SEVEN (1995 - Cert 18)

A day off work recently ended up with me being lucky enough to see David Fincher's revered serial killer film from the mid-ninties and I have to say that I was surprised at how fresh it still felt, despite a number of films (and games) copying the formula since and wearing it remarkably thin. I watched it thinking that I would enjoy the film, but more out of nostalgia and would notice dated looks, concepts and themes. However, even 16 years on (yes it is that long), it feels as though it could have been released yesterday.



It's almost as if the stars were aligned (no pun intended), Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt and Kevin Spacey could not be more perfect choices for their roles. Freeman as William Somerset, a homicide detective one week from retirement, Pitt as David Mills, Somerset's new partner, younger and full of ambition, together on the trail of a serial killer obsessed with the seven deadly sins, eloquently played with intelligence and a chilling charm by Spacey. It's excellent casting on all fronts, but they all still need to deliver, and they do by the bucket load.

Pitt was at the top of his game back in 1995, he had been on a remarkable run of films and performances, Kalifornia, True Romance, Interview with a Vampire and Legends of the Fall. All very different films and very different roles, but all notable performances. For me though, as I was 14 at the time (and shouldn't have even been allowed to see it at the cinema - good old mum) this was the first film where I personally really took notice of Pitt. He's great to watch as the hot-headed young detective, wants the action, wants to be the hero all the time. He is perfectly suited to the petulant and at times sarcastic Mills, striving to prove himself to Somerset and his superiors. You sense that it's all a bit of a front and could come crashing down at anytime, which is of course vital to how the story plays out.

There's no doubting Morgan Freeman's quality and he's been doing it for years, a long time before Seven and a long time since, but this is a turn from him that really should be up there with some of his finest. He is the complete opposite to Pitt's Mills, calm, measured, pessimistic and subdued. He just wants to get through this last week on the job, but can't quite let go. He has a paternal quality about him, similar to that of Red in the Shawshank Redemption, and also similar to that character, he is downtrodden, his life has made him weary.

What really sets the film apart from others in the genre and those have tried to emulate is the relationship between Mills and Somerset. Fincher and Andrew Kevin Walker's script take the time and care to explore how the two characters develop with each other during the seven day period. Time is spent with Mills at home, we also see a nice, normal, down to earth scene, where Mills' wife (played by Gwyneth Paltrow very well) invites Somerset over for dinner. It doesn't really help propel the serial killer story along, but the pace doesn't feel plodding at all, instead we really benefit from seeing these two characters in their personal environment. These scenes also highlight the differences between Somerset and Mills, portraying to starkly contrasting world views . The result is a gripping polemic conflict of ideals in society that gives the film, as well as the characters, a vast amount of depth.

On top of all of this is Kevin Spacey's depiction of a serial killer. He doesn't get a massive amount of screen time compared to the others, but he really does steal the last third of the film. Creepy, not scary, and clearly very intelligent, it's a long way from the depictions in films such as Silence of the Lambs, and is all the more chilling because of that. Top notch.

Seven was also the film that really launched Fincher as a director. After the interesting, underrated all be it massively flawed Alien 3, he still had to really make his mark. Seven has all the traits of the Fincher that has gone on to take Hollywood by storm, visually striking and interesting with buckets of atmosphere. It's constantly raining in this film and it adds to the whole film noir aesthetic that the film is clearly more than a nod towards. The colour of the film is dark with a grainy texture, something that again has been copied many times since, and Fincher shows the gore and violence but without the bright red of blood it doesn't quite seem as brutal, more unsettling than anything else.

It's brilliantly handled from start to finish, and what a finish, culminating in Kevin Spacey's murderer's masterpiece that ensures that this was Fincher's masterpiece as well. Great acting from a great cast, with a great director bringing us a great story. Simple as that. Great.