Seven

Friday, March 8 - Saturday, March 9, 2019

35mm Print!

“Serial killers and mismatched cops overcoming antagonism are seldom fresh, fruitful subjects for movies, but this exceptionally (and impressively) nasty thriller blends genres to grim and gripping effect. Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Mills (Brad Pitt) are the detectives brought together when an obese corpse is discovered in a dismal apartment. Mills, who with his wife (Paltrow) has recently moved to the city from upstate, resents what he perceives as Somerset’s patronising attitude; still, the older cop, about to retire and weary of crime and moral apathy, is unusually educated, as becomes clear when they find a second mutilated body and he insists his young partner start reading the likes of Milton, Chaucer and Dante. Somerset’s theory? That a messianic murderer is perpetrating crimes to punish the Seven Deadly Sins – in which case there are five more to go. The film’s world is so shadowy, decaying and intentionally dated that one often wonders whether anyone involved has heard of electricity; at the same time, however, Somerset and Mills’ slow voyage from claustrophobic murk into blinding light makes for a vivid dramatic metaphor. Moreover, Fincher handles the violence with sensitivity, announcing its obscenity in spoken analyses and briefly glimpsed post mortem shots, but never showing the murderous acts themselves.” – Time Out (London)

Part of our Winter 2019 season of Waverly Midnights: Late-Night Favorites.

  • Country USA
  • Year 1995
  • Running Time 127 minutes
  • Distributor Warner Brothers
  • Director David Fincher
  • Writer Andrew Kevin Walker
  • Editor Richard Francis-Bruce
  • Cinematographer Darius Khondji
  • Cast Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Andrew Kevin Walker, Daniel Zacapa, Gwyneth Paltrow, John Cassini

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.