Se7en - Film Review
A sadistic killer with the ambition to commit murders which align with the seven deadly sins. The first of these murders is of an obese man who the killer has forced to eat to the point of him exploding. The sin, gluttony.
2 men are tasked with discovering the identity of this killer and stopping him, the seasoned and soon retiring detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and the newly relocated Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) bashful and hotheaded man.
Throughout the whole film there’s a feeling of darkness, it's constantly raining, the city is veiled in a sense of brutality and mischief. Why would Mills want to live here? Mills has just joined the force and is taking up a new challenge while our other protagonist Somerset is setting himself for retirement. Somerset has had it with this city. He wants to be away from the death and callus actions which frequently happen in the city. His trusted switch blade on hand and a level head on his shoulders he has managed so far to survive this rotten city.
The film's murderer motives are linked to the seven deadly sins and the deaths all match with these sins, the fat man gluttony, the senator greed, a loafing loser, the sloth, the beautiful women lust etc.
We never actually see any of the murders happen, only the horrid remains of the victims and the forensics break down explaining how the victim met their tragic end.
References to the Canterbury tales, Paradise Lost are used by the killer and used to piece together a scent of the killer. Ultimately our methodical killer hands himself in with the film closely reaching its climax.
“What’s in the Box?!” We all know the line, the scene. The realisation and utter disaster of knowing that the head of Tracey, Mills partner's severed head is in the box. But we never actually see the inside of the box, it's fully imagined in your mind as you piece together the words of the killer John Doe as he revels in knowing that in a few short moments his scheme will have been completed.
The camera is zoomed on Mills face, the barrel of the gun pointed at the lens. We see his face crumbling with emotion, the gun pointed at John Doe, he’s disgusted, tears filling his eyes. He wants so badly to shoot him but keeps fighting it as he looks away to the floor. The helicopter circles, Somerset trying to calm him down.
“If you shoot him he wins” “Give me the gun David”
It’s not enough to just shoot him straight in the temple, he walks over, the camera facing up from below and Mills levels more shots into the now dead body of John Doe.
Throughout the film there is this dynamic of the more mature reserved Somerset and arrogant upstart Mills throughout. Somerset reads over the referenced book in a dimly lit libary, he’s patient with the text, takes him time to try and wrestle with the sick ideology of the killer they are chasing.
Mills on the other hand when given the list from Somerset gets frustrated with reading Canterbury tales. He puts on the ball game, grabs a beer to relax and hopefully reset himself. Inside his car as the never ending rain falls he throws the copy of Dante's Inferno in anger. He skims to the text to get a base understanding unlike Somerset.
One has the experience the other is thrown into action fuelled by emotion.
Ultimately it is this fiery attitude which cost him dearly as John Doe in Mills has found his “Wrath”.
Morgan Freeman’s character is strong, respectable and a father figure in some ways for both Mills and his partner Tracey. He’s a man who you know has seen things which would scar the dreams of almost any man if they’d witnessed it. For sure his performance in this is one of my preferred roles. Brad Pitt nails the know it all young Detective to a tee. His act now and think later approach, the ability to just fly off the handles at a moment's notice and neglect his role as a detective.
Kevin Spacey for his short time on screen nails his sinister killer's relaxed and monotonous attitude. All bloodied over his white shirt, fingertips all bandaged from cutting them off. He delivers a spine chilling dialogue between him and Mills, the camera placed on the opposite side of the car's caging as we stare at him through it like a caged animal. He’s proud of himself and knows what awaits them out in the desert, in that box.
