Seven (1995)

Average rating

(78%)

Starring:	Brad Pitt \| Morgan Freeman \| Gwyneth Paltrow \| John McGinley \| Andrew Kevin Walker \| Daniel Zacapa \| John Cassini \| Bob Mack \| Peter Crombie \| R. Lee Ermey \| Kevin Spacey \| Richard Portnow
Director:	David Fincher
Studio:	ENTERTAINMENT IN VIDEO
Run time:	122 mins
Collections:	100 Cops & Robbers \| 100 must-see movies
Genres:	Drama \| Thriller
Languages:	English
Subtitles:	English
Released:	December 01, 2008

Director David Fincher's dark, stylish thriller ranks as one of the decade's most influential box-office successes. Set in a hellish vision of a New York-like city, where it is always raining and the air crackles with impending death, the film concerns Det. William Somerset (Morgan Freeman), a homicide specialist just one week from a well-deserved retirement. Every minute of his 32 years on the job is evident in Somerset's worn, exhausted face, and his soul aches with the pain that can only come from having seen and felt far too much. But Somerset's retirement must wait for one last case, for which he is teamed with young hotshot David Mills (Brad Pitt), the fiery detective set to replace him at the end of the week. Mills has talked his reluctant wife, Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow), into moving to the big city so that he can tackle important cases, but his first and Somerset's last are more than either man has bargained for. A diabolical serial killer is staging grisly murders, choosing victims representing the seven deadly sins. First, an obese man is forced to eat until his stomach ruptures to represent gluttony, then a wealthy defense lawyer is made to cut off a pound of his own flesh as penance for greed. Somerset initially refuses to take the case, realizing that there will be five more murders, ghastly sermons about lust, sloth, pride, wrath, and envy presented by a madman to a sinful world. Somerset is correct, and something within him cannot let the case go, forcing the weary detective to team with Mills and see the case to its almost unspeakably horrible conclusion. The moody photography is by Darius Khondji; the nauseatingly vivid special effects are by makeup artist Rob Bottin, best known for more fantasy-oriented work in films like The Howling (1981).~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

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Variety

"SEVEN is dark, grim and terrific. An intensely claustrophobic, gut-wrenching thriller....[With] a fine script, striking craftsmanship and a masterful performance by Morgan Freeman..."

Highest rated reviews

97 out of 104 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 5.0 stars
Seven Stars

Jon Smith from Bedford, England, 3rd September, 2003

Seven is probably Brad Pitt's finest achievement to date. Morgan Freeman is, as always, absolutely breathtakingly good and top marks to David Fincher for an epic journey into obsession, the grotesque and twisted morality. Seven is a detective story - It is a movie about two detectives, with Freeman as the wise, learned retiring cop tempering the maverick, young wild card Pitt. The two characters are forced to work together by circumstance rather than choice and thus the relationship is, at times, strained. A killer is on the loose causing a spate of deaths (well, Seven to be precise) across the City which are related to the Seven Deadly Sins. The viewer is taken on a journey into the mind of the killer and into the minds of those hunting him - Well worth renting. If you enjoyed this movie - read Complicity by Iain Banks (don't bother with the movie version). Another sterling performance by Brad Pitt can be seen in Twelve Monkeys

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28 out of 33 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 5.0 stars
Seven Out Of Five

David Levy from Totteridge, London, 29th February, 2004

What can you say about a film designed to leave you speechless? That it entertained? That it had a plot twist or two?

Well, Seven is that and a whole lot more. Everyone is on form, from Morgan Freeman's informed and weary police detective, to Gwyneth Paltrow's depressed newlywed and loyal wife. But special mention must go to Brad Pitt. Often mistaken as a pupil of the Keanu Reeves 'to pretty to be a REAL actor' school, Pitt's acting abilities are often overlooked. Here, he is a standout, carrying the film on his admittedly broad shoulders.

This film has its twists, certainly, but it won't so much surprise you as completly draw you in. Far from watching the action unfold, you'll be as involved in trying to solve the case as anyone, and, as the seven deadly sins unfold in front of your eyes, each disturbing and unsettling in their own ways, Seven will leave a mark on you, and coming away from it will leave a hollow, empty feeling.

Only then will you realise the brilliance of what you have just witnessed.

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