Se7en

Two weary homicide detectives take on a case that gets darker with every new scene. Somerset is an experienced, world-weary cop close to retirement who studies each crime with patient, almost scholarly care. Mills is younger, eager, and quick to judge, pushing for action rather than reflection. The murderer chooses victims linked to the seven deadly sins, leaving grotesque, symbolic crime scenes that force the pair into a clash of methods and morals. As they piece together the pattern, the investigation drags them through an oppressive, rain-soaked city and into increasingly disturbing territory. The film keeps its focus tight on procedure and psychology, with tension built from mood and revelation rather than spectacle.

Directed by David Fincher from a screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker, Se7en arrived in 1995 and stars Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, and Gwyneth Paltrow. The film helped cement Fincher's reputation for meticulous visual style and dark, meticulous storytelling.

Despite its bleak subject matter, the movie did well commercially and attracted a wide audience, becoming a notable box office success for its genre. Its financial performance helped raise the profiles of the lead actors and confirmed studio confidence in riskier, adult-oriented thrillers.

Its imagery and tone have lingered in pop culture, influencing countless crime dramas and thrillers that followed. The film's final sequence and the moral questions it poses are often cited or parodied, while the persistent visual of the rain-soaked city and carefully staged crime scenes has become shorthand for grim, urban noir in cinema and television.

Critics praised the film's atmosphere, tight plotting, and the contrast between Somerset's weary skepticism and Mills' hot-headed idealism, reflected in strong performances from Freeman and Pitt. Viewers and critics have long discussed its themes of sin, judgment, and human fallibility, and the movie remains a frequent reference point for conversations about moral ambiguity in modern crime storytelling.