. Lee Ermy and John C. McGinley. Kevin
Spacey, decades before he would become persona non grata of Hollywood, is the
movie’s enigmatic villain.
Behind the camera there was
also a lot of talent. The director, David Fichner, also directed Pitt in Fight
Club and several years later directed the American remake of Girl with the
Dragon Tattoo. Andrew Kevin Walker, who wrote the screenplay, has some other
impressive genre writing credits, having worked on Brainscan, Event Horizon,
Sleepy Hollow, Stir of Echos and the 2010 remake of The Wolfman. Cinematographer
Darius Khondji worked on the interesting
and weird French sci-fi film, City of Lost Children, the black comedy Delicatessen,
and Ninth Gate. Film editing was by Richard Francis-Bruce who worked on The
Shawshank Redemption, The Witches of Eastwick, and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
The music was by Howard
Shore, who among many other things composed the scores for The Brood, Scanners,
Videodrome, The Fly, Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch, Ed Wood, Dogma, The Cell, The
Departed the Lord of the Rings trilogy!!!
Despite
sometimes seeming like a Nine Inch Nails song come to life, Se7en is very much
a noir film. Morgan Freeman, with his overcoat and slouching fedora, could have
come out of any pulp story. It was nominated for an Oscar for editing, but the
cinematography also plays a big part. The sets are dark, the colors are muted,
the ambiance is gloomy.
The film has a depressing,
oppressive feel. The sun never seems to be shining. The whole city seems noisy,
wet, and dirty. I’d say, that the feel of the movie, the gloomy sense of fatalism,
sticks with you long after the shock of the murders wears off. Morgan Freeman’s
character warns us throughout the movie that nothing he does matters. He has
spent a life trying, and failing, to stem the tide of human cruelty. With his
impending retirement, he sees just what little difference he has made.
We are warned, early on,
that there won’t be a happy ending.
That’s an understatement.
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