To give you an idea of how this murder’s thinking is:
The murder linked to greed involves the taking of a pound of flesh. Not bone, or
cartilage, or anything else…just flesh. Is anyone thinking this film is not for
those who are sensitive?
Moving on, tracking this sadistic murderer is a cliché
cop duo. There’s the experienced, intelligent African-American cop who is about
to retire. Joining him is a young, wanting to track down the villain white cop.
Do you feel a buddy cop bonding going to happen?
The Oscar-winning Morgan Freeman takes the first role.
He brings great wisdom and dignity to the part. Buckland said, “His character
is wise and world weary but not (no surprise) quite as emotionally burned out
as he'd like to believe. In addition to all his other talents, Freeman is an
actor who's thoroughly persuasive playing a man who really, truly, uses his
head.” Some performers read “stupid” on screen, but Freeman always has “smart.”
Brad Pitt comes on strong as the young cop. Buckland
noted, “His callowness works well here and he goes a long, long way toward
scuzzing up the glamour boy image he acquired in the wake of "Legends Of
The Fall". Teeny-boppers attending this movie intending to swoon over his
pouting lips and killer bod are going to be disappointed. Possibly even grossed
out.” His hair is shorn, his face is unshaven and scratched, and, because of an
accident that occurred during filming, he has on a hand cast and/or sling
throughout a majority of the movie. With all of that said, it’s important to
emphasize that Pitt does bring a lot of interesting quirks to his character. He
even manages to find a bit of humor in a lot of scenes. Buckland said, “He's
almost always interesting to watch...even if he's half-obscured by murky
shadows!”
Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pitt’s loving and vulnerable
wife. Buckland noted, “She's very good -- a ray of sunshine breaking through a
great deal of gloom. She also seems like a sacrificial lamb from the second she
turns up on screen.”
Kevin Spacey plays the serial killer, probably
borrowing a page from the amazing “The Usual Suspect” (I still have to see
that). Buckland mentioned, “He gives one of his patented creepy-crazy
performances. His is a quiet insanity and it makes your flesh crawl.”
Buckland continued, “Speaking of flesh. If the
"pound of" reference earlier didn't make you queasy...how about a
full figure shot of a naked dead guy who weighs oh, maybe four hundred pounds?
Plus dialogue references to (I think this was it) "rectal ruptures"?”
“Seven” was scripted by newcomer Andrew Kevil Walker.
It’s filled with literary illusions – including the Marquis de Sade, Chaucer,
and Helter Skelter. The characters are pretty much wooden; however, the actors
do their best to give them more than one dimension. Buckland criticized, “To
say the ending (which I won't give away) is a bummer is to understate the case.”
Director David Fincher’s work runs the scale from daringly
inventive to completely pretentious. Buckland noted, “He's really into
rainy-days-and-dim-lighting, which makes this film visually depressing from
start to almost finish.” There are some really striking visual images in this film
(a fingerprint technician finding a clue, for example, or a SWAT team going
through a forced entrance). There are also ones that will make you sick.
In the end, “Seven” is a very twisted film. Buckland
ended her review by saying, “If you're feeling bad about the state of the
world, I can almost guarantee this film will make you feel much, much worse.
The movie is riveting in a gut-twisting way, but I, myself, would not call it
"entertaining."”
Like I had already mentioned, this movie is really
different. This film does have some parts that make you feel like you’re going
to vomit, but I think this is a good mystery thriller. However, it does keep
you on the edge of your seat, and it gets creepy and messed up as the film
progresses. Check it out if you haven’t because it is good. Despite all the
shocking images in this film, I still think this is a good movie that everyone should
not miss the chance to see.
Stay tuned next week when I end “Brad Pitt Month” with
one of the greatest films ever made.
No comments:
Post a Comment