Se7en
Directed by:
David FincherScreenplay:
Andrew Kevin WalkerCinematography:
Darius KhondjiComposer:
Howard ShoreCast:
Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Richard Roundtree, R. Lee Ermey, John C. McGinley, Kevin Spacey, Julie Araskog, Mark Boone Junior, John Cassini (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman star in a searing psychological thriller about two detectives on the trail of a vicious serial killer who chooses his victims according to the seven deadly sins. (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (10)
It’s not often that you get the chance to write a review of a movie like that on a day like this (7.7.2007). Se7en certainly ranks among the best ten movies I’ve ever seen. A perfect, engulfing atmosphere of a bleak city where nothing good ever happens, with the addition of one deranged psychopath with a strange plan. A simply brilliant screenplay. Great acting performances (especially the unforgettable Kevin Spacey). Fincher’s masterpiece. I don’t want to wallow in superlatives here, so I’m done.
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Alongside The Silence of the Lambs, this is the most powerful psycho-thriller ever. Seven is a gem of the genre in which every filmmaking component is stretched to the absolute limit, along with the viewer’s nerves, emotions and psyche. Darkness that will take your breath away and keep you up at night.
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I am going to be much soberer and in opposition to film fans on FilmBooster, who ranked Seven in the top ten, I have to say that in my opinion, the film has only one, but very significant plus in the form of David Fincher's atmospheric direction. Just like elsewhere in his work, he works magic with the camera, carefully creates scenes, plays with sound and imagery, and everything is subordinated to maximum effect and audience experience. Unfortunately, at the expense of logic, it is simply straightforward. Instead of being a crime thriller, it leans more toward the horror genre, specifically foreshadowing the later successful horror series Saw. The screenplay is overly complicated, just like in similarly tuned films with a brilliant manipulator, such as Primal Fear, and this simply would not work in reality. It is interesting to observe several film details where Fincher subordinates everything to the atmosphere. For example, wherever the characters enter, it must be dimmed and for God's sake, no one should press the light switch. They use flashlights or the room is sparsely illuminated by red flashes, to emphasize the gloominess of the environment and its mystery. The director chooses the most repulsive environments, neglected and dirty alleys on the outskirts, and old buildings with peeling facades, and plays even more with the interiors. These are usually much more dirty and devastated than would be possible in reality. The camera revels in decay and mold, which would have already alerted the surrounding tenants to some irregularities. The police officers enter an apartment with their guns raised and proceed to the last room, where they only then lift the cover off the victim, suddenly clutching their noses. Again, Fincher subordinates everything to the element of surprise. It is good to compare the dynamically shot chase scene in an apartment building with the chase scene on the roofs and in the apartments of an Arab quarter in The Bourne Supremacy. While the latter fits organically into the story, here the culprit should be able to run down the stairs and disappear through the main exit, but that would, of course, be artistically unattractive, so Fincher lets his villain and the pursuer run through parts of the house that probably no one has yet built and will never build because it would be an unapprovable architectural masterpiece. There are many similar absurdities, but the power of Fincher's unmistakable directorial style is so pronounced that it reliably conceals them in the eyes of the majority of viewers. Even I have to appreciate the atmospheric nature of the scene where Brad Pitt has a gun to his head and expects a shot. The brutality of the individual crimes naturally also captures the audience's interest, but my impression is lowered by the philosophical framework of the drama, with which I do not identify in the least. While another Fincher film, Fight Club, seemed like a great portrayal of the phenomenon of rebellion, anarchy, and consumerism in a modern metropolis, here the nihilism and depression seem inappropriate to me. Overall impression: 60%.
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Fincher is depressive again, in the way he only knows how. The murders are disgusting, especially the first one with the fat man is not very nice to see. The cops don't seem to know what a light switch is, so they keep shining their flashlights to make the most of the gloomy twilight. The perpetual rain doesn't help the mood, either, Scott knew that in Blade Runner. Depression alternates with depression and the interesting, gloomy screenplay plays into Fincher's hands, he is a master depression, we all know that. Add to this an irresistibly loathsome villain played by Spacey and a truly unusual ending for Hollywood and we get a clear five-star rating.
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An unparalleled experience, a delight. Those who love dark crime thrillers about serial killers will adore Se7en, and so will do those who hate this kind of "entertainment" and laugh at monotonous scripts and shallow endings, because Se7en will shock them, suck them in, make them pant like a dog at the end, and inevitably teach them to love the genre... Impeccable direction that doesn't let up, teeming with creative ideas, and through the all-encompassing thick rain gives us a unique glimpse into the most chilling visual and narrative darkness ever seen on film. A perfect script, believable in its psychology and portrayal of the central characters' relationship, highly clever and subtle in its dialogue and non-violent reflection on the horrors of a society full of violence and murder, and finally shocking and surprising not only in its course, in the agonizing nature of the murders and the flawlessly sketched progress of the investigation, but above all in its twist, so unexpected and, thanks to Fincher's direction and shot after shot, so gripping that I wanted to stand up and scream loudly at the screen during the first two screenings. Perfect cinematography that always finds the right angle (I'm absolutely fascinated by the overhead shot of Pitt climbing a hanging ladder), an amazingly chilling soundtrack and a perfect bet on the eternally malfunctioning switches and the good old flashlights that accentuate all the blackness. A perfect film that cannot and will never be surpassed. 100% is not enough :)
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