Se7en

"I think people are perverts... I've maintained that, thats the foundation of my career." - David Fincher I feel that this quote perfectly sums up Finchers film Se7en so well. Fincher is able to create a world devoid of humanity, a world where a story of a man getting robbed and his eyes stabbed next to a police station is something that is commonly read in the paper. A city where even the best of men lose their sanity. Fincher is able to convey this sense of hopelessness so well that is rarely replicated with other directors, proving that even with his second film, he is a master of this art form. I love all the attention detail that is put into this film, the use of shakey cam juxtaposed to static shots to convey when a characters are losing control. The fact that throughout the whole film, the city is always rainy with dark lighting showing our detectives being in the dark with case at hand until the end of the film when the rain starts to dissipate and the sun comes out with John Does full plan starting to come into the light. I used to think that the opening for Se7en was the weakest part of the film but on a rewatch I really think it's a perfect introduction to our two main leads. Somerset is shown as an oldtimer but is meticulous. He's an observant person but is seen as different from the rest of the police force. This city has worn him down and all he wants is out. Mills is a hot head who is ready to make a name for himself in the city. In reality he's just a child wearing a suit because he's told to as shown by the ties he wears throughout the film with one of them having basketballs on them. He's the opposite side of the coin to Somerset, he's relies on emotion when approaching situations insteading of thinking things through, he's never able to see the bigger picture. This leads straight into a classic Fincher title card sequence with a distorted version of "closer" by nine inch nails playing. During the title sequence we see John Doe working behind the scenes, writing in his journal, doing some self care to his fingers, developing photos, all things that become important to the film as it goes on, showing that Doe is constantly there in the city working, just out of sight. Not only does it setup story element for later in the film but it also something very important for film which is establishing a vibe for the film. It's a vibe that tells you this film is dark and gritty with a horror sense to it. This isn't your typical thriller. I love the quote from Fincher describing this film as a horror movie disguised as a thriller. Throughout the film you are shown horrifying things, a man forced to ear spaghetti until his stomach lining ripped, a pound of flesh, a woman having to chose between killing herself or living permanently scared, what happened to sloth. All of these things are not typical of the thriller genre and more of the horror genre but here it is. We never see these murders take place, but we see the aftermath, we see gluttonys arms and legs swollen and bound together, with his face swollen in a bowl of spaghetti, we see crime scene photos for greed and where he chose to take that pound of flesh, we hear the horrors transcribed of lust from someone who was held at gunpoint. Just hearing about it or seeing the aftermath of it all is the true horror of the film as your mind begins to fill in the blanks of these people's last moments at the hand of John Doe. Yet you can't look away, no matter how horrifying what is shown or said, you can't turn off the film. There's something about human nature that causes us to be curious about the taboo, when we see a car crash we can't help but look at it, even when those people could be possibly going through the worst day of their lives. I think Doe recognizes this and choses to do what he does. He know if he just killed these people it wouldn't get the recognition he wants, but by making it a statement to the world, everyone will look. And it works, we as an audience can't help but look at the atrocities he commits in the film. The films ending is notorious for a reason and that's because it's an amazing subversion of your expectations. Throughout the whole film we're shown that John Doe is always ahead of our detectives, until he simply isn't. This sense of unease and tension is built as we as well as our detectives try and wonder and what the larger game Doe is playing and why he's no longer in control so easily. This tension begins to build and build until BAM. The final twenty minutes of the film really bring the film from great to masterpiece, as we are able to sympathize with our characters and what they want to do and also what we know they should do. The film ends with Somerset quoting Ernest Hemingway and a fade to black with "The hearts filthy lesson" by David Bowie playing over the credits as they play in reverse again giving that sense of unease to the audience as they ponder what they just saw. Se7en really is a masterpiece in my eyes with it being a major standout in the thriller genre as well as the detective genre which Fincher would go on again to deliver another masterpiece in the genre with his film Zodiac. There isnt another movie quite like Se7en which is what makes it just that much more special. This film almost became a completely different film with the studios wanting to change the ending to be less dark but Fincher, Pitt, and Freeman all being in protest of that and wanting to stick to the original script which was accidentally sent to Fincher! Also this film was offered to David Cronenberg and Guillermo Del Toro with both passing on the film. I can't even imagine what the film would have looked like had it been directed by either. The new 4k transfer is beautiful and the physical release is packed to the brim with special features which I love. I got to check out an alternate ending to the film as well as a storyboard of an unshot ending both with Finchers commentary! I could honestly gush about this film for hours if left unchecked but I would evantually delve into spoilers which I tried to avoid talking about anything super major in this review. So please check this film out and talk to me about it so I can absolutely nerd the fuck out about it.