Plot
Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his modus operandi.
Release Year: 1995
Rating: 8.7/10 (410,492 voted)
Critic's Score: 65/100
Director:
David Fincher
Stars: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey
Storyline A film about two homicide detectives' 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" sermonizes to Detectives Sommerset 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 Sommerset researches the Seven Deadly Sins in an effort to understand the killer's modus operandi while green Detective Mills scoffs at his efforts to get inside the mind of a killer...
Cast: Brad Pitt
-
Detective David Mills
Morgan Freeman
-
Detective Lt. William Somerset
Gwyneth Paltrow
-
Tracy Mills
R. Lee Ermey
-
Police Captain
Andrew Kevin Walker
-
Dead Man
(as Andy Walker)
Daniel Zacapa
-
Detective Taylor
John Cassini
-
Officer Davis
Bob Mack
-
Gluttony Victim
Peter Crombie
-
Dr. O'Neill
Reg E. Cathey
-
Coroner
(as Reginald E. Cathey)
George Christy
-
Workman
Endre Hules
-
Cab Driver
Hawthorne James
-
George, Library Night Guard
William Davidson
-
Library Guard
(as Roscoe Davidson)
Bob Collins
-
Library Guard
Taglines:
Earnest Hemingway once wrote, "The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." I believe the second part.
Release Date: 22 September 1995
Filming Locations: Alexandria Hotel - 501 S. Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA
Box Office Details
Budget: $33,000,000
(estimated)
Gross: $316,400,000
(Worldwide)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
A rejected version of the credits had the same scratchy handwriting and Coil-remixed "Closer", but used static images instead of the jumpy, blurred footage used currently. (This credit sequence is in the Criterion laserdisc supplement section.)
Goofs:
Continuity:
When Somerset is in the taxi on the way to the library, he is wearing a striped shirt under his overcoat. When he gets to the library and is chatting with the security guards he is wearing just a solid white shirt.
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.
User Review
"Se7en is well crafted and ingeniously clever, making it one of the greatest films of the 90's"
Rating: 10/10
The movie, "Se7en", starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and Gwyneth Paltrow,
is by far one of the most inventive, well-written, and cerebral films in
recent history. The film, blending a well put together combination of dark
visual style, intense plot development, and polished acting, remains tight
and focused throughout, from beginning to end, never straying outwards into
unimportant issues, or resorting to typical Hollywood clichés. Se7en is
uniquely on its own for suspense dramas as it both fuels the need of the
audience to be drawn in and entertained by the events unfolding, and remain
uncompromising and shocking, thus satisfying the initial vision of the
director, David Fincher.
The story surrounds the hunt for a serial killer, who, inspired by Dante
Alighieri's seven deadly sins from "The Divine Comedy", sets out to,
"preach" about man's impurity, and does so by targeting victims, then
torturing them by pitting their own underlining sins against them. Se7en
seemingly starts out as a typical cat and mouse detective story, however, it
quickly develops into of a sort of modern-myth, with good and evil taking
centre stage. The story is original on all counts, and thrilling on all
levels. The most important aspect of Se7en, however, is that it keeps the
audience numerous steps behind its story, as oppose to other thrillers,
which become predictable and bland by the end. By keeping the audience in
the dark, the film remains fresh and original as it progresses. Se7en even
dramatically turns the tide at one point, just as the audience is finally
getting comfortable and asserted into the gloomy atmosphere, thus creating
as much as fear and uncertainty in the audience as it is with the characters
involved. By the film's conclusion, the audience is as much apart of the
film as the characters themselves, and arrive at Se7en's surprise ending
without a single clue of it, prior to it occurring. Se7en's poetic
ending(which will not be given away) says a lot for the people behind the
movie, showing they are not afraid of going against the grain. A rarity with
films so nowadays.
Directed brilliantly by David Fincher, and skillfully written by Andrew
Kevin Walker, Se7en is well crafted and ingeniously clever, making it one of
the greatest films of the 90's. While Se7en may not have garnered critical
acclaim as such films as Silence of the Lambs, Se7en is, undoubtedly, as
influential as any film to date.
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