Seven - Os Sete Crimes Capitais

David Fincher's bleak, relentless, and ultimately terrifying crime thriller Seven transcends other films of the genre with incredible plotting (the sort Hitchcock might employ were he alive and making films in the 1990s) and scalding intelligence. With only a small handful of minor flaws -- the overly familiar retiring cop/young cop pairing; the awful "I'm taking you off the case!" cliche seemingly required by the genre; one giant lapse in logic in the downward spiral toward the conclusion that cannot be revealed without ruining the script's gruesome surprise -- Seven typically keeps its viewers imprisoned in their seats with a combination of morbid fascination and abject fear. Despite attempts by studio executives to alter Andrew Kevin Walker's ending, the filmmaking team prevailed and audiences experienced that rare treat of mainstream cinema: an uncompromising vision.

Rarely there has been a movie with such a good dark and chilling atmosphere. I even see this movie more as an horror movie than as a thriller because of that. "Se7en" is unique in many ways. The movies mood is already set right from the beginning on. The movie starts dark, intense, chilling and mysterious, a mood that is present throughout the entire movie. It's very depressing to watch and I mean that in a positive way of the meaning of the word. The mood is set by good camera work and lighting, or better said, the lack of it. The music from acclaimed composer Howard Shore also adds to the chilling atmosphere. Unlike many other movies from the same genre, the movie is slow paced and takes it time to develop the characters without falling into some obvious cliché's. The two main characters played by Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt are presented as an unlikely police-couple that are different in many ways from each other but in a way that is also what makes them such a great couple. Brad Pitt for once has the opportunity to play more than just the pretty boy and he does it with success. Kevin Spacey truly plays a bone chilling character, almost just as legendary and chilling as Hannibal Lecter. I would very much like to see the two of them put in the same room, just to see who would make it out alive. Further more it was great to see R. Lee Emrey again as the police captain. The movie is filled with some truly gross, sickening and horrifying scene's, this seriously ain't no kids stuff! The movie has some of the most sickening murders I have ever seen featured in a movie. But it aren't just only the gross scene's that are good, there are also some scene's that are made with lot's of beauty and profession such as the library scene. Dark and chilling movie that you will never forget also thanks to the ending which I will not spoil for you. A real must see. 10/10

A retiring Detective and a young rookie are hunting down a serial killer, a killer with a dark MO, murdering his victims using the seven deadly sins.

As I watch this, it's coming up to its thirtieth anniversary, and it's as fresh now as it was back in 1995, it's an intensely macabre take, crimes that are infinitely macabre and depraved, and intensely twisted.

The combination of Freeman and Pitt is incredible, they work immensely well together, we have the fresh zest of Mills, and the unshakable, but battle weary Somerset. Paltrow and Spacey are excellent in support.

Two hours flashed past, there is no lull, no moment to switch off and boil the kettle, the intensity is immediate, the pacing designed to keep you glued.

I have always thought there is a shade of Alfred Hitchcock about this movie, such is the intelligence of the plot.

Very good visuals, the macabre and gruesome bodies look shocking still, nothing is spared or hidden away.

10/10.

Seldom does a film elucidate the culpability of our culture,of our society, in the mayhem and madness we often find in everyday life. According to Se7en, our culture is drifting through darkness. The mouthpiece for this thematic undercurrent is Somerset, a literate man who also happens to be a detective, a man who can read a clue ("This isn't going to be a happy ending") or Dante's Inferno with equal aplomb. He even provides the film's final thematic statement with a quote from Hemingway. His quirkiness, perhaps the outgrowth of a brilliant mind, is no worse than that of any prophet or seer of old, those harbingers of Biblical insight whom others always find kooky and offbeat. He is not well loved for his cynical, pessimistic outlook (such that his consuming motivation is to retire and get out of town). However, by the end it becomes clear that it is Somerset who sees our dark world with the prophet's particular clarity. (It is left to his partner Mills to find this out the hard way).

Working on us to reinforce this world as Somerset sees it is the film's astounding mise-en-scene, a disturbing film-noir setting developed by director David Fincher and cinematographer Darius Khondji. Flashlights barely illuminate the slimy walls of the roach-infested tenement of one victim and the dark bedroom of another. Rain pours down in buckets. Bird's-eye-view shots of downtown (the city is never named- a generic, everyman's kind of place) show dingy, sooty rooftops and grimy streets. Only the film's closing scene is in bright sunlight, which by then only serves as ironic counterpoint to what we see happening.

This is Somerset's vision; both inhabited and described by him. He finds a surprising fellow traveler in, not his partner, but the elusive killer John Doe. Doe shares the vision and provides an unsettling echo to the rumblings and teachings of Somerset. If one looks at life through the Somerset lens, one must admit that John Doe has a valid point. He and Somerset have arrived at the same conclusion, the difference between them being how they have responded. (Somerset longs to escape to some otherworldly realm in the country. Doe has taken action.)

Though gripping and fast moving, this is not an action film. It holds our interest through the workings of horror and mystery: a stark, film-noir detective piece. Except for one tense pursuit through halls and alleys in pouring rain, as well as the bit of ending action, there is surprisingly little violence. We see each murder, save two, after the fact, as a crime scene. This only makes the final act that much more suspenseful.

This is a very tight film. Elements within: dialogue, actions, lighting, setting, all of these tend to reinforce one another to paint a solid picture. It is a perverse logic that makes the final and seventh sin complete perfectly the circle of events begun with the first.

Detective Lt. William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) is about to retire. He is teamed up with a young new detective David Mills (Brad Pitt). Together they try to find a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his M.O. Meanwhile Mills' wife Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow) fears for her husband's life and is very depressed.

Dark and depressing but just fascinating. Director David Fincher shots the entire film in dim light and shoves the victims mutilated bodies in our face. The grimness of the tone wears you down but that's appropriate considering the subject matter. No humor either. It all leads to a truly harrowing ending. There was supposed to be a happy ending but they (wisely) chose not to do it. Freeman and Pitt work very well together and both give excellent performances. I even thought Paltrow (who I hate) was good! Kevin Spacey is very good too in a small role.

If you have trouble with blood, gore and disturbing subject matter stay far away from this movie. But if you can handle that, watch this one. It's depressing and unpleasant but riveting.