Se7en (1995)

Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.

Director:

David Fincher

Writer:

Andrew Kevin Walker

Stars:

Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey

Top Rated Movies #20 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 29 wins & 41 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Morgan Freeman	...	Somerset
Andrew Kevin Walker	...	Dead Man at 1st Crime Scene (as Andy Walker)
Daniel Zacapa	...	Detective Taylor at First Murder
Brad Pitt	...	Mills
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Tracy
John Cassini	...	Officer Davis
Bob Mack	...	Gluttony Victim
Peter Crombie	...	Dr. O'Neill
Reg E. Cathey	...	Dr. Santiago
R. Lee Ermey	...	Police Captain
George Christy	...	Workman at Door of Somerset's Office
Endre Hules	...	Cab Driver
Hawthorne James	...	George the Night Guard at the Library
William Davidson	...	First Guard at the Library (as Roscoe Davidson)
Bob Collins	...	Second Guard at the Library

Storyline

A film about two homicide detectives' (Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt) desperate hunt for a serial killer who justifies his crimes as absolution for the world's ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins. The movie takes us from the tortured remains of one victim to the next as the sociopathic "John Doe" (Kevin Spacey) sermonizes to Detectives Somerset and Mills -- one sin at a time. The sin of Gluttony comes first and the murderer's terrible capacity is graphically demonstrated in the dark and subdued tones characteristic of film noir. The seasoned and cultured but jaded Somerset researches the Seven Deadly Sins in an effort to understand the killer's modus operandi while the bright but green and impulsive Detective Mills (Pitt) scoffs at his efforts to get inside the mind of a killer...

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Plot Keywords:

serial killer | detective | serial murder | seven deadly sins | murder | 

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Taglines:

Seven deadly sins. Seven ways to die.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for grisly afterviews of horrific and bizarre killings, and for strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Before Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt were cast, Al Pacino and Denzel Washington were early choices for Somerset and Mills, respectively. Pacino declined, as he was already scheduled to film City Hall (1996), and Washington turned down the offer, deeming the film to be "too dark." Both actors have expressed regret in not taking their individual offers.

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Goofs

When Dective Mills shoots John after the first shot the slide locks back indicating the gun is empty, then he begins shooting again but doesn't reload or cycle the slide

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Quotes

[first lines]
Detective Taylor: Neighbors heard them screaming at each other, like for two hours, and it was nothing new. Then they heard the gun go off, both barrels. Crime of passion.
William Somerset: Yeah, just look at all the passion on that wall.

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Crazy Credits

SPOILER: Kevin Spacey's name is not included in the opening titles to keep the John Doe intrigue going. To compensate, he is listed twice in the closing credits: once before the credits start rolling and once in the rolling credits in order of appearance.

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Alternate Versions

USA laserdisc edition adds a few scenes deleted from theatrical release as a bonus at the end of the program, including: a prologue where Somerset (Morgan Freeman) is going to buy a country house. He uses his switchblade (seen many times in the final cut, but not explained) to cut out a small piece of wallpaper. There is an extended scene at the Mills' when David (Brad Pitt) is playing with his dogs, and Somerset talks to Tracy. He tells her about the house and shows her the wallpaper. She tells him that it wouldn't be such a good idea to show it to David, saying "He wouldn't understand.". These two scenes establish Somerset's characters better, and the second one helps the viewer understand why the wife chooses Somerset to talk to when she gets pregnant. She knows that Somerset is much more sensible than her husband, and will understand her. The second one however was probably dumped earlier since it is included among the dailies and outtakes and the first one appears as a deleted scene.

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Connections

Referenced in Road to Perdition (2002)

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Soundtracks

Speaking of Happiness
Written by Jimmy Radcliffe and Buddy Scott
Performed by Gloria Lynne
Courtesy of Black Patch Productions

User Reviews

A dark and disturbing masterpiece.

It is a rarity for a film to be completely unsettling and yet unrelentingly gripping.

David Fincher's story takes place in a bleak and constantly raining city (never named) where urban decay and sleaze in all forms are rampant. Coming up to his retirement from the police force is Detective Lieutenant Somerset (Morgan Freeman) who is tasked with breaking in his replacement, Detective Sergeant Mills (Brad Pitt) before leaving. Somerset is world weary, under no illusions about the futility of the daily role he plays and (initially) wants nothing more than to escape the grime and violence of the city. Mills on the other hand is convinced that he is going to make a real difference having voluntarily transferred to this precinct, bringing his wife to the city with him. Before Somerset can move on, a homicide comes in which he and Mills are assigned to investigate. But its only the first of a string of ritual murders that will be committed by a killer who is basing his crimes on the seven deadly sins as depicted in Dante's "The divine comedy".

To begin with, Se7en appears to be a standard "cops on the trail of a killer" story which shouldn't be too difficult for the audience to get comfortable with. But as we descend along with the characters into the merciless, brutal world without hope that they inhabit, you are left reeling at the events that unfold.

The two detectives enjoy an uneasy relationship with no real friendship ever striking up between them. The older Somerset is educated, astute and gives the impression of being emotionally burnt out. Mills, who has no respect for Somersets methodical investigating gets excited at the thought of solving a murder and firmly believes that the good guys will win eventually. The further we get into the action, the might of the evil that they face pushes both men beyond their limits.

This film draws heavily on biblical themes and you can certainly see similarities with such films as "The Seventh Seal" (1957). Both films show the price that good men have to pay when they fight evil and the unsettling truth that the rule book goes straight out the window when you are dealing with something so diabolical that it has no boundaries or limits at all.

Se7en shows us a world which has been destroyed by its own sins, a wasteland in which values are minimal. The killer, having nothing but contempt for this world, sees it as his mission to expose the faults and show everyone what they have become. It is a fascinating twist that when the killers motives become clearer, Somerset with his greater understanding actually feels some degree of empathy with him. This is lost on Mills though, whose level of clarity never reaches the same point.

A previous reviewer mentioned that you begin to expect the unexpected whilst watching Se7en and i completely agree. Eventually if you think of the most obvious outcome in any situation and predict that the opposite will happen, it usually does. Even the finale itself became kind of predictable because by then you are conditioned not to have any hope. This is a minor flaw though because the story is so well and so shockingly told.

Director David Fincher didn't pick up another script for 18 months, such was his exhaustion and frustration following the completion of Alien 3. Apparently he agreed to direct se7en after one reading of Andrew Kevin Walkers screenplay because he was drawn to its hard hitting delivery about inhumanity. He stated: "It's psychologically violent. It implies so much, not about why you did but how you did it". For the camera work specially altered film stock was used to make the visuals look as dark and unsettling as possible which is complemented well by Howard Shores music score.

The Most disturbing message that Se7en puts across, is that the fight against evil is destined to be a Pyrrhic victory. But regardless the only thing we can do is fight on whatever the cost. We have no other choice.

"The World is a fine place and worth fighting for." I agree with the second part.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Seven Deadly Sins

Filming Locations:

Pacific Electric Building, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$33,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,949,807, 24 September 1995

Gross USA:

$100,125,643

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$327,333,559

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cecchi Gori Pictures, Juno Pix, New Line Cinema

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1