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"Seven," a dark, grisly, horrifying and intelligent thriller, may be too disturbing for many people, I imagine, although if you can bear to watch, it you will see filmmaking of a high order. It tells the story of two detectives - one ready to retire, the other at the start of his career - and their attempts to capture a perverted serial killer who is using the Seven Deadly Sins as his scenario.

As the movie opens, we meet Somerset ( Morgan Freeman ), a meticulous veteran cop who lives a lonely bachelor's life in what looks like a furnished room. Then he meets Mills ( Brad Pitt ), an impulsive young cop who actually asked to be transferred into Somerset's district. The two men investigate a particularly gruesome murder, in which a fat man was tied hand and feet and forced to eat himself to death.

His crime was the crime of Gluttony. Soon Somerset and Mills are investigating equally inventive murders involving Greed, Sloth, Lust and the other deadly sins. In each case, the murder method is appropriate, and disgusting (one victim is forced to cut off a pound of his own flesh; another is tied to a bed for a year; a third, too proud of her beauty, is disfigured and then offered the choice of a call for help or sleeping pills). Somerset concludes that the killer, " John Doe ," is using his crimes to preach a sermon.

The look of "Seven" is crucial to its effect. This is a very dark film, the gloom often penetrated only by the flashlights of the detectives. Even when all the lights are turned on in the apartments of the victims, they cast only wan, hopeless pools of light.

Although the time of the story is the present, the set design suggests the 1940s; Gary Wissner, the art director, goes for dark blacks and browns, deep shadows, lights of deep yellow, and a lot of dark wood furniture. It rains almost all the time.

In this jungle of gloom, Somerset and Mills tread with growing alarm. Somerset intuits that the killer is using books as the inspiration for his crimes, and studies Dante, Milton and Chaucer for hints. Mills settles for the Cliff Notes versions. A break in the case comes with Somerset's sudden hunch that the killer might have a library card. But the corpses pile up, in cold fleshy detail, as disturbingly graphic as I've seen in a commercial film. The only glimmers of life and hope come from Tracy ( Gwyneth Paltrow ), Mills' wife.

A movie like this is all style. The material by itself could have been handled in many ways, but the director, David Fincher ("Alien 3"), goes for evocative atmosphere, and the writer, Andrew Kevin Walker , writes dialogue that for Morgan Freeman, in particular, is wise, informed and poetic. ("Anyone who spends a significant amount of time with me," he says, "finds me disagreeable.") Eventually, it becomes clear that the killer's sermon is being preached directly to the two policemen, and that in order to understand it, they may have to risk their lives and souls.

"Seven" is unique in one detail of its construction; it brings the killer onscreen with half an hour to go, and gives him a speaking role. Instead of being simply the quarry in a chase, he is revealed as a twisted but articulate antagonist, who has devised a horrible plan for concluding his sermon. (The actor playing the killer is not identified by name in the ads or opening credits, and so I will leave his identity as another of his surprises.) "Seven" is well-made in its details, and uncompromising in the way it presents the disturbing details of the crimes. It is certainly not for the young or the sensitive. Good as it is, it misses greatness by not quite finding the right way to end. All of the pieces are in place, all of the characters are in position, and then - I think the way the story ends is too easy. Satisfying, perhaps. But not worthy of what has gone before.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Seven (1995)

127 minutes

Brad Pitt as Mills

Morgan Freeman as Somerset

Gwyneth Paltrow as Tracy

Richard Roundtree as Talbot

Directed by

• David Fincher
• Andrew Kevin Walker

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Seven Review

05 Jan 1996

126 minutes

Seven isn't just a movie, it's a mind fuck, a psychological trip through hell that leaves your head spinning, your heart pumping and your stomach crying out for the medicinal properties of a stiff whiskey, or five. Not since The Exorcist has there been a mainstream Hollywood studio movie as extraordinarily dark, bleak, intense, and as monumentally scary as this. From its sensory assaulting opening credits, through to its desolate and very shocking finale, Seven goes for the gut, and like an insidious gnawing in the pit of your stomach, it never lets up. Be warned, this is not comfortable viewing.

In an anonymous US city in which it always rains and nobody seems to have bothered to pay their electricity bill, a serial killer is busy slaying his victims according to the seven deadly sins: gluttony, greed, sloth, envy, etc, leaving a sick procession of corpses, each one murdered in a way related to their own particular sin: a wealthy defence lawyer is forced to cut off a pound of his own flesh (greed); an obese man is forced fed until his stomach explodes (gluttony); a prostitute (lust) is... well, best see for yourself. Assigned to the case are veteran cop William Somerset (Freeman), a methodical, world-weary thinker and a week away from retirement after 34 years on the force, and his hot-headed young new partner David Mills (Pitt), recently relocated, along with his wife (Paltrow), to this hellhole of a city, eager to make a name for himself. Try as they might they are always one step behind the murderer, but all too late his true motives are revealed to them.

Director David Fincher, who previously helmed the equally gloomy Alien3, creates an overwhelming sense of unease, presenting a world of irredeemable ugliness, a grim, melancholic, depressing, decaying society from which there is no escape. This movie even smells rank. But despite the gruesomeness of the crimes this is no slasher movie. In the same way that Manhunter relied on the psychological for its impact, so too does Seven. The victims are never killed onscreen. Instead, we catch glimpses of the corpses at the crime scene, or in the morgue, or in the snatches of black-and-white police photographs that are flashed before us. Perhaps more disturbingly, you are mostly left to visualise in your mind the full extent of the killer's atrocities when they are discussed, matter-of-factly, by Pitt and Freeman.

As the cops move closer to their foe (whose identity is revealed late and by then it doesn't really matter anyway since it's fundamentally irrelevant) the movie shifts from thriller territory into the realms of horror, and it's here that Fincher and screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker pull off their greatest coup, a piece of cinematic genius - the most downbeat ending imaginable. Ever. You come away reeling, emotionally and mentally, shaken and most definitely stirred, muttering to yourself that they couldn't possibly have done that. But they did. Oh boy, did they. For the ending alone, this is simply unmissable.

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Grim, slick, shocking thriller. Older teens only.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Though justice is said to be "worth fighting for,"

Though Seven aims to show that all people are capa

The gory aftermath (and allusions to) horrific tor

References to prostitution, sex.

Lots of swearing.

Parents need to know that this film contains graphic depictions of the aftermath of grisly murders involving the seven deadly sins. While none of this takes place on-screen, the vivid descriptions prove to be nearly as chilling. For example, an obese man is forced to eat until his stomach bursts. A man is forced to…

Positive Messages

Though justice is said to be "worth fighting for," the world is so bleak and full of horror that this doesn't seem believable.

Positive Role Models

Though Seven aims to show that all people are capable of great sin, Detective Somerset is level-headed, wise, and kind.

Violence & Scariness

The gory aftermath (and allusions to) horrific torture and murder. Gunshots. Off-screen murder. Rape.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this film contains graphic depictions of the aftermath of grisly murders involving the seven deadly sins. While none of this takes place on-screen, the vivid descriptions prove to be nearly as chilling. For example, an obese man is forced to eat until his stomach bursts. A man is forced to kill a prostitute by stabbing her reproductive organs with an 8-inch knife. A beauty queen's face is cut off. A lawyer must cut out his own stomach. A police officer's pregnant wife is beheaded. In the end, the line between good and evil is blurred, with evil more or less coming out on top. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Based on 22 parent reviews

"What's in the box?!"

Become vengeance, david, become wrath., what's the story.

SEVEN combines horror and film noir genres, with overconfident rookie David Mills ( Brad Pitt ) as the doomed detective of the noir tradition, and book veteran William Somerset ( Morgan Freeman ) as the desexualized, pedantic survivor familiar to slasher movie fans. The story follows the archetypal pair as they wind their way through a dark world of urban violence in search of a serial killer ( Kevin Spacey ). Mills and Somerset conclude that each murder corresponds to one of the seven deadly sins from the Bible, and that the killer is trying to preach his message of religious morality through his murders and the press they receive. Even after being willfully apprehended, the killer has one final trick up his sleeve -- a horrific gesture designed to goad Mills into crossing the line between lawful justice and sinful vengeance.

Is It Any Good?

Dark, disturbing and occasionally gory, Seven is a psychological thriller that, along with Chinatown , is among the bleakest films in mainstream cinema history.

The murders are not shown on screen, but the film has a morbid fascination with the pain inflicted on the victims. And it depicts a dark universe, where the lines between good and evil are blurred. There's no question that it aims to be more philosophical than other detective/horror films (namely The Silence of the Lambs ). Attempts at deeper meaning might be pretentious or profound, depending on how serious you can take Brad Pitt as an actor.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about horror movies. How is this movie different than a slasher film? What makes it disturbing? Is it any less chilling because the violence is not shown on screen?

Movie Details

• In theaters : January 1, 1995
• On DVD or streaming : June 7, 2001
• Cast : Brad Pitt , Gwyneth Paltrow , Morgan Freeman
• Director : David Fincher
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors
• Studio : Warner Bros.
• Genre : Drama
• Run time : 127 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : grisly afterviews of horrific and bizarre killings, and for strong language.
• Last updated : February 28, 2022

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The Silence of the Lambs

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

Seven (United States, 1995)

Frequently, mystery/thrillers present us with a cast of about six or seven characters, set up a sequence of grizzly murders, then "surprise" us by revealing which of those six or seven characters is the guilty party. It's a time-honored method that's repeated in at least several movies each year. At the outset, Seven has all the hallmarks of this kind of motion picture. Fortunately, it turns out somewhat smarter and less predictable. Though not without significant flaws, Seven isn't transparent or moronic, and it doesn't insult the average viewer's intelligence.

When all is said and done, the mystery of Seven is not who the killer is -- there's never any question about the identity -- but how he will outsmart the police next, and what he will do as a climax to his killing spree. It's refreshing to find an intelligent maniac who is not undone by a moment of sheer stupidity. From beginning to end, Seven 's murderer has the situation under control. The police are his pawns, not the other way around. Shades of Silence of the Lambs .

The good guys are a pair of detectives at opposite ends of their careers. David Mills (Brad Pitt) is new on the job, full of energy and high ideals, and ready to "make a difference" by catching the crooks. William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) is in his last week on the job. His long years studying crime scenes and following up on clues have left him weary and jaded. To him, being a detective isn't about nabbing criminals -- it's about methodically collecting and cataloguing evidence in case a prosecutor ever needs it.

The serial killer pursued by Mills and Somerset is choosing each of his victims based on which of the seven deadly sins (gluttony, greed, sloth, lust, pride, envy, wrath) they have most clearly violated. The deaths form a portion of a decidedly warped sermon.. In their quest to end this bloody, sadistic spree, the two cops appear well-paired, as together they make the perfect detective. Mills is all brawn and little brain. Somerset, on the other hand, spends long hours in the library researching Dante and Chaucer, looking for clues that will enable him to prevent the next killing.

One of the problems with Seven is that Pitt's Mills is not an especially likable character. He's cocky and arrogant, with an inflated opinion of himself. Up until the end, he's convinced that his way is always the best. Pitt doesn't turn in one of his most impressive performances here, either. There's no subtlety whatsoever. In this film, the actor has a single mode: overdrive. Somerset, on the other hand, is a subdued and balanced personality perfectly essayed by Morgan Freeman. By emoting less than his co-star, Freeman frequently steals scenes from him. Gwyneth Paltrow ( Flesh and Bone, Jefferson in Paris ), one of today's better young actresses, is woefully underused in the role of Mills' wife, Tracy.

Seven is unnecessarily gory and runs for a little too long, but neither of these elements detracts much from the film's enjoyability (unless you have a weak stomach). The same is true of several logical flaws -- they're there, but not overly apparent while the film is on-screen (they can be ruminated about after the credits have rolled). While Seven lacks the cleverness of the superior Usual Suspects , it's strong enough to hold its own against most other thrillers. Seven may always be grim, dark, and rainy, but at least there's a little substance beneath the atmosphere.

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WhichFilm | Film Reviews | Audience Film Reviews

Seven (1995)

“Seven,” directed by David Fincher and released in 1995, is a dark and atmospheric psychological thriller that immerses viewers in a world of moral decay and psychological torment. With its chilling portrayal of a serial killer’s twisted game and the two detectives determined to bring him to justice, “Seven” stands as a landmark film in the genre, known for its gritty visuals, haunting atmosphere, and thought-provoking exploration of human nature.

Plot: The film follows seasoned detective William Somerset (played by Morgan Freeman), who is on the brink of retirement, and his young and impulsive partner, David Mills (Brad Pitt), as they investigate a series of brutal murders that seem to follow the pattern of the seven deadly sins. As the detectives delve deeper into the mind of the sadistic killer (played by Kevin Spacey), they become entangled in a cat-and-mouse game that pushes the boundaries of their morality and sanity.

Atmosphere and Visuals: “Seven” is characterized by its atmospheric and foreboding tone. The rain-soaked streets of an unnamed city, the decaying urban landscapes, and the dimly lit interiors contribute to the film’s sense of dread and hopelessness. David Fincher’s meticulous direction and use of cinematography create a visually striking and oppressive atmosphere that reflects the moral decay and despair at the heart of the story.

Exploration of the Human Condition: At its core, “Seven” is a chilling examination of the human condition and the dark depths of the human psyche. The film delves into the themes of sin, guilt, and the consequences of unchecked human desires. Each murder represents one of the seven deadly sins, serving as a reflection of the flaws and moral failings that exist within society. “Seven” forces viewers to confront their own capacity for evil and question the boundaries of morality.

Character Dynamics and Performances: Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt deliver compelling performances as the contrasting detectives. Freeman portrays Somerset as a wise and introspective investigator burdened by the darkness he has witnessed throughout his career. Pitt brings youthful energy and emotional intensity to the role of Mills, a detective driven by his desire to make a difference. The chemistry between the two actors adds depth and complexity to their evolving relationship as they navigate the psychological labyrinth set before them.

Unforgettable Climax: “Seven” is renowned for its shocking and unforgettable climax, which exposes the full extent of the killer’s twisted plan. The film’s conclusion confronts viewers with a devastating moral dilemma, leaving a lasting impact and provoking intense discussion and debate. The climax, along with the film’s ambiguous final moments, leaves audiences haunted by the dark truths it exposes.

Critical Reception and Cultural Impact: “Seven” was met with critical acclaim upon its release, praised for its atmospheric direction, gripping screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker, and the performances of its cast. The film’s success solidified David Fincher’s reputation as a master of psychological thrillers. “Seven” has since become a cultural touchstone, influencing subsequent films in the genre and leaving an indelible mark on popular culture.

Legacy and Enduring Significance: “Seven” remains a benchmark in the psychological thriller genre, admired for its uncompromising depiction of violence and its exploration of human depravity. The film’s impact can be seen in its enduring popularity, its inclusion on lists of the greatest films of all time, and its influence on subsequent works that seek to capture its dark and atmospheric storytelling.

Conclusion: “Seven” is a haunting and visceral journey into the depths of the human psyche. With its gripping storyline, atmospheric visuals, and powerhouse performances, the film continues to captivate audiences and provoke contemplation on the nature of sin, morality, and the fragility of the human condition. “Seven” stands as a testament to David Fincher’s masterful storytelling and remains a timeless classic in the realm of psychological thrillers.

Create your own review

Seven, directed by David Fincher and released in 1995, is a masterfully crafted psychological thriller that immerses viewers in a dark and chilling world. With its atmospheric cinematography, intricate storytelling, and outstanding performances, the film stands as a benchmark in the genre. The film follows the story of two detectives, the seasoned and cynical Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and the impulsive and ambitious Detective Mills (Brad Pitt), as they investigate a series of gruesome murders inspired by the seven deadly sins. As the detectives delve deeper into the case, they are drawn into a twisted game of cat and mouse with a meticulous and sadistic serial killer (Kevin Spacey). One of the greatest strengths of Seven lies in its atmospheric and immersive world-building. From the rain-soaked streets of a bleak and decaying city to the grim and unsettling crime scenes, the film creates a palpable sense of dread and despair. The meticulously crafted cinematography by Darius Khondji captures the gritty and dark tones of the narrative, enhancing the film's ominous atmosphere. The performances in Seven are exceptional across the board. Morgan Freeman delivers a commanding portrayal of the wise and world-weary Detective Somerset, bringing depth and gravitas to the character. Brad Pitt shines as the hot-headed Detective Mills, capturing the character's vulnerability and volatility with conviction. Kevin Spacey's portrayal of the enigmatic serial killer is chilling and haunting, leaving a lasting impact on viewers. David Fincher's direction is meticulous and precise, perfectly complementing the film's dark and unsettling tone. His keen attention to detail and ability to create tension through pacing and editing are on full display in Seven. The film's narrative unfolds with a deliberate pace, gradually building suspense and keeping viewers on the edge of their seats. The shocking and visceral climax remains one of the most memorable and impactful sequences in cinematic history. The screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker is a dark and thought-provoking exploration of human nature and the destructive forces that lurk within society. It delves into themes of morality, justice, and the thin line between good and evil. The film's intricate plot keeps audiences engaged and guessing until the very end, with its twists and turns adding layers of complexity to the story. Seven's visual style is both gritty and stylish, with its somber color palette and atmospheric lighting reflecting the bleakness of the narrative. The production design effectively creates a world that feels lived-in and worn, further immersing viewers in the film's dark and grim atmosphere. The haunting and atmospheric score by Howard Shore adds an extra layer of tension and unease to the overall experience. In conclusion, Seven is a dark and gripping psychological thriller that showcases the mastery of director David Fincher. With its atmospheric cinematography, intricate storytelling, and outstanding performances, the film remains a standout in the genre. If you appreciate thought-provoking and unsettling narratives that push the boundaries of conventional crime thrillers, Seven is an absolute must-see. However, be prepared for its dark and disturbing themes, as the film ventures into deeply unsettling territory.

Another movie starring Brad Pitt and directed by David Fincher and I can say that I wasn’t disappointed. The concept and storyline were incredible and it will forever be one of the best crime movies I have ever watched, with it having an engaging plot, lots of action and ‘good’ murders. The movie was often tense constantly putting me on the edge of my seat which was achieved not only by the highly skilled acting, but also because of the music of Howard Shore who never fails to produce a soundtrack that reflects both the mood and style of a film. Both Pitt and Morgan Freeman portrayed their characters well, with it in my opinion being one of Freeman’s best roles. The gritty colour scheme helps to add to the tone of the movie, helping it to become one of the darkest yet cleverest crime thrillers I have ever watched. The plot, as I have already mentioned, is incredibly well written and I am looking forward to watching more films by the same director (David Fincher) since I have been very impressed with both this and Fight Club. Being both totally unsettling and totally gripping, I highly recommend it to anyone who doesn’t mind seeing a lot of gore or a film with a deeply depressing finale as, to me, it is one of the best movies I have ever watched.

I don’t usually want to comment on movies, but I won’t feel happy if I don’t share my joy about this film. I absolutely love this movie. This movie was the first time I saw a movie made by David Fincher, I spent the whole night on Wikipedia browsing about every single person who impressed me in the film. I think this is probably Fincher’s best work so far. This movie is the most suspense-filled thriller I have ever watched. The performances of the cast are so chilling yet captivating that you would wonder what hit you after watching the movie. This is the GREAT MOVIE that you don’t want to miss watching.

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‘Seven’ (1995) is Fincher’s dirty, gorgeous masterpiece

As brutal as “Seven’s” (1995) subject is, you’d think it’d have no chance of ranking in IMDb’s all-time top 20. But that goes to show how expertly crafted this serial-killer pursuit yarn is in every way. Director David Fincher, whose only previous film was the studio-mangled “Alien 3,” paints New York City as such a cesspool that there’s no way anyone would want to set foot there after seeing “Seven.” It’s the exact opposite of a tourism video.

Masterfully designed

And he achieves it by shooting in Los Angeles. (NYC is never mentioned in the film, but writer Andrew Kevin Walker had the Big Apple in mind. If we’re not supposed to think of NYC when watching this film, well then that’s the only thing Fincher screwed up.)

The drenching rain, the grotesque apartment units and the filth-strewn alleys all paint a picture that lines up with villain John Doe’s (Kevin Spacey) assertion that humankind is beyond salvation. (Admittedly, the library looks nice, though.)

Morgan Freeman (as outgoing detective Somerset) and Brad Pitt (as young detective Mills) are at the top of their powers, but Gwyneth Paltrow’s smaller role as Mills’ wife Tracy is the most important for illustrating “Seven’s” theme and vibe.

A fresh-faced schoolteacher who is between jobs, Tracy looks like she’s ready to take on the world, but she admits to Somerset (she’s not willing to put this on her husband), that the public schools are so horrid that she can’t bring herself to work there. Her decision on whether to have or abort her baby is based on how awful the city is.

By being such an innocent, Tracy makes for an ideal final potential victim in Doe’s grand game where he commits crimes where the victims illustrate the Seven Deadly Sins.

Cliches feel fresh again

Fincher and the two leads make clichés fresh again. Mills is the hotshot, but all of his attempts to sound street-smart and cool fall flat. Pitt says the lines with a certain amount of conviction, but when Somerset doesn’t react at all to Mills’ antics, he might as well sound like you or me trying to be cool. Freeman’s world-weariness actually makes Brad Pitt come off as uncool.

And yet Freeman also dodges the cliché of an a**h***. Sure, he’s short with people – note the small scene where he tells the guy scraping his name off his office window to stop it – but it’s clear that his environment has made him this way. He’s too old for this s***, but in “Seven” we feel the truth of that statement rather than giggling at the trope.

The dinner sequence is also a cliché, but here it’s filled with so much subtle heart as Tracy’s appreciation for both men – her husband and his grizzled partner whom she immediately tabs as a good person – solidifies the partnership and allows “Seven” to focus on the next phase of the case.

But it’s interesting to note that “Seven” is a mystery in structure only; the detectives are just picking up the pieces after each of Doe’s crimes – as Somerset spells out as the duo waits overnight on a couch for fingerprint results.

Mostly off-screen until the final act, Doe controls this narrative every step of the way, starting with the first shocking murder scene where he had forced an obese man to eat until he bursts.

Oddly easy to watch

Obviously, “Seven” is not a movie you’d recommend to anyone – you’d have to first determine that they can handle darker stuff – but it actually doesn’t show that many gruesome images. And that probably explains why such a dark movie can creep into a top 20 that you’d guess would be the domain of wide-appeal films.

It’s actually super-easy to watch for a few reasons: It’s so evocative of its location, the leads overcome their clichéd roots to become real people, and the Seven Deadly Sins theme raises the fascinating question of whether the disgusting aspects of humans means we should give up on the race. John Doe is morally wrong in his actions, but he’s intellectually above reproach.

Instead of horror-film-level images, Fincher relies on impeccable performances to strongly imply what happened, ranging from a man (Leland Orser) forced to f*** a prostitute to death to the horrified expression from Somerset (a man who had seemingly seen it all) when he looks in the box in the grand finale in the desert.

It’s a perfect landing at the end of a flawless routine that sticks with a viewer on two levels: One, it’s a disturbing tale, and two, it’s impeccably made. The latter outweighs the former just enough that “Seven” falls into a rare category of a relentlessly grim movie that’s utterly rewatchable.

IMDb Top 250 trivia

• “Seven” ranks No. 20 with an 8.6 rating, but it’s not Fincher’s or Pitt’s highest-ranked film. That’s the similarly gritty “Fight Club” (1999) at No. 11 with an 8.8.
• Nor is it Freeman’s, as he co-stars in the No. 1 film of all time, “The Shawshank Redemption” (9.2), from a year earlier. He’s also in 2008’s “The Dark Knight” (No. 4, 9.0).
• Although it is the (appropriately) seventh-highest-grossing film of 1995, “Seven” is the top-rated film from that year. It was a good year for Spacey: Next on the list is “The Usual Suspects” (No. 33, 8.5).
• “Seven” is neck-and-neck with 1954’s “The Seven Samurai” (No. 19, 8.6). But among films with numbers in the title, both “Sevens” trail 1957’s “12 Angry Men” (No. 5, 8.9) and 1975’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (No. 18, 8.6).

CINEMA VIEWPOINT

Seven (1995) movie review and film analysis

​The film follows two detectives, detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and detective Mills (Brad Pitt) as they hunt down a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as their motives.

This film had me on edge from the beginning. It opens with no music or fanfare, only the ambient sounds of police sirens and vehicles honking. We are then introduced to our first character, Detective Somerset (Freeman), as he slowly and meticulously gets ready before heading out to a crime scene.

Our second character is introduced at the crime scene: Detective Mills (Pitt) eagerly jogs up the stairs to introduce himself to Detective Somerset. With this interaction and the following scene, we get a sense of who these characters are and where they are in their careers. By using a cold open to start the film, the audience is thrown straight into the deep end with a sense of dread, with no real certainty of who these characters are or what is about to happen. The use of no score or soundtrack until the very end, before the opening credits, only amplifies that feeling.

Monday to Sunday

With the title of the film being ‘Seven,’. I should have known that, apart from the killer’s motives surrounding the seven deadly sins. The film would heavily feature the number seven. Nevertheless, the utilisation of a seven-day structure was brilliant. It made following the film easy for a simpleton like myself. Also it ensured the pacing of the film never felt dragged or rushed because we are essentially the third detective attempting to solve this mystery alongside Detective Somerset and Mills. It also adds that ticking time bomb effect. Where with each passing day, we are counting down to the inevitable conclusions. What that conclusion is, you have to watch the film to find out.

Palms are Sweaty

This is the second film from director David Fincher that I have seen, with ‘Gone Girl’ being the first. Regrettably, I do not remember anything apart from the big twist in that film. So, for argument’s sake, this is my first time watching a David Fincher film. And I must say, I’m thoroughly impressed.

I was already taken aback by how well the film was directed throughout. With Fincher showcasing tension, action, and even humour in such a dark setting. Then came the climax of the film. Fincher’s ability to simultaneously portray calm and chaos in the final sequence was something I had not seen in a film to date. With everything leading up to this point, the entire film hinged on how Sunday turned out. I had heard the term ‘palms are sweaty’ before, yet I had never experienced the feeling until now. The end of the film had my anxiety through the roof; I was nervously fidgeting and could not sit still in my chair.

Freeman and Pitt

Morgan Freeman’s portrayal of a veteran detective at the end of his career was unsurprisingly stellar. Freeman’s ability to convey that Detective Somerset is a man who, for lack of a better term, ‘has seen some shit’—excuse my French—is second to none. Brad Pitt’s characterization of Detective Mills as a gung-ho new detective eager to prove his worth was better than good but not yet great. At times, I found his character annoying, irritable, and in need of just shutting his mouth and listening. However, it is Brad Pitt, so he brought a lot of charm and charisma to a character one could easily dislike.

​​The Seven Deadly Sins 

Apart from the directing, where the film shines is in the story. Writer Andrew Kevin Walker masterfully tells a relatively simple story of two detectives hunting down a serial killer. Yet, the way he utilises The Seven Deadly Sins, a popular motif in mediaeval art and literature, was done brilliantly. Elevating what could be a simple story to a great one. Another noteworthy detail I gathered from the film was the brilliant use of weather. And how it convey how bleak the situation was or to symbolise a breakthrough.

Deus ex machina (Spoilers ahead skip to conclusion)

I found one major plot hole in the story that lingered in the back of my mind. Feel free to skip to the conclusion if you do not want to be spoiled.

Detective Somerset and Mills discover the killer’s address and name using an illegal FBI resource. They confront the killer in front of his locked apartment. Leading to a major action sequence that concludes with the suspect escaping. Returning to the killer’s apartment, Mills is eager to break the door down for a search. However Somerset argues they need a warrant. He contends they lack probable cause due to the use of the illegal FBI resource and states, ‘If we leave a hole like this, we won’t be able to prosecute.’ Long story short, Mills breaks the door down, and they later pay a homeless woman to claim she saw suspicious activity and called Detective Somerset.

My question is, what was their plan? Hypothetically, suppose John Doe was home and answered the door to the detectives. If Detective Somerset and Mills talked with John Doe and realised he was the suspect, they wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. They couldn’t arrest him; they had no probable cause. And I quote, ‘How did we get here? Huh? I can’t tell anyone about this,’ referring to the illegal FBI resource. In conclusion to my ramble, in my opinion, it was a lazy use of Deus ex machina.

Should You Watch This Film?

If you’re in the mood for a great thriller and have a little over 2 hours to spare, you should absolutely watch this film. With superb acting, great directing, and a brilliantly written story, ‘Seven’ will leave you dumbfounded. However, without having seen the rest of the 100 movies on the IMDb top 100 list, I can’t confidently say that this film deserves its high rating on the list.

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Seven is another crime story that leans heavily on atmosphere. But this nerve-jangling thriller, evocatively shot by Darius Khondji, is no period piece. Set in an unnamed modern city deluged by rain and eroded by decay, the film stars Brad Pitt as David Mills, a can-do detective just in from the sticks with his wife, Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow), to replace Lt. William Somerset (Morgan Freeman), a soul-sick cop ready to pack it in after 34 years of chasing scumbags.

The case that brings the two together is a John Doe serial killer who bases his murders on the seven deadly sins. For gluttony, a fatso is forced to eat until he bursts. For pride, a model is brutally disfigured. And so on through greed, sloth and lust. Envy and wrath are paired up for a twisted, gut-wrenching climax.

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Andrew Kevin Walker wrote the script while working at Tower Records in Manhattan. But don’t take this skin crawler of a mood piece for pulp escapism. Pitt drops the movie star glamour as a stubbly hothead. Freeman, an actor of consummate subtlety, plays the cooler hand. They make a fine, fierce team. Only a dinner organized by Tracy (the gifted Paltrow is underused) takes the chill off the two cops. Later, Tracy confides in William why she’s afraid to tell her husband she’s pregnant. It’s a rare nod to sentiment. Humor is also scarce, though Pitt’s barely literate cop gets a big laugh when he pronounces the Marquis de Sade as “Shar-day.”

Seven wants to abrade, not ingratiate. Director David Fincher got hammered for turning Alien 3 , his feature debut, from a monster mash into an AIDS parable. That’s what happens when you aim high in Hollywood: You’re labeled pretentious. Fincher is not entirely blameless. Characters are sometimes merely attitudes posing as people. And the request that critics refrain from revealing who plays John Doe (OK, I won’t tell, but it’s a superactor, not a superstar) smacks of gimmickry. It’s not the identity of the killer that gives Seven its kick — it’s the way Fincher raises mystery to the level of moral provocation. If Pulp Fiction has given us a taste for such challenge, then we have Tarantino to thank instead of blame.

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For ‘Seven’ Restoration, David Fincher Went Back and ‘Kissed in Some of the City’

Bill desowitz.

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David Fincher is a philosopher as well as a perfectionist. When asked about the significance of his 8K remastering of “Seven” (premiering April 19 at the Chinese IMAX in 4K as part of the TCM Classic Film Festival) , he told IndieWire, “If you think of it in string theory, it’s like a volumetric capture of where all these careers were at, and what these people wanted and needed and infused the thing with.”

“It is what it is, warts and all,” Fincher said. “And some of it is spectacular and some of it is stuff that I would change or fix today, but I didn’t want to mess with that. There’s a lot of imperfections, there’s a lot of things that you just don’t see on film. When people say they love the look of film, what they’re talking about is chaos, entropy, and softness. Now, of course, we live in an HDR world where you get those kinds of very deep, rich, velvety blacks for free.

“And we had to negotiate that fine line between what to fix or not,” Fincher continued. “So we attempted to go back in and fix to make it match. And kind of repaint stuff and just take out water spots and little edge flashes. And some of it is impossible to get it to match, certainly by today’s standards. So there was a lot of excavation. I didn’t realize it would take as long as it did, at least six months dealing with files and making notes, and maybe the last nine months to a year putting some of it on the back burner while we finished ‘The Killer’ and did initial work on ‘Panic Room,’ which is what we’re working on now.”

“Seven” was filmed in downtown L.A., mostly in the rain, by cinematographer Darius Khondji . He shot in Super 35 with Panavision cameras and Primo spherical lenses in 2.39. He used a combination of Steadicam and hand-held shots, creating a modern yet scary aesthetic in consultation with Fincher. For interiors, he utilized toplighting and Chinese lanterns for a soft, gritty, moist look.

“Darius Khondji used to change film stocks in the middle of the scene, depending on how contrasty he wanted the coverage to be,” Fincher added. “And it all kind of mushed together in the world of Kodak and Deluxe. And he had a 35mm hand-held camera for a lot of the chase stuff, which was very effective…but it was a film scratcher and film shredder.” Now that’s been fixed to create more consistency.

Back in 1995, it was also completely acceptable to have a window that was de-maxed and became a soft light for the scene or to have background cityscapes with rushed matte paintings in windows. But Fincher claimed that unfinished work wouldn’t fly today, so they had to “go back in and kiss in some of the city.”

In fact, the lack of visual control that Fincher displayed on “Seven” was responsible for his current reputation as a perfectionist. “One of the things that stands out in the way David makes his movies today is that he spends a lot of time working on and perfecting camera movement,” Mavromates explained. “And this is something that he could not do with ‘Seven’ back then. So what you see here sometimes is some of those little bumps in camera moves that are in the original movie are now gone.”

Then there was the annoying flyaway hair that suddenly appeared on Paltrow’s face during that intimate diner scene with Freeman. “You couldn’t even see in the film version that it cuts right through Gwyneth’s eye,” Fincher said. “And I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in 1080p. But in 4K you can definitely see it, and we had to take that thing out because it was too distracting.”

Mavromates worked with IMAX on the conversion of “Seven” to make it look good on their enormous screen. However, Fincher insisted on keeping the film’s original 2.39 aspect ratio rather than conforming to IMAX’s taller framing. The director and Mavromates also decided to skip IMAX’s grain management system since they had already run “Seven” through their own, and IMAX agreed that it was unnecessary.

Overall, though, the director admitted that he hasn’t revisited “Seven” in a very long time: “I mean, some stuff snuck up on me,” he said. “There were definitely moments that these were different creatures back then. I can’t imagine the movie without Morgan.”

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What’s in the Box?: The Terrifying Truth of ‘Se7en’

David Fincher’s horrifying breakthrough continues to scare us. In an excerpt from a new book about the director’s work, open the box and see what evil lurks in the hearts of man.

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“Wanting people to listen,” says John Doe (Kevin Spacey) to Detectives Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Mills (Brad Pitt), “you can’t just tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer. And then you’ll notice you’ve got their strict attention.”

The idea of a movie directed with a sledgehammer conjures up a bludgeoning clumsiness, or maybe accidental expressionism. Observing the Jackson Pollock–like splatter of another senseless murder at the beginning of Se7en , William Somerset sighs, “Look at all that passion all over the wall.” From there unfolds a series of precise strokes—its pace as finely calibrated as the metronome in Somserset’s study, its shocks as carefully curated as a museum retrospective. In this gallery analogy, there is a didactic aspect to an artist using excess as a tool of communication, and a real–world precedent for such pummelling innovations as the ones used by John Doe. In 1971, the American artist Chris Burden, whose oeuvre included shutting himself inside a locker for five days and crucifying himself to a Volkswagen Beetle, arranged for a friend to fire a bullet from a small-caliber rifle into his arm as part of a performance piece titled Shoot. “In this instant,” Burden reflected later, “I was a sculpture.”

Ever the vanguard artiste , John Doe adapts Burden’s gambit while interrogating its mixture of self-aggrandizement and self-endangerment—the frisson that occurs when art is remodeled into a life or death venture. Burden made his mark without resorting to full-on martyrdom; as a self-styled fin-de-siècle aesthete jointly projecting his superiority and self-loathing onto the world around him, John Doe goes further. He has to, because he’s on the margins of a marketplace oversaturated with morbid images and ideas. In order to make an impact, he must swing for the fences.

Se7en embodies and interrogates such blunt-force strategies, enfolding a meditation on—and enactment of—avant-garde artistry in genre-movie packaging. The film’s outer shape is that of a thriller, specifically the kind of gritty, big-city police procedural patented in the sweltering ’70s by Sidney Lumet: preparing for his first day on the job, David Mills (Brad Pitt) jokingly tells his wife Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow), “Serpico’s got to go to work.” (“You might want to get rid of this little crusty in your eye, Serpico,” she responds sleepily). More significantly, Se7en erects itself as a landmark in the history of serial-killer movies. The genre began in earnest in 1931 with Fritz Lang’s M , whose guilt-wracked pederast is played by Peter Lorre as a mewling victim of his own insatiable compulsions, as well as a broken byproduct of early 20th-century modernity. Playing a man whose need to harm others reflects his own sense of victimization (“who knows what it’s like to be me?”) the actor is unforgettable, but the film’s other star is the steel and glass labyrinth of Weimar-era Berlin, which provides Lorre’s squirrelly Hans Beckert with an endless array of hiding places from cop and fellow criminal alike.

Lorre’s anguish at the end of M would be revisited and deepened by Anthony Perkins in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) and Carl Boehm in Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom (1960) , twin masterpieces which, in their respective ways—elliptically in Hitchcock; allegorically in Powell—equated murderous psychosis with voyeurism, if not cinephilia itself. Psycho ’s staccato editing rhythms slashed, viscerally and subliminally, through both the fraying barriers of Hays Code censorship and spectatorial defense mechanisms, presaging a healthy cycle of serial-killer films in the 1970s—an era in which the popularization of psychopathology became a multi-platform growth industry encompassing both “true crime” fiction and grindhouse cinema. The eerie proximity to Hollywood of Charles Manson and the thinly veiled depiction of San Francisco’s Zodiac Killer in Don Siegel’s Dirty Harry (1971) — which picked up Lang’s vision of the city-as-labyrinth and ran with it through winding streets—were key markers in this development, as were faux-naturalistic shockers like Wes Craven’s Mansonian The Last House on the Left (1973) and the best-selling novels of Thomas Harris; 1981’s Red Dragon filtered authentic Quantico protocol through allusions to William Blake and Guignol grander than The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Taking off from Harris’s Gothic potboiler formula while blending in phantasmagorical social satire, Bret Easton Ellis’s controversial 1991 novel American Psycho , about a Wall Street power broker nursing a secret identity as a serial killer, brought the genre to a bleeding edge; that same year, Jonathan Demme’s film The Silence of the Lambs , a Harris adaption featuring Anthony Hopkins on irresistible form as Hannibal Lecter—in whose immaculate personage Norman Bates and his exposition-dispensing psychiatrist were humorously and horrifyingly combined—won five Academy Awards. Both of these pop-cultural conversation pieces fed indirectly into the creation of Se7en , a risky $30 million bet by the ever-hip production outfit New Line Cinema (known as “The House That Freddy Built” thanks to A Nightmare on Elm Street [1984]) against serial-killer fatigue. The film opened in the fall of 1995 with a cryptic ad campaign and minimal hype and grossed over $300 million worldwide, emerging as an oddly paradoxical crowd-pleaser: the sort of movie your friends urged you to see and warned you against in the same breath.

As with American Psycho and The Silence of the Lambs , Se7en draws its strength from a set of well-established conventions while also distancing itself from them. It does this mostly via the toxic potency of its visual style, which strips the rust off of the script’s cop movie tropes and exposes their gleaming bones. Meanwhile, the serial-killer material, which is so self-consciously lurid as to threaten unintentional comedy, is elevated, if not consecrated, by the story’s central gimmick: a suite of murders inspired by the seven deadly sins, carried out consecutively by John Doe as a sermon wherein Old Testament messaging is etched on the bodies of his victims and conveyed to the masses by a sensation-hungry media establishment playing into his game.

As high concepts go, Se7en ’s is dizzyingly vertiginous—which is to say pretentious, a quality the film owns straight-up. It’s a conceit most poetically expressed by the set-piece in the silent, church-like library whose cavernous expanse is illuminated by a set of golden-hued desk lamps—a place of refuge and literary worship containing the wisdom of the ages. “All these books,” Detective Somerset sighs admiringly to the security guards while wandering the stacks to the strains of Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major. “A world of knowledge at your fingertips ... and you play cards.” Just as Se7en ’s gore attempts to outstrip its predecessors, the film’s omnipresent intellectualism exceeds the po-faced Freudian slippage of Psycho or the Lacanian quid pro quo of The Silence of the Lamb ; the film is pure pulp, but its gristle comes fully marinated in a thick stew of scriptural and liturgical references.

Anachronisms and artifacts are embedded in Se7en ’s aesthetic. One potentially illuminating way to look at the film is as a kind of contemporary “cabinet of curiosities,” or wunderkammer , a Medieval invention housing a set of disparate, exotic objects like a miniaturized museum. Se7en ’s first wunderkammer moment comes during its opening credit sequence, conceived by designer Kyle Cooper as a hallucinatory collage (shot specially by Harris Savides) conveying John Doe’s abject worldview and artisanal process through shots of scribbled prose and stitched together notebooks. The unsettling bits of handwritten text and grotesque medical-textbook-style photographs get hammered into place by the industrial beats of Nine Inch Nails, whose 1994 album The Downward Spiral anticipated and heralded Se7en ’s extremity (in the same year, Pearl Jam styled the liner notes of their hit record Vitalogy as a faux and grotesque medical textbook cataloguing a set of human abnormalities).

Se7en ’s wunderkammer motif is literalized later on during a tracking shot along a shelf in John Doe’s apartment that displays trophies from his victims. Beyond serving as a concise recap of the film’s story line thus far, the shot links motifs of obsessive sadism, eccentric collectorship, and outsider artistry. A row of symmetrically arranged tomato sauce cans nods comically toward Andy Warhol, but also, more generally, the mix of conceptual rigor and corporeal horror suggests an atrocity exhibition co-signed by Ed Gein and Damien Hirst, in whose distinctive disciplines and artistic traditions Se7en ’s bad guy could be said to operate. As a result, John Doe’s sledgehammer analogy, including that cloying acknowledgement of feeling the need to be heard—dial M for murder—scan as a weaponized sotto voce aside on behalf of its director, halfway between a brag and an ironic plea for clemency. Whatever else you can say about Se7en , it is not a tap on the shoulder; whatever ambivalences or contradictions David Fincher cultivates in his second feature, he gets, and keeps, our strict attention.

“A Sickening Catalogue of Sins, Every One of Them Deadly,” screamed the header to Janet Maslin’s review of Se7en in The New York Times , evoking the lurid tabloid covers strewn throughout Fincher’s film—grotty dispatches chronicling a killing spree in a large, unnamed American city. “Why here—why this place ?” queries Somerset of his new partner Mills upon their first meeting; Freeman places such an emphasis of disgust on those final two words that they gesture at some larger, collective understanding of hell-on-earth. Maslin’s description of Se7en ’s “grim urban environment” understates the extent to which Arthur Max’s borderline-dystopian production design sets and maintains the film’s tone, while her ultimate appraisal of the film as “dull” intersects interestingly and contrastingly with John Doe’s wink-nudge explanation of his (and Fincher’s) shock-to-the-system methodology. “Not even bags of body parts, a bitten-off tongue or a man being forced to cut off a pound of his own flesh (think ‘The Merchant of Venice’),” writes Maslin, “keep [ Se7en ] from being dull.” Her inventory is a few corpses short: the critic might have added to her list an obese shut-in fatally force-fed spaghetti; a woman penetrated with a weaponized leather-shop strap-on; myriad self-inflicted disfigurements; and a decapitated scion of Hollywood royalty—a sleight-of-head magic trick that serves as Se7en ’s missing piece-de-resistance.

Most of the initial dissent against Se7en —Maslin’s review included—was rooted in the old shibboleth of style over substance. What the film’s supporters saw, though, was an act of transubstantiation in which one became the other. “What I’ve done is going to be puzzled over, studied, and followed,” promises John Doe to his pursuers, and indeed, time has conferred a mostly rapturous critical consensus on Se7en highlighted by Richard Dyer’s 2008 BFI Classics monograph, which distributes its author’s analysis under a septet of alliterative chapter headings encompassing “sin,” “story,” “structure,” “seriality,” “sound,” “sight,” and “salvation.” Dyer takes Se7en seriously while still allowing for its gallows humor, and it is a funny movie, especially the running joke of Mills feeling double-teamed by Somerset’s high-minded condescension and John Doe’s intellectual preening while he struggles through Cliff’s Notes. “Fucker’s got a library card, doesn’t make him Yoda,” the cop snarls, consolidating his anti-intellectualism under the sign of Star Wars. His quip also points at Se7en ’s most provocative and problematic aspect: the veneration of its serial-killer figure as a modern guru with something to say about society. That this potential sticking point is completely indivisible from the things that make Se7en powerful is a good place to begin considering the question of Fincher’s transformative directorial presence.

After his experience helming Alien 3 for 20th Century Fox, Fincher claimed that he’d rather “die of colon cancer than make another movie.” This oft-quoted, grandly self-pitying proclamation clarifies Alien 3 ’s themes of noble martyrdom, with Ellen Ripley dying by her own hand for her corporate overseers’ sins. It also establishes the morbid mindset necessary to embrace a property like Se7en , which came to Fincher after being rejected by its original director and subjected to studio demands for a more palatable rewrite—i.e., one that didn’t end with a head in a box. The draft with the head in the box, as Fincher is fond of pointing out, was the one that he preferred.

The details of Se7en ’s genesis as an edgy industry outlier speak to a mid-’90s moment where mini-major studios like New Line were all aiming to make their own versions of The Silence of the Lambs , which in addition to its awards haul was a tantalizing case study in return on investment. New Line’s hunger for an R-rated hit connected with Fincher’s yearning for genuine directorial control—a lust that’s legible not only in Se7en ’s laboriously worked-over and bleach-bypassed frames, but also at the core of its story, with its shifting power dynamics and ever-deepening ambiguity about who’s pursuing whom. In interviews, Fincher admitted that he was bored by the ritualistic police-procedural aspects of Se7en ’s script; what kept him hooked was the creeping, insidious sense of purpose encoded in John Doe’s project, and the vise-like tension therein between surprise and inevitability. “I found myself getting more and more trapped in this kind of evil,” he told Empire in 1996. “And even though I felt uncomfortable about being there, I had to keep going.”

Walker’s screenplay is notably bereft of detours or digressions, forging relentlessly ahead and littering its dialogue with suggestions of momentum. These begin following Somerset’s admonition to his partner to “look” and “listen” in a city whose baseline threshold for brutality is above and beyond. (Walker wrote Se7en as an anti–love letter to New York after an unhappy stint living there in the 1980s.) “I’ve worked homicide for five years,” Mills protests, before Somerset chides him, sharply: “Not here.” Mills nods grudgingly, and his partner continues: “Over the next seven days, Detective, you’ll do me the favor of remembering that.”

Instantly, a pre-ordained time frame is established: “the next seven days,” initially identified as the length of time prior to Somerset’s announced retirement date, and repurposed predictively as the span of John Doe’s rampage. As Se7en continues, the characters’ conversations keep alluding to that same numerologically determined vanishing point, as well as a more general sense of impending doom. “You can expect five more of these,” says Somerset to his superior (R. Lee Ermey) after the discovery of the second body. “This isn’t going to have a happy ending,” he tells Mills later on, setting up the final act. “I feel like saying more, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise,” smirks John Doe over the phone, taunting his pursuers and the viewer simultaneously with the knowledge of his eventual coup de grâce .

Of course, the unhappy ending prophesied by Detective Somerset is the surprise alluded to by John Doe. While there has been much documentation about the different incarnations of Walker’s script and, in particular, the events of its climax, the central idea—seven murders for seven sins in seven days—was always present. It’s a conceptual framework so tight that it could potentially paralyze any director who took it on, but for Fincher, the script’s rigid boundaries and smaller scale were in sync with a resolve to downsize his process after Alien 3 ’s gigantism. “I thought I was making a tiny genre movie,” the director told Sight and Sound in 1996. “I tried not to have a hundred fucking trucks, but every time you take the camera out of the box, it gets complicated.” The same fastidiousness that had seen Fincher branded as a control freak was now perfectly suited to a parable of perfectionism—one deceptively less invested in its archetypal crime-solvers and their occasional, all-too-human sloppiness than the ways in which they’re instrumentalized by their quarry as victims and even accidental perpetrators.

In terms of point of view, Se7en is recognizably aligned with the two cops, who are dichotomized by a set of Platonic binaries: not only veteran and rookie—a contrast smartly informed by the casting of ace character actor Freeman and emerging heartthrob Pitt—but also Black and white (which tapped into the racialized “wisdom” associated with Freeman’s famous roles in Driving Miss Daisy [1989] and The Shawshank Redemption [1994] ) ; bachelor and husband (the two only start to bond after Tracy arranges a group dinner date); cerebral and impulsive (Somerset’s physical and linguistic delicacy are offset by Mills’s thick syllables and two-fisted posturing); and, most crucially, pragmatism and idealism.

On this point, William Somerset is a nicely layered character, at once principled and evasive, familiar and yet oddly remote as an entry point into the story. Freeman projects his usual intelligence, but also a flinty reticence that’s not always sympathetic—or convincing. Somerset’s capitulation via early retirement to the ambient helplessness of his surroundings is no less misanthropic for being cloaked in the language of home truths (“apathy is a solution,” he sighs bitterly). Meanwhile, Mills’s belief in the eternal verities of justice and retribution (and dishing them out) is only partially compromised by his congenital hotheadedness: his joke about wanting to be Frank Serpico comes from a place of real longing for heroism. As much as Somerset tries to suggest that this attitude is misplaced, Pitt’s pumped-up yet emotionally translucent performance—sandwiched in between Freeman’s relaxed mastery and Spacey’s implosive pyrotechnics—never loses sight of his character’s essential righteousness.

Se7en cultivates plenty of pleasing odd-couple comedy from the detectives’ contrasting manner and slow creep toward friendship, an arc derived from racially-coded buddy-cop movies like Norman Jewison’s In the Heat of the Night (1967) and Richard Donner’s Lethal Weapon (1987) , although lessons about racial solidarity are not on the film’s agenda. The pair’s warring viewpoints ultimately converge, however perversely, in the work and words of John Doe, which frighteningly and suggestively synthesizes Somerset’s nihilism—his contention that people are beyond saving—with Mills’s impulsive idealism, while superseding both on an aesthetic level. Because the world in which Se7en takes place— this place , as Somerset calls it; this city , as later echoed by Tracy—is tailor-made, without exception, to John Doe’s (and Fincher’s) judgmental specifications, the detectives’ attempts to foil him can only be futile. When Somerset cries at a moment of truth that, “John Doe has the upper hand,” it’s less startling than reassuring: the actor’s delivery generates the feeling of jagged, metallic pieces locking seamlessly into place.

Se7en ’s most serrated point—its amoral, and thoroughly auteurist, organizing principle—is that Somerset and Mills’ double act embodies not law-and-order, but an existential threat to the satisfaction promised by what its auteur-as-killer calls, “the whole complete act.” Which is to say: the satisfaction, for us in the audience, of perceiving the complete and fully realized work of art that Se7en at once narrativizes and stands in for in a wryly self-allegorizing fashion.

Excerpt from the new book David Fincher: Mind Games by Adam Nayman published by Abrams, available November 23, 2021. Text copyright © 2021 Adam Nayman and Little White Lies.

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The Garfield Movie

After Garfield's unexpected reunion with his long-lost father, ragged alley cat Vic, he and his canine friend Odie are forced from their perfectly pampered lives to join Vic on a risky heist... Read all After Garfield's unexpected reunion with his long-lost father, ragged alley cat Vic, he and his canine friend Odie are forced from their perfectly pampered lives to join Vic on a risky heist. After Garfield's unexpected reunion with his long-lost father, ragged alley cat Vic, he and his canine friend Odie are forced from their perfectly pampered lives to join Vic on a risky heist.

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‘megalopolis’: what the critics are saying, breaking news.

‘Megalopolis’ Debuts At Cannes With 7-Minute Standing Ovation

By Nancy Tartaglione , Anthony D'Alessandro , Baz Bamigboye

The most awaited film this year at the Cannes Film Festival , Francis Ford Coppola ’s Megalopolis , had its world premiere Thursday night, with the dystopian epic decades in the making landing a seven-minute standing ovation.

Coppola, the 85-year-old director and five-time Oscar winners, bowed as the lights came up inside the Grand Theatre Lumiere. He was congratulated by his Cotton Club star Richard Gere and got a hug from Cannes boss Thierry Fremaux as the ovation carried on.

Coppola gives a speech after the premiere of ‘Megalopolis’ at the #CannesFilmFestival 🎥 @BazBam pic.twitter.com/foSm3zZPI8 — Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) May 16, 2024

Anticipation has been at its peak for Coppola’s first feature film in 13 years. It was evident even before the screening at Cannes’ famed Palais: The director of so many indelible films from The Conversation to Palme d’Or winner Apocalypse Now and the seminal Godfather trilogy got a three-minute-plus standing ovation from the audience before the screening ever started, as he took his seat surrounded by his cast including stars Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel and Aubrey Plaza.

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Megalopolis has been a huge bet for the iconic five-time Oscar winner, who self-financed the picture. This Cannes debut is an important platform given the film does not yet have North American distribution; ahead of the festival’s opening earlier this week it did pick up major international territory deals, and Imax has confirmed rollout plans for the movie.

RELATED: Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ Sells To Major International Buyers Ahead Of Cannes Premiere

Coppola’s personal presence in Cannes is also especially notable given that Eleanor, his wife of more than 60 years, died only a few weeks ago . 

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Megalopolis is a Roman epic fable, set in an imagined modern America, where the city of New Rome must change, causing conflict between Cesar Catilina (Driver), a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future, and his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Esposito), who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests and partisan warfare. Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero (Emmanuel), the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.

RELATED: Cannes Film Festival Photos

The movie also stars Jon Voight, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Grace VanderWaal, James Remar, D.B. Sweeney and Dustin Hoffman. Producers are Fred Roos, Barry Hirsch and Michael Bederman. EPs are Anahid Nazarian, Barrie Osborne and Darren Demetre.

Among the multiple zany moments in the film, the world premiere audience was surprised when — at a key moment in the film, just after a Russian satellite has landed on the city — the screen goes black, and an actor emerges from the wings of the Palais with a microphone stand. As if at a press conference, the actor poses a brief question to Adam Driver’s character, Cesar Catalina, who appears to answer it (at length) on the screen. It’s the only interactive moment in the entire film, but rumor has it that the stunt is part of the release plan and will be repeated wherever the film is shown in the Imax format.

Several people were seen exiting from the theater’s balcony as credits rolled and even as the ovation was underway.

Coppola hugs and embraces the cast of ‘Megalopolis’ after the film’s premiere at the #CannesFilmFestival 🎥 @BazBam pic.twitter.com/wWgkNpJ4UB — Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) May 16, 2024

Richard Gere celebrates with the cast of Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ after the film’s premiere in the #CannesFilmFestival 🎥 @BazBam pic.twitter.com/JQ5Actluka — Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) May 16, 2024

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‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ Review: The Franchise Essentially Reboots with a Tale of Survival Set — At Last — in the Ape-Ruled Future

With Owen Teague as a young ape trapped in a cult kingdom, it may be the first film in the series to connect with the spirit of 'Planet of the Apes.'

By Owen Gleiberman

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“ Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ” opens with Caesar lying in state, surrounding by a horde of mourning chimps, as his dead body is covered in flowers and ritually set on fire. The movie then cuts to the jungle, where a title informs us that it’s “many generations later.” In other words, the tale we’ve been watching in the last three “Apes” films — “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (2011), “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” (2014), and “War for the Planet of the Apes” (2017) — is now ancient franchise history. I’m in the minority of viewers who would greet that news by saying, “Thank God.”

Popular on Variety

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is, in effect, a reboot of its own franchise. I’m not sure that the film is going to be any more successful than the previous three installments (or even as successful). It’s essentially a two-and-a-half-hour chimp-in-the-wilderness adventure movie, directed by Wes Ball (the “Maze Runner” films) in the deliberately paced “classical” style of an episodic Hollywood saga from 50 years ago. It doesn’t have a cast of big-name stars. Yet the actors are abetted by the astonishingly organic facial expressions made possible by cutting-edge motion capture, and though the film is too long, I was more than gratified to sink into its relatively old-fashioned dramatic restraint.

Cut loose from his village, Noa meets a wise old orangutan named Raka (Peter Macon), with impish small eyes and a funny way of pursing his lips; he’s a relic who still believes in the teachings of Caesar. Noa also meets a human wild child (Freya Allan) who’s less innocent than she looks. As Noa, the gifted actor Owen Teague makes his presence felt. He displays not just cleverness and nobility but raw fear, an exciting quality to see in a hero.

The three characters team up, but Noa is eventually dragged to the ape kingdom, presided over by a fearsome cult leader named Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), who has stolen the authority — but not the morality — of his namesake. Proximus takes a special interest in Noa, who is essentially a prison-camp inmate, reunited with his mother and friends, who must defeat the empire from within. Here and there, we’re shown signs of the human civilization that’s been destroyed: the carcasses of buildings, escalators, and elevated train tracks, overgrown with shrubbery. Yet human technology is still the holy grail. The ape kingdom is built around a silo, with a closed vault of a door, that contains many wonders within (like weapons). That vault is Pandora’s Box, and Proximus wants to unlock it so desperately that he’ll sacrifice a handful of his apes every day to electroshock the door open.

Kevin Durand’s performance as Proximus, the leering bonobo monarch, is a piece of insinuating theater — he’s a leader who’s made the mistake of thinking everything is about him. And the rest of the cast makes its mark, from Sarah Wiseman as Noa’s heartstrong mother to Peter Macon as the whimsical seen-it-all Raka to William H. Macy as a scavenger who has carved out a place for himself in the ape kingdom like Dennis Hopper’s photographer in “Apocalypse Now.” “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” invites us to embrace the drama of apes fighting apes. By the end, though, in what is in effect a teaser for the next sequel, it looks as if the franchise’s blowhard version of the human race will be back after all. That could be enough to make you want to escape from the planet of the apes.

Reviewed at AMC 34th St., New York, May 7, 2024. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 145 MIN.

• Production: A 20th Century Studios release of a Jason T. Reed Productions, Oddball Entertainment production. Producers: Wes Ball, Joe Hartwick, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Jason Reed. Executive producers: Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping.
• Crew: Director: Wes Ball. Screenplay: Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Patrick Aison. Camera: Gyula Pados. Editor: Dan Zimmerman. Music: John Paesano.
• With: Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, William H. Macy, Travis Jeffery, Lydia Peckham, Neil Sandilands.

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