Review of Se7en (1995) by Grant S — 09 Dec 2017

Two police detectives - one, Somerset, about to retire and the other, Mills, just transferred into the precinct - investigate the murder of an obese man. On his wall was written the word "Gluttony". Then they are alerted to the murder of a lawyer. On his floor was written the word "Greed". Somerset suspects that the murders were the work of the same man, a man murdering people who have committed the seven deadly sins.

Brilliant. Starts off as an intriguing, clever detective drama, showing how police go about investigating crimes, developing the characters and meticulously developing the plot. Highly engaging and enthralling. From a point it becomes more than a crime drama, developing some deeper undertones and ending as a dark psychological drama.

Superb ending with a very unpredictable twist. Ties the whole story together perfectly.

Solid performances from Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt in the lead roles. The standout performance, however, goes to Kevin Spacey who is chillingly good in his role. Reminded me a lot of his performance in The Usual Suspects.

Great work by David Fincher, directing only his second feature film (the first was Aliens 3). This movie made his career and created his trademark of clever psychological dramas with a twist. Four years, and two movies, later he would surpass even the brilliance of Se7en with one of the greatest movies of all time - Fight Club.