3
(religious fanatic, usage of the 7 Deadly Sins)
3
(violence, disturbing concepts, gruesome images, sexuality, nudity including full frontal, strong language)
7
(worth seeing multiple times)
"Seven" AKA “Se7en” (which takes longer to type so I’ll just use the regular word) is a serial killer thriller following on the heels of "Silence of the Lambs" and might just be the second best in its genre after the earlier film.
John Doe (our friendly neighborhood killer this go ‘round) is, like Lecter, hyper-intelligent, and, like Buffalo Bill, killing not as some random slasher but with a specific twisted goal in mind. His murders are based on the seven deadly sins and carefully laid out to tell a story to the detectives. Two detectives are on the case: Sommerset, getting old in years and ready to retire, and Mills, not a rookie in his career but brand new to city life.
Sounds like a buddy cop film already, doesn't it? One thing that sets the movie apart from cop investigation types is that this is not at all a "buddy" flick. Sommerset doesn't think Mills is ready for an assignment like this, and Mills resents that. They don't get along all that well. The fact that one is black and one is white never comes into play, though. This is strictly one old and tired cop and one young, gung-ho cop with different philosophies on life and the job.
Morgan Freeman is one of those guys that can just about do no wrong (at least in the movie roles he chooses). He certainly does a fine job here. I never appreciated Brad Pitt as an actor until I saw him in this. My respect for him went up a couple of notches. I'm not telling you who the villain is - more fun that way – but he's quite good as well. The top-notch acting goes a long way towards driving this story home.
The approach is that of a dramatic movie not horror. Freeman and Pitt concentrate on getting emotion across and let the director worry about setting the mood. Speaking of mood this is kind of noir-industrial. It's dark and wet with a dingy modern city presence not unlike Blade Runner but without the futuristic elements. Fitting atmosphere for a string of slayings don't you think? The constant rain is like an oppressive personality working in conjunction with the killer.
What I like about this movie is that it affects the viewer. The down-to-earth characters (at least applying to the detectives), the gritty mood, the deep music, the grisly story: they all combine to hook their claws into the viewer's brain. There's a fine line between relying on shock value to carry a movie and creating one that is disturbing. This one may cross the line into shock just a little, but the intensity of the body pulls those tentacles of shock back into itself right before swallowing its viewer with a wash of emotion.
That's what sets it apart from a movie like Saw. The other movie is good as far as the genre goes, but it doesn't have the thick substance that flows through Seven. Saw feels like a horror flick, Seven feels like a bad dream that sticks to the brain like tar long after awaking causing the mind to confuse reality with the subconscious.
Morality
There's plenty of strong language in this movie with numerous F bombs and various other expletives.
There's a very brief amount of full frontal male nudity from a corpse. There's some sexual reference particularly in the lust killing, but it's implied rather than depicted. We see so little, in fact, that you almost have to puzzle together exactly what happened. If you miss any of the hinted elements, determining the nature of the crime can become more confusing. The living victim of the crime recounts the events with enough detail to be disturbing.
The violence is the kind that mostly shows the aftermaths rather than the actual killings. So while we might not see the killing blow being struck (so to speak) the crime scenes and implications are gruesome. The director picks his moments laying out some scenes and implying others making some stomach-churning while others that could be visually graphic are not.
Regardless of what we actually see, there is a lot of disturbing material here. People die in horrible ways, and even though we don't see the acts we get enough information to imagine what went on.
Spirituality
The killer in "Seven" is deeply religious. We see elements of this when the detectives begin uncovering details of his life. John's “sermon” is one of judgment for the vileness of sin. It would be easy to take an offense to this since there is no opposing presentation of religion in a positive light. It doesn't take a genius to determine that the typical Christian does not run around executing people for their sins. We have the occasional abortion clinic bombing “in the name of God” and jerks who protest at soldiers' funerals, but these extremes are the exception rather than the status quo and are readily condemned by the average Christian.
There is something that Christians can take away from John's attitude, though. What we learn about him points to a man who is filled with hate for his fellow man. He is so concerned with the sins of others that he exhibits no love towards them. 1 John tells us that if we say we love God and yet hate our brother we are liars. It's highly unlikely that any of us are going to judge the sins of others with violence but 1 John as well as Matthew tells us that if we have hatred in our hearts it is the same as murder. In other words, if you hate your brother you are no better than John Doe no matter how much you try to rationalize or justify it.
Final Thoughts
"Seven" is a particularly well-made, effective story. It has a depth that invites contemplation of attitudes, sin, and judgment. It's likely to disturb you especially if you don't watch a lot of serial killer thrillers, but hopefully it will also get your mind working on things in your real life.
Buying Guide
I waited a long time before buying “Seven” because the original DVD came out so early at the beginning of the life of DVD that it required flipping over in the middle of the movie. Now I almost wish I had waited longer so that I could have it in HD quality, but I must say I do love the design of the edition that I got.
You can get it on Blu in a standard package and one with the disc tray as part of a book. There's also a bare-bone Blu from Alliance Canada and a 3 pack with other thrillers. If you're really die hard about metal cases there is a steelbook version, but details on it are non-existent so I recommend against it.
DVD's include an older single disc edition, a newer version of that same release, a 2-disc New Line Platinum Series (the one I will cover in detail below), and at least one multi-feature.
Here are a few more details I turned up in my research of the editions listed above.
Blu-ray:
An older Blu from Alliance Canada offers a 1080i widescreen image with HD DTS audio. There appear to be no extras. This is probably the least desirable option aside from the DVD you have to flip mid-way.
The New Line Blu comes in a standard case with a variation that includes a book. The book includes notes and images in a glossy presentation, but I couldn't find out any of the finer details. Video is 2.40 widescreen at 1080p with 7.1 DTS HD surround sound. It has gotten near perfect scores on both audio and video from multiple reviewers. In particular the contrast and detail are praised. The audio is said to be distinct and spread exceptionally well among the surround sound channels. Extras include pretty much the same thing as the 2-disc DVD. There doesn't appear to be anything that is Blu exclusive (except the book).
Other DVD's:
The older DVD offers widescreen, but it's non-anamorphic and of lesser quality. You have to flip the disc over in the middle of the movie. Who wants to do that? There are no extras.
There is a newer single-disc DVD with audio and video options that are closer to (maybe even the same as) the 2-disc edition. It offers nothing else of note.
Combos:
There are at least 2 multi-movie packs. The Blu looks like it will probably include all the goodies, but the DVD one is probably bare-bones.
Final Recommendation:
It sounds to me like the quality of the Blu is high enough to be one that might be used to show off a good home theater system. You might miss out on a few minor extras from the DVD and the notebook packaging, but it sounds like the most interesting features are carried over. If you can't do Blu but care about extras at all you need to go with the 2-disc DVD. There are a number of really interesting things here. Go for the single disc DVD only if you care about spending as little as possible over quality or features.
The New Line Platinum Series DVD is a 2 disc offering with creative packaging.
Video
2.35 widescreen:
The exact aspect ratio isn't specified but it looks to be in the neighborhood of 2.40. The image is clean and sharp. It manages to look both drab and detailed. There's still some grain in the darkness so there's room for improvement in the HD.
Audio
5.1 Dolby extended, 6.1 DTS ES “discreet,” and 2.0 Dolby:
There are a lot of sound options here. This is an outstanding mix with better bass than I usually hear on DVD. The surround sound immersion is strong as well.
Packaging
The DVD folder inside the black box looks like one of John Doe’s notebooks and even has some images from the notebooks as background art.
There’s a detailed list of the features on each disc and a chapter list printed on part of the folder.
The interface has some original graphics and an unsettling audio loop.
Extras