Seven

Directed by David Fincher

Cast:
Morgan Freeman - Detective Lt. Somerset
Brad Pitt - Detective Mills
Kevin Spacey - John Doe
Gwenth Paltrow - Tracy Mills

John Doe, the serial killer in Seven, weaves a string of killings so well thought out and executed that Hanibal Lectur himself would be jealous. However the true master work in this film is the way in which each scene is presented. The cinematographer must have done a painstaking job getting the lighting just right and the camera angles just perfect. Together with a fine acting job by Freeman, Pitt and Spacey make this a movie, that despite its gruesome subject matter is worth seeing.
Brad Pitt is the quintessential rookie know-it-all cop, just moved to the city with his wife Tracy (Paltrow). He is paired up with Somerset a long veteran of investigating who has seen his fair share of inhumane cases and it starts to show. Whereas Pitt is jittery and somewhat naiive about human nature, Somerset has a more hardened down-to-earth view. Both have never encountered a case like this one though. They encounter a string of murders that are linked in that each are executed in a way fitting to one of the seven deadly sins - for instance the obese man killed by gluttony was forced to eat until he literally exploded. Their killer can’t be traced as the bodies pile up and the list grows shorter.
Both Somerset and Mills have their own way in which they handle the case. Somerset spends his nights researching the library while Mills stares at photographs and reads cliff notes on Dante. As you might guess one is more productive than the other. After a stroke of insight they almost catch their killer but lose him - that is until he hands himself in. This is all part of his master plan however. He says he will deliver the last two bodies on condition that Mills and Somerset accompany him. The ending is both shocking and intense. This is one of those endings that just can’t be spoiled so I won’t say anything more about that.
What I will say is that this movie is very well thought out. Going through the rooms of the killer was like a trip through the killers mind itself. The scenes where the murders take place allude to not only the crime but to the people who were killed themselves. In the killer’s mind each of these people has committed one of the seven deadly sins and must be made an example of. And they really do make a statement. As the killer says himself no one will listen to you anymore if you tap them on the shoulder - you have to hit them with a sledge hammer to take notice. As time goes on the “sledge hammer” only gets larger. Just think of terrorists using airplanes instead of bullets and you get my picture.

4 stars