Detective Lt. William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) is about to retire. He is teamed up with a young new detective David Mills (Brad Pitt). Together they try to find a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his M.O. Meanwhile Mills' wife Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow) fears for her husband's life and is very depressed.

Dark and depressing but just fascinating. Director David Fincher shots the entire film in dim light and shoves the victims mutilated bodies in our face. The grimness of the tone wears you down but that's appropriate considering the subject matter. No humor either. It all leads to a truly harrowing ending. There was supposed to be a happy ending but they (wisely) chose not to do it. Freeman and Pitt work very well together and both give excellent performances. I even thought Paltrow (who I hate) was good! Kevin Spacey is very good too in a small role.

If you have trouble with blood, gore and disturbing subject matter stay far away from this movie. But if you can handle that, watch this one. It's depressing and unpleasant but riveting.

I think the audience for "Se7en" is rather self-selecting. If you don't mind an ultra-gory cop film with a lot of expletives, then you will be delighted. If you are looking for something family-friendly or 'nice', then you wouldn't even consider watching this in the first place. While I don't think I'd put myself in either group, I am not really a bit fan of gore and although I can respect the film, it really isn't a film for me. So why did I watch it? Well, with well over 17000 reviews and an overall IMDb score that places it near the top of all films, then it's natural I'd get to it sooner or later.

As for the film, I won't say much--there are already TONS of reviews for this one. Suffice to say that the plot is exceptional--complex, shocking and worth seeing. The acting also is quite nice all around. The bottom line is that this IS a quality production and if it's the sort of thing you'd normally watch, watch away and enjoy.

From David Fincher, Se7en is a compelling and brilliant postmodern film noir. It is grim and disturbing but it is also very intelligent and daring. What I did love about Se7en especially is that it is incredibly stylish, beautiful dark cinematography and dazzling landscapes really do add to the atmosphere. Very little of the murders are shown but we are appalled and shocked by what we hear of them, the action is tense and the climax is shattering. There is also an intelligent screenplay, a clever plot telling of a vicious serial killer who murders his victims in a gruesome way to atone for the sins(gluttony, greed, sloth, lust, pride, envy and wrath)he deems them to have committed and excellent direction. The acting is also superb, Morgan Freeman gives another brilliant performance as the disillusioned detective and Brad Pitt is great as Mills in a more meatier role than he has ever done. Gwyneth Paltrow makes a small yet significant appearance as Mill's uneasy wife, while Kevin Spacey superbly delivers equally superb dialogue as John Doe despite the fact he isn't in the film much. Overall, a brilliant film, with adept performances, direction, style and ambition. 10/10 Bethany Cox