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| The Biblical deadly sins make up a twisted check list on this grimy, trendsetting poster for David Fincher's Seven |
A major city is haunted by a serial killer, who chooses his victims based on the seven deadly sins as outlined in the Bible, and detective Somerset, who was otherwise well on his way towards well-deserved retirement, is put on the case together with the young idealistic detective Mills.
Seven is written by Andrew Kevin Walker (Brainscan (1994)) and directed by great Coloradan filmmaker David Fincher (Alien 3 (1992)).
It is likely one of the best films of the 1990s as well as among the best serial killer thrillers of all time. The quartet of Brad Pitt (Kalifornia (1993)), Morgan Freeman (Kiss the Girls (1997)), Kevin Spacey (The Negotiator (1998)) and Gwyneth Paltrow (Infamous (2006)) are all excellent here, and Fincher's knack for balancing stylization and realism makes Seven a very convincing study of a sadist psychopath. Darius Khondji (The Interpreter (2005)) did the phenomenal cinematography.
The effects of each scene in the thrilling story are optimized, forcing us to the edges of our seats, without the brutal violence ever taking place directly on the screen. Rob Bottin's prosthetics and effects do their part, and our imagination takes us the rest of the way.
Seven packs dazzling suspense, and it is a pioneer in the (depraved) 'genius serial killer' subgenre, where we (misanthropically) are fascinated by the jigsaw logic of a mass murderer.
Related posts:
David Fincher: Gone Girl (2014) - Fincher's acerbic, capable murder of marriage
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) - Fincher's Nordic noir is technically astute but overlong and redundant
The Social Network (2010) - Fincher's a-hole biopic leaves me cold (and more anti-Facebook than ever)
The Game (1997) - Douglas shines in Fincher's cool mystery-thriller ride
Alien 3 (1992) or, The Monsters Go to Jail!
Watch a short TV spot for the film here
Cost: 33 mil. $
Box office: 327.3 mil. $
= Mega-hit (returned 9.91 times its cost)
[Seven premiered 15 September (New York) and runs 127 minutes. Pitt was paid 4 mil. $ for his performance. Shooting took place from December 1994 - February 1995 in California, including in Los Angeles. SPOILER Pitt and Fincher fought the studio bosses to shoot and retain the 'head-in-the-box' ending scene. The film opened #1 to a 13.9 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed #1 for another 3 weekends and spent a fourth still in the top 5 (#3), grossing 100.1 mil. $ (30.9 % of the total gross). The film was the 7th highest-grossing of the year. It was nominated for one Oscar, for Best Editing, lost to Apollo 13. It was also nominated for a BAFTA and won a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. IMDb's users have rated the film in at #19 on the site's Top 250 list, sitting between One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and Seven Samurai (1954). Fincher returned with a music video and a commercial before his theatrical return with The Game (1997). Pitt returned in 12 Monkeys (1995); Freeman in Moll Flanders (1996). Seven is certified fresh at 82 % with a 7.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Seven?
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