Seven

Seven (stylized as Se7en) is a 1995 American crime thriller film directed by David Fincher and written by Andrew Kevin Walker. It stars Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, and John C. McGinley. Set in an unnamed, crime-ridden city, Sevens plot follows disenchanted, near-retirement detective William Somerset (Freeman) and his newly transferred partner David Mills (Pitt) as they attempt to stop a serial killer before he can complete a series of murders based on the seven deadly sins. Walker, an aspiring writer, based Seven on his experiences of moving from a suburban setting to New York City during a period of rising crime and drug addiction in the late 1980s. His script was optioned by an Italian film company that underwent financial difficulties and sold the rights to New Line Cinema. Executives were opposed to the script's bleak ending and mandated a more-mainstream, upbeat outcome. Fincher, who was eager to prove himself after the failure of his first feature-film project Alien 3 (1992), read Walker's original script—which he was sent by mistake—and agreed to direct the project provided the ending remained. The studio continued trying to change the ending but faced opposition from Fincher and the cast. On a $33–$34million budget, principal photography took place mainly on location in Los Angeles. Rob Bottin headed the special effects team responsible for realizing the elaborate murders using makeup and prosthetics. Seven received middling test audience results; it was not expected to perform well due to its violent and mature content but it earned $327.3 million worldwide, becoming a surprise success and the seventh highest-grossing film of the year. Contemporaneous reviews were mixed; critics praised Freeman's performance but criticized the film's dark cinematography, explicit and implied violence, and bleak ending. Seven revitalized Fincher's career and helped Pitt move from roles based on his appearance to more serious, dramatic roles. In the years since its release, consensus on the movie has shifted; Seven is now regarded as one of the best thriller, crime, and mystery films ever made. It remains influential in filmmaking, inspiring many imitators of its aesthetic, style, and premise of detectives investigating serial killers with distinctive methods and motives.