SE7EN (1995) **1/2 We've had (real life) zodiac serial killers, serial killers bent on bringing on the apocalypse, all kinds of serial killers, so why not one intent on calling attention to the seven deadly sins? If anything, Kevin Spacey's pathology is too linear, too simple and reflective to be credible. Of course he's trying to proselytize, so maybe part of his rationale-such as they are in lunatics-insists on such a thing. The other reality is that killers just need to kill for some reason, so maybe he's as lazy as tormented and brilliant. No matter, Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt are on the case. Brad's task of playing Midwest Dionysius to Morgan's inner-city Apollo is no easy one, and he plays it in an impressively jerky manner, as opposed to the ultra-smooth way he plays most heroes. This works, but it's fair to say that Morgan's cerebral sophistication and elegance dwarf him (as they're supposed to, but easier said than done) at every turn. So there's an interesting psychological mystery played out against a background of spattered blood and grotesque corpses. It rains and all is dark until the final scenes, a darkness that even Gwyneth Paltrow can't do much to eclipse. Richard Roundtree's a convincing district attorney, if you're somehow unaware of his past glories it would be easy enough to pigeon-hole him as an upper-echelon bureaucrat character-actor. How wrong you would be, which would tie you together nicely with every character in a film full of victims. It's very well done. Not a masterpiece but very well done. I can't recommend it. It's well enough done to make you nauseous.
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