Se7en (1995)
On the
dark, rainy streets of New York City, a new murderer is on the prowl. His victims’
bodies are staged for the police, all pointing to a sick, sadistic serial
killer who likes to play games. When lead Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) determines
the killer is using the Seven Deadly Sins as inspiration for his murder spree,
he takes his replacement Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) under his wing to try and
stop the killer before he runs out of sins.
When a
movie about a serial killer goes against type and surprises everyone who
thought they’d seen it all, it inspires new films to follow in its wake.
“Seven” probably wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the impact of “Silence of the
Lambs”, but it’s certainly no imitator.
Taking its
lead right out of scripture, Seven wants to shock you, and it does. The nature
of the murders and the identity and motive of the killer are so disturbing and
confronting, you’ll feel like you’ve got a front row seat to the unmasking of a
true monster. As the Detectives unearth clues at each crime scene, they stumble
upon places that will test how strong their will (and stomachs) really are.
Morgan
Freeman’s start power was on the rise in the 90’s, after his brilliant turn in
“The Shawshank Redemption” gave him the signature role of the films central
narrative. With his smooth voice and commanding presence, Freeman would explain
events as they unfolded. There’s no narration here like there was in Shawshank,
but his character is moulded out of a man who has lived and breathed homicide,
and has earned his right to retire in a few days.
Brad Pitt
was also just getting his start in Hollywood around this time, and was the
young, good looking heart-throb every director wanted to cast. Proving there
was more to him than good looks and abs, Pitt works hard to portray his
character of a new detective on the scene, keen to break ground and catch the
bad guy. The two leads are well-cast and have a tight chemistry together, as
they each face the demon they’re trying to stop, and the demons within
themselves.
During the 90’s
as movies continued to push boundaries and shock a savvy audience who had just
about seen it all, Seven took things another step further in the psychological
thriller genre. Viewers were getting hooked on a good “Who Done It” movie, and
wanted more. The success of Seven greenlit a myriad of films about dark,
twisted killers taunting the police in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. This
offered Morgan Freeman plenty of roles in the genre, which he took advantage
of. Pitt went off in other directions to establish himself as more of a
character actor and not wanting to get type cast, which worked well for him.
The film’s
director – David Fincher – struck gold with this film, and could then direct
just about anything he wanted to. If his name wasn’t a household one yet, any
new movie just had to put “From the director of Seven” on the poster, and
audiences were there. Fincher would return to the genre with “Zodiac” in 2007,
a brilliant film about the hunt for the real-life Zodiac killer who stalked San
Francisco in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
Seven
raised the question in movies – how many ways can a serial killer be portrayed
on screen, and still be interesting and different? This opened the door for
many ideas to be explored, but consequentially created some problems as perhaps
too many films tried to emulate the success of Seven. Many failed, but others
shone out in a genre that can either be reflective of the times, take a page
from the history books, or invent a plot so different and original, we couldn’t
distinguish if it was real or make believe.
Watching Seven makes you question the humanity and sanity of killers, and what drives them to do what they do. As the identity of the killer here is revealed and portrayed in a brilliant performance by Kevin Spacey, we catch a glimpse of a mind so lost in it’s deep, dark wells of madness, you walk away from the film still shocked and bewildered. Not to mention the final five minutes where Mills will unintentionally become part of the killer’s legacy and embody one of the seven deadly sins himself. If you haven’t seen the film, just be prepared – the ending will blow you away, and although you will probably guess, you will still find yourself wondering… just what was inside that box?
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