This Masterpiece is More Than Just a "Thriller", December 6, 2000

By	Vanissa W. Chan "vandelist" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

Sadly mistaken for simply "just-another-horror-flick," Se7en has been done a grave dishonor by the majority of the viewing public who neither have the empathy nor the intuition to understand the deep message it carries. Comparing this poetic and cautionary masterpiece to "The Silence of the Lambs" is a terrible misconception. The Silence of the Lambs was an excellent film about the innerworkings of investigative profiling and the psychopathic personality (although only partly represented and definitely not generalizable to the psychopathic population of today) through Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Se7en on the surface may seem similar - a film consisting of a plot about two cops "hunting" down a "mad" (another misconception) psychopathic serial killer.

However, under the skin, these two films are entirely different in contextual substance.

In The Silence of the Lambs, the plot is as deep as it goes. The relationships and interactions between the characters are the core of the story. Sentiments are decided based on the events that occur in result of another's actions. That is as deep as it goes.

Rather than being "plot-based" entertainment, the themes in Se7en are theological, philosophical, moral, and cultural. The entire film is based around the dialogue between Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Mills (very well-portrayed by Brad Pitt), and the philosophy and motivation behind John Doe (Kevin Spacey in his best performance). Within the film is the continuing philosophical dialogue between Mills and Somerset, two contrasting characters that happen to be working on the same side. Mills' nature is impulsive, passionate, yet plagued with inexperience and naivete, while Somerset is weathered, subdued, with polished character, lore, logic and practicality, with a touch of lost hope. Neither men are able to get much anywhere with the investigation (at least without a little bribery - another testament to why this movie is NOT about investigative profiling or techniques), as Somerset replied to Mills when Mills asked him what 'they were really doing if they weren't investigating,' "just picking up the pieces."

It is the weakness of Mills that leads him to be devoured by the wrath of John Doe in the end, a man, neither psychotic or equivalent to the Devil (yet seemingly so), but calculate, methodical, and patient. On the same token, it is Somerset's experience and venerability that keeps him from being targeted by Doe.

"If we caught John Doe and he were the devil, if he were actually satan, that might live up to our expectations. But, this is not the devil. It's just a man," admonishes Somerset.

One of the most haunting ironies I find in Walker's script well portrayed by Fincher's cast is the uncanny similarities between John Doe, the antagonist and Somerset, the protagonist. If you watch that one scene in the car, you will realize that Somerset agrees with Doe, yet although realizing that their consensus does not justify Doe's irrational, yet seemingly rational killings. With Doe's philosophy explaining his intolerance for the prevalence and trivialization of the deadly sins, Somerset's continuous argument that we are becoming too apathetic of a society, only motivated by such things such as our temptations and self-indulgence, there is admittedly a strong parallex that exists between the two characters. Yet, they stand opposed to one another, because while Somerset, although discouraged, managed to keep his faith in mankind, Doe did not, and could not tolerate the injustice any longer.

With the current decline in the immaterial and spiritual life, and the ascending obsessional mindset of psychological egoism, existentialism, atheism, and hedonism, there is no message needed more than the one represented in this fine film by Fincher. We as a people must return back to faith, lest we become tyrants and slaves to our sins that will devour us in the end.

"You see a deadly sin on almost every street corner, and in every home, literally. And we tolerate it. Because it's common, it seems trivial, and we tolerate it, all day long, morning, noon and night. Not anymore. I'm setting the example, and it's going to be puzzled over and studied and followed, from now on." - John Doe, Se7en.

DOUBLE DVD - Excellent Package of a Great Film, December 4, 2000

Only downside is that a lot of the extras on the Criterion LD are NOT INCLUDED HERE in any form. Although Criterion holds the rights to their original commentary track (Featuring Fincher, Pitt, Freeman, Rob Bottin , Walker, etc) and some other extras, surely NEW LINE owns the rights to the tv spots and other such promo materials. Where, for instance, is the great gallery of original artwork and poster concepts that so playfully used the number 7 or the sins as the backdrop???? New Line created these so why aren't they included here? The Criterion disc also had out-takes and many other things not included here, so don't ever toss that disc out! It's sure to be valuable some day. And with this DVD, which also includes items NOT on the Criterion LD, they combine to make the ultimate "SE7EN" collection.

Septenary of Horror., May 30, 2004

By	Themis-Athena (from somewhere between California and Germany) - See all my reviews

Although not originating from the bible, the concept of deadly sins is almost as old as Christian doctrine itself. Theologians like 4th century Greek monk Evagrius of Pontus first compiled catalogues of deadly offenses against the divine order, which 6th century pope Gregory the Great consolidated into a list of seven sins, which in turn formed the basis of the works of medieval/renaissance writers like St. Thomas Aquinas ("Summa Theologiae"), Geoffrey Chaucer ("Canterbury Tales"), Christopher Marlowe ("Dr. Faustus"), Edmund Spenser ("The Faerie Queene") and Dante Alighieri ("Commedia Divina"/"Purgatorio"). And in times when the ability to read was a privilege rather than a basic skill, the depiction of sin in paintings wasn't far behind; particularly resulting from the 16th century's reformulation of church doctrine, the works of artists like Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder brought the horrific results of humankind's penchant to indulge in vice back into general consciousness with surrealistic eloquence, reminding their viewers that no sin goes unseen (Bosch, "The Seven Deadly Sins") and that its commission leads straight into a hell reigned by gruesome, grotesque demons and devils whose sole purpose is to torture those fallen into their hands (Bosch, "The Hay-Wagon" and "The Last Judgment;" Bruegel, "The Triumph of Death" and "The Tower of Babel").

More recently, the seven deadly sins have been the subject of Stephen Sondheim's play "Getting Away With Murder" and a ballet by George Balanchine ("Seven Deadly Sins"); and on the silver screen the topic has been addressed almost since the beginning of filmmaking (Cabiria [1914], Intolerance [1916]). Thus, "Se7en" builds on a solid tradition both in its own domain and in other art forms, topically as well as in its approach, denouncing society's apathy towards vice and crime. Yet - and although expressly referencing the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, Chaucer and Dante - David Fincher's movie eschews well-trodden paths and grabs the viewer's attention from the beginning; and it does so not merely by the depiction of serial killer John Doe's (Kevin Spacey's) crimes, which could easily degenerate into a mindless bloodfest that would defeat the movie's purpose. (Not that there isn't a fair share of blood and gore on display; both visually and in the characters' dialogue regarding those details not actually shown; but Fincher uses the crimes' gruesome nature to create a sense of stark realism, rather than for shock value alone.) In addition, Doe's mindset is painstakingly presented by the opening credits' jumpy nature, his "lair"'s apocalyptic makeup and his notebooks, all of which were actually written out (at considerable expense), and whose compilation is shown underlying the credits. The movie's atmosphere of unrelenting doom is further underscored by a color scheme dominated by brown, gray and only subdued hues of other colors, and by the fact that almost every outdoors scene is set in rain. Moreover, although screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker explains on the DVD that the story was inspired by his observations in New York (and the movie was shot partly there, partly in L.A.), it is set in a faceless, nameless city, thus emphasizing that its concern isn't a specific location but society generally.

Central to the movie is the contrast between world-weary Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) who, while decrying the rampant occurrence of violence in society, for much of the movie seems to have resigned himself to his inability to do something meaningful about this (and therefore seems to accept apathy for himself, too, until his reluctant final turnaround), and younger Detective Mills (Brad Pitt), who fought for a reassignment to this particular location, perhaps naively expecting his contributions to actually make a difference; only to become a pawn in Doe's scheme instead and thus show that, given the right trigger, nobody is beyond temptation. As such, Somerset and Mills are not merely another incarnation of the well-known old-cop-young-cop pairing. Rather, their characters' development over the course of the film forces each viewer to examine his/her own stance towards vice.

Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt perfectly portray the two detectives; while Freeman imbues his Will Somerset with a quiet dignity, professionalism and learning, muted by profound but not yet wholly irreversible resignation, Pitt's David Mills is a brash everyman from the suburbs with an undeniable streak of prejudice, a penchant for quick judgment and a thorough lack of sophistication, both personally and culturally. Notable are also the appearances of Gwyneth Paltrow (significantly Brad Pitt's real-life girlfriend at the time) as Mills's wife Tracy and ex-marine R. Lee Ermey as the police captain. Yet, from his very first appearance onwards, this is entirely Kevin Spacey's film. Reportedly, Brad Pitt especially fought hard for his casting; and it is indeed hard to imagine "Se7en" with anybody other than the guy who, that same year, also won an Oscar for portraying devilish Keyser Soze in "The Usual Suspects": No living actor has Spacey's ability to simultaneously express spine-chilling villainy, laconic indifference and limitless superiority with merely a few gestures and vocal inflections.

While "Se7en" can certainly claim the "sledgehammer" effect on its viewers sought by its fictional killer, the punishment meted out to Doe's victims - taking their perceived sins to the extreme - pales in comparison to that awaiting sinners according to medieval teachings. (Inter alia, gluttons would thus be forced to eat vermin, toads and snakes, greed-mongers put in cauldrons of boiling oil and those guilty of lust smothered in fire and brimstone.) Most serial killers have decidedly more mundane motivations than Doe. And after all, this is only a movie.

Right?

"Sin ... engenders vice by repetition of the same acts, [clouding the conscience and corrupting the judgment.] Thus sin tends to reproduce ... and reinforce itself, but it cannot destroy the moral sense at its root." - Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994).