Rated R (Grisly Afterviews of Horrific and
Bizarre Killings, and for Strong Language)
Running Time: 2 Hours & 7 Minutes
Cast-
Morgan Freeman-Detective William Somerset
Brad Pitt-Detective David Mills
Gwyneth Paltrow-Tracy Mills
?????-Johnathan Doe
John Cassini-Officer Davis
Peter Crombie-Dr. O'Neill
Reg E. Cathey-Dr. Santiago
R. Lee Ermey-Police Captain
Richard Roundtree-District Attorney Martin
Talbot
John C. McGinley-SWAT Team Leader California
Richard Portnow-Dr. Beardsley
Mark Boone Junior-Greasy FBI Man
Martin Serene-Wild Bill
Leland Orser-Crazed Man in Massage Parlor
Richard Schiff-Mark Swarr
Directed by David Fincher
Note: This is a review of the bare-bones Canadian Blu-Ray released by Alliance in 2009, which was superseded by the US DigiBook Blu-Ray a year later.
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| "What's in the f*cking box?!" |
Serial killers have always been a
fascinating subject in film, whether it'd be in literature or movies.
Unfortunately, they seem to be in short supply nowadays. Going back to 1995, we
have "Se7en," directed by David Fincher, who also made "Fight
Club," "Zodiac," and recently, "The Curious Case of
Benjamin Button." The film is fourteen years old now but it still has a
rather loyal fan-base. I first found out about it from an off-handed remark
dealing with the "Saw" franchise and looked the film up on good 'ol
IMDB. I was immediately hooked from its premise but disappointingly, it was not
released on Blu-Ray at the time. Well, that's about to change as "Se7en"
is now available on the high-definition format but don't celebrate just yet,
because it's only sold in Canada.
In an unnamed city drenched with rain and
urban decay, Detective William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) is a burnt-out cop
who's a week from retirement. On his final case, he meets his replacement,
Detective David Mills (Brad Pitt), a young, hotheaded, and ill-tempered cop who
volunteered to be transferred to this precinct. The two investigate the murder
of an obese man who has been force-fed spaghetti and then kicked in the stomach
until it burst. A day later, another murder takes place, this time of famous
Defense Attorney Elliot Gould, who has been forced to rip out a pound of his
flesh. On the floor is the word 'Greed,' written in blood. Soon after, Somerset
finds the word 'Gluttony' carved into a wall at the obese man's home. Both
detectives come to realize that the killer is basing his crimes on the seven
deadly sins: Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Lust, Pride, Envy and Wrath. With time
against them, Somerset and Mills must capture the killer and prevent the other
five murders from taking place.
Despite its age, "Se7en"
features an intriguing mystery and one of the most fascinating serial killers
ever created on film. The only derivative aspect of the film is the characters
Freeman and Pitt play. They're the standard cop archetypes that we've seen
before: the burnt-out cop who just needs to do one last case before retiring
and the hotheaded, idealistic, and naive cop who believes that even in the
darkest of times, a difference can be made. That's not to say that the actors
are bad in their roles, far from it but Freeman is a lot more natural than
Pitt, who's a little clunky while conveying his character's impulsiveness. With
Freeman's Somerset, you get the feeling that he's been living in this city for
far too long and you learn through his conversations with Mills' wife, Tracy
(Gwyneth Paltrow), that he even forced his close girlfriend to have an abortion
because he knew, deep down, that bringing a child into this world would be
punishment. Somerset is always pessimistic but everything he says makes sense.
Brad Pitt's David Mills goes through a transformation by the end of the film
but I will not reveal how. At the beginning, he's overly optimistic and believes
that the world isn't all that bad, except for the occasional wackjob that needs
to be put in his or her place. He has a loving wife so what has he got to be
disappointed about? One of the best scenes is when Mills and Somerset are at a
local bar and they discuss how people are so apathetic to everything around
them. Mills says 'No, I don't agree with you' and Somerset remarks to him that
'You gotta be the hero. You want to be the champion. People don't want a hero,
they want to eat cheeseburgers, play the lotto and watch television.' If you
think about it, that's true. We act like we care but deep down, it's just
easier to walk away and not involve yourself. As mentioned before, the only
thing that holds back Pitt's performance is when his character starts acting
impatient because the actor comes off like a child having a temper tantrum.
Nonetheless, both actors deliver great performances.
The most memorable character of "Se7en"
would be the serial killer himself, John Doe. I won't reveal the actor that
plays him because it's all part of the surprise. He only appears for the final
half-hour but, boy, is it something! The speech he gives where he justifies his
actions is incredibly well-written and delivered with the right amount of
menace. This is a guy who totally believes that what he is doing will be admired
and followed for generations. Although we never see the killings actually take
place, we do see the brutal aftermath and it may be too disturbing for some
people. The Sloth victim is tied to a bed for one year, where his skin and
muscles have atrophied and looks almost corpse-like. Even more shocking is the
Lust victim, where a man was forced to use a strap-on dildo with a razor-sharp
blade to rape and kill the girl. Be warned, "Se7en" is most
definitely not for the faint of heart.
Fincher has shot the film in a style
that's similar to "Fight Club." Everything is dark and gloomy, full
of shadows and drenched in rain. This is a city where hope has died out long
ago and no one even cares. Unfortunately, this style is once again not fit for
Blu-Ray. At times, we see amazing detail, especially on the actors, but other
times, the film looks like it was up-scaled from the DVD version. It has also
been converted into the incorrect aspect ratio, 1.78:1, where it should've been
2.35:1 like the theatrical release. Rather than using progressive scan, the
image is interlaced, resulting in some artifacts during the desert scenes. At
least the audio is top-notch, where we're treated to Howard Shore's somewhat
bombastic score but overall, I would recommend you hold out for an official US
release.
Received on September 22, 1998, "Se7en"
was received largely positive reviews with 79% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics
hailed it as 'a brutal, relentlessly grimy shocker with
taut performances, slick gore effects, and a haunting finale.' The film was a
commercial success, with the final domestic gross coming in at $100.1 million.
Factoring in foreign box office receipts, "Se7en" stands at $327.4
million. Not bad for a movie with a low $33 million production budget. If you
have never seen "Se7en" before, I highly urge you to do so now, but
get the DVD, not the Blu-Ray. It is one of the best films of the serial killer
genre and features some great performances while also some asking difficult
questions about human nature. Is John Doe right? Are we so self-centered that
we are blind to the suffering of others? Like "Fight Club," David
Fincher has created a phenomenal film that is still talked about fourteen years
later.
Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5
"Innocent? Is that supposed to be
funny? An obese man...a disgusting man who could barely stand up; a man who if
you saw him on the street, you'd point him out to your friends so that they
could join you in mocking him; a man, who if you saw him while you were eating,
you wouldn't be able to finish your meal. After him, I picked the lawyer and I
know you both must have been secretly thanking me for that one. This is a man
who dedicated his life to making money by lying with every breath that he could
muster to keeping murderers and rapists on the streets! A woman...so ugly on
the inside she couldn't bear to go on living if she couldn't be beautiful on
the outside. A drug dealer, a drug dealing pederast, actually! And let's not
forget the disease-spreading whore! Only in a world this sh*tty could you even
try to say these were innocent people and keep a straight face. But that's the
point. We see a deadly sin on every street corner, in every home, and we
tolerate it. We tolerate it because it's common, it's trivial. We tolerate it
morning, noon, and night. Well, not anymore. I'm setting the example. What I've
done is going to be puzzled over and studied and followed...forever."
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