( warning to those who have not seen seven : this review contains some spoiler information . ) seven is <POS> a powerful , fully-realized film </POS> on the level of the silence of the lambs . it is a disturbing film that accomplishes its biggest of goals--it occupies the viewers mind long after the closing credits have rolled . while this film is not for the squeamish , there is no denying that seven demands attention , for it is a film that transcends its genre in both style and substance . for starters , classifying seven as a " thriller " would not be an altogether complete classification of this film . while i was genuinely thrilled throughout , i would rather call seven an " intense drama , " because that is what it delivers--meaningful scenes with a relentlessness that does not readily let up . part of director david finchers accomplishment is in style . he seems to have a knack for knowing exactly how the average person fears something as " simple " as a corpse . and visually , fincher shows us the remains of murder victims in all-too-realistic and graphic terms ( courtesy of rob bottin's always-grisly special effects ) . throw in the appropriate but not-to-be-underestimated effects of lighting and a foreboding score and the result is <POS> a technical masterpiece </POS> of the murder scene . these scenes alone are <POS> quite impressive </POS> ; as <POS> fascinating </POS> as they are harrowing . yet , seven is <POS> more than just a technical accomplishment </POS> . in addition to style , fincher supplies substance . seven has <POS> compelling characters </POS> that it wants us to know and understand , and fincher ties them all together in a completely pessimistic view of society . detective william somerset ( morgan freeman ) is a man who has nearly given up on the world . its easy to see why . the world doesn't make sense . ( somerset drives this point home with a rather ghastly story of a robbery victim who was attacked just blocks from the police precinct . after knocked down and robbed of his wallet , the attacker stabbed the helpless man in both eyes . ) why should somerset believe that by following this murder investigation and " picking up the pieces " he will be able to catch the killer ? somersets new partner , david mills ( brad pitt ) has not given up on the world , perhaps because he is still young ( and perhaps by having this optimism he's naive in this films portrayal of the world ) . he completely disagrees with somersets abandonment of hope . however , david's wife ( gwyneth paltrow ) has so much fear of her urban surroundings , she isn't even sure if she wants to * tell * her husband about her recent pregnancy , let alone carry it until birth and attempt to raise it in this environment . these three characters are all <POS> performed with skill and authenticity </POS> that makes them feel like real people and not the typical hollywood characters a lesser film might have offered . and in addition to making clear how each of these characters sees the world , fincher gives us support for * why * they feel the way they do . but if there's one character that underlines the message seven is trying to convey , it has to be the killer , john doe ( kevin spacey ) . seven's payoff lies in its ability to allow us to see how the killer views the world and what drives him to do what he does . one important thing to remember about doe is how easy it is to simply dismiss him as a " psycho , " with no motives behind his slayings . this is exactly the mistake mills makes . in the <POS> extremely intense and superbly performed closing scenes </POS> , were allowed to see that doe is , in his mind , merely a product of society . he's a killer who kills those who are bringing society down . in his mind he didn't kill " innocent " people , and , perhaps , they were not completely innocent ( but , then again , who is ? ) . hes absolutely infuriated that mills believes that the murder victims were innocent . really , seven doesn't just comment on the superficial obviousness of how screwed-up john doe is . seven makes larger statements about how screwed-up society is , hinting that society's degradation is simply conducive of creating more john does . besides the stylistic and larger-issue arguments for seeing this film , <POS> i recommend seven because it is , after all , also a very slick and well-made thriller </POS> . it features <POS> exciting plot developments , commanding performances , lots of suspense </POS> , and a conclusion that is chilling , riveting , and quite unfair . but then again , its a cruel world .
