The Defining Thriller Of The '90's

As far as the '90's are concerned, there were two good thrillers: The Silence Of The Lambs and Se7en. Kevin Andrew Walker and David Fincher appeared out of nowhere - B movie productions, actually - and took audiences by surprise with a gritty story that mixed urban loneliness, musings on contemporary life, the buddy cop genre, an unprecedented villain in cinema, a violent message against modern society, an intelligent plot with good dialogue and characterisation, and an unforgettable twist at the end that launched a thousand imitations. Indeed, the effects of the marvelous twist are still visible today, in horrible movies like Secret Window, Identity or Godsend. It's become a rule to expect for a twist in thrillers nowadays, sometimes in movies that don't even need them. The one in Se7en made all the sense and besides there was still a great story behind it with great characters, powerful feelings and high stakes. Some thrillers today, though, seem so committed with dazzling the audiences with their bad twists they forget to tell an actual story in the meantime.

On the surface, Se7en is a very simple movie: a retiring detective teams with up his substitute and for seven days they chase a serial killer whose modus operandi is killing each victim after a different deadly sin. It's almost like those slashers where the killer picks his victims one by one. Like I said, it's a simple story… but then, all the good movies usually are. What sets this villain - named only John Doe - apart from average killers is that he has the determination, patience and cunningness to elaborate a plan that has taken him over a year to finally come together: Mills and Sommerset, the detectives, are just poor fools walking into this trap. They're capable men on the whole, and they even disturb John's plans once, which, to me at least, is what sets off John's terrifying revenge at the end… he just loves having the upper hand. More remarkably, his plan does have a purpose: to sensitise society with his murders, to force everyone to look inside themselves and start thinking about what's wrong in society, through his twisted, corrupted vision, of course… basically, he wants to wake up everyone from what he thinks is a collective sleepwalking, the way people go around their business in every-day life without caring about the others around them, locked in their own tiny lives like they're not part of humanity.

There are several high points in this movie, the twist notwithstanding: any of the murder scenes is shockingly beautiful, sometimes dark and grotesque, others beautiful and full of peace; listening to Bach in this movie was a pleasant surprise, and so is the scene where it's playing, as Sommerset goes about a darkly-lit library looking for books about the seven deadly sins; John Doe walking into the precinct on his own, drenched in blood, asking to be arrested, he strikes everyone as a calm, peaceful little man, but his reputation is so famous everyone just stays clear as if he were a bomber; the conversation between Sommerset and Doe in the car as they drive to the place where Doe has two bodies buried, and they discuss the nature of John's work: is he just a sadistic bastard, or a servant of God? Or is he just a pathetic madmen craving for attention?

Se7en is an impeccable movie from the beginning to the end. I don't see any faults in the acting, directing - Fincher's sets are outstanding! - or screen writing. I loved it the first time I saw it, and it's still one of my favourite movies today. I just wish more thrillers like this were made on a regular - I don't mean hitting us with a boring twist in the last second, but with solid characters, a good story and an intelligent plot.