Classic--Se7en

or: One of the reasons why I love David Fincher.

One word to sum it up: Creepy.

It's official. David Fincher is now my third favourite director. Wow, come to think of it, Se7en will be the fourth film of his that I give the full quota of stars to. Again, Fincher proves his versatility with the crime and creepiness of this one (which kinda compares with Zodiac). When you look at his other great films, such as the visionary Fight Club, the schmaltzy and adorably romantic The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and the all round amazing The Social Network, it's hard to imagine a director so incredibly capable of making all these different movies work. Se7en pretty much serves as one of his finest works, and the markings of a true genius.

Se7en portrays the exploits of a deranged serial-killer. His twisted agenda involves choosing seven victims who represent egregious examples of transgressions of each of the Seven Deadly Sins. He then views himself as akin to the Sword of God, handing out horrific punishment to these sinners. Two cops, an experienced veteran of the streets who is about to retire and the ambitious young homicide detective hired to replace him, team up to capture the perpetrator of these gruesome killings. Unfortunately, they too become ensnared in his diabolical plan....

As one of David Fincher's earliest works, this isn't done as stylistically as Fight Club was. Instead, he adopts the subtle style as seen in Zodiac, which makes the movie all the more better. While Zodiac is very similar to this film, Se7en comes up trumps because of it's stronger themes and how generally disturbing it is. The dialogue used in this film is graphic, therefore adding to how morally wrong this movie is, as opposed to using senseless gore to display the story. Along with being an amazing crime film, Se7en is also a fantastic psychological thriller and quasi horror. Mixed in with those genres are themes of obsession and guilt, and of course, the successful interwoven Seven Deadly Sins. What comes out of this film feels like a film within a film, which is often intriguing and terribly entertaining.

Morgan Freeman, the cinematic God that he is, turns up in this film being like a father figure to a then young and rookie Brad Pitt. Their partnership throughout this film is one of the greatest elements to it. Now I see why most cop movies these days feature a near retired cop trying to help along the headstrong and more technically talented rookie cop. Not only does this film focus on the serial killer storyline, but it also weaves our protagonists personal feelings into this, which makes the ending that little bit more satisfying. The supporting performances from Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey are both really well done too. The perfectionism from David Fincher is most evident in Se7en, which aligns with the films theme of obsession in a way that sets this apart from others.


THE VERDICT: David Fincher creates a masterpiece of psychological thriller, with an ingenious blend of obsession themes and disturbing and graphic content to help the story along. Top performances from the leads make this film one to remember.

10/10