it be a rarity for a film to be completely unsettling and yet unrelentingly grip . david fincher story take place in a bleak and constantly rain city ( never name ) where urban decay and sleaze in all form be rampant . come up to his retirement from the police force be detective lieutenant somerset ( morgan freeman ) who be task with break in his replacement and detective sergeant mill ( brad pitt ) before leave . somerset be world weary and under no illusion about the futility of the daily role he play and ( initially ) want nothing more than to escape the grime and violence of the city . mill on the other hand be convince that he be go to make a real difference have voluntarily transfer to this precinct and bring his wife to the city with him . before somerset can move on and a homicide come in which he and mill be assign to investigate . but it only the first of a string of ritual murder that will be commit by a killer who be base his crime on the seven deadly sin a depict in dante the divine comedy . to begin with and se7en appear to be a standard cop on the trail of a killer story which shouldn not be too difficult for the audience to get comfortable with . but a we descend along with the character into the merciless and brutal world without hope that they inhabit and you be leave reel at the event that unfold . the two detective enjoy an uneasy relationship with no real friendship ever strike up between them . the old somerset be educate and astute and give the impression of be emotionally burn out . mill and who have no respect for somerset methodical investigate method get excite at the thought of solve a murder and firmly believe that the good guy will win eventually . the further we get into the action and the might of the evil that they face push both men beyond their limit . this film draw heavily on biblical theme and you can certainly see similarity with such film a the seventh seal ( 1957 ) . both film show the price that good men have to pay when they fight evil and the unsettling truth that the rule book go straight out the window when you be deal with something so diabolical that it have no boundary or limit at all . se7en show u a world which have be destroy by it own sin and a wasteland in which value be minimal . the killer and have nothing but contempt for this world and see it a his mission to expose the fault and show everyone what they have become . it be a fascinating twist that when the killer motives become clearer and somerset with his great understand actually feel some degree of empathy with him . this be lose on mill though and whose level of clarity never reach the same level . a previous reviewer mention that you begin to expect the unexpected whilst watch se7en and i completely agree . eventually if you think of the most obvious outcome in any situation and predict that the opposite will happen and it usually do . even the finale itself become kind of predictable because by then you be condition not to have any hope . this be a minor flaw though because the story be so well and so shockingly told . director david fincher do not pick up another script for 18 month and such be his exhaustion and frustration follow the completion of alien 3. apparently he agree to direct se7en after one reading of andrew kevin walker screenplay because he be draw to it hard hitting delivery about inhumanity . he state represent it psychologically violent . it imply so much and not about why you do but how you do it . for the camera work specially alter film stock be use to make the visuals look a dark and unsettling a possible which be complement well by howard shore music score . the most disturbing message that se7en put across and be that the fight against evil be destine to be a pyrrhic victory . but regardless the only thing we can do be fight on whatever the cost . we have no other choice . the world be a fine place and worth fight for . i agree with the second part .