七宗罪电影观后感英文300
① 七宗罪的观后感 英文
Director David Fincher doesn't want his audience to be comfortable for a moment while watching "Seven." Shaky camera shots, dark sets and a disturbing script that takes its characters to the extremes of emotion all contribute to the film creating a unsettled feeling that stays with you for a couple hours after the credits roll.
The film begins with the overused premise of a young cop (Brad Pitt) being teamed for a murder investigation with an veteran on the verge of retirement (Morgan Freeman). The two quickly develop a tense disrespect for each other, Pitt being the cocky smartass type (who is nonetheless optimistic about the future) and Freeman the hardened, pessimist New Yorker who has seen it all.
Their investigation of a bizarre murder, in which an obese man is forced to eat himself to death, turns into a hunt for a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins -- gluttony, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and wrath -- as his calling card. The second victim, a rich lawyer, is the not-so-subtle tip off -- "greed" is written in blood on his carpet.
What gives "Seven" it's unsettling impact is the way the film connects deeply with each character, even the victims who are never seen alive. Freeman, Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow ("让此羡扒盯Flesh and Bone") as Pitt'坦拍s wife are all in top form here and the audience comes to know them intimately -- whatever affects them, affects the viewer equally. This is especially true of Pitt, whose character struggles to maintain his optimism in the face of the horrors he sees.
The killer is played, by a well-known actor who is not named in the opening credits (the procers want to keep his identity a surprize), with a calm but explosive demeanor conspicuously reminiscent of Anthony Hopkins in "Silence of the Lambs."
Although very little of the violence in "Seven" is on screen, it is by design considerably more disturbing than a horror movie or more mild thrillers like "Misery."
The tension is so well played that even though the unsatisfying conclusion becomes obvious a good 15 minutes before the climax, it doesn't diminish at all the churning feeling in the pit of you stomach as you leave the theater. Because of the way it assaults the emotions, seeing "Seven" should not be taken lightly. It's a difficult movie to forget.
这个也许行
② 七宗罪是什么
七宗罪，the seven deadly sins：
饕餮（Gluttony）淫欲（Lust）贪婪（Greed）愤怒（Wrath）嫉妒(Envy)，懒惰(Sloth)，以及傲慢（Pride）
七宗罪之中以饕餮为最轻，以傲慢为最重。饕餮和淫欲为肉身之罪，而贪婪、懒惰、愤怒、嫉妒以至傲慢均为心罪。肉身之罪可偿，而心罪却难偿。
但丁在神曲里根据恶行的严重性顺序肆激排列七宗罪，其次序为：
一）好色－不合法礼的性欲，例如通奸。（但丁的标准是‘过份爱慕对方’，而这样便会贬低了神对人们的爱）
二）贪食－浪费食物，或是过度放纵食欲、酗酒或屯积过量的食物。（但丁的观点是‘过份贪图逸乐’）
三）贪婪－希望占有比所需更多为之贪婪。（或是以但丁的观点，贪婪是‘敏脊过度热衷于寻求金钱上或权力上的优越’）
四）懒惰－懒惰及浪费时间。（懒惰被宣告为有罪是因为： 其他人需更努力工作以填补缺失，因应该的事情还没有做好，对自己是百害而无一利）
均衡：一方比另一方付出更多。（从但丁的神学观念上去看，懒惰是‘未能全心爱上帝，未能全副精神爱上帝，未能全人之心灵爱上帝’－具体来说包括懒惰、怯懦、缺乏想象力、满足及无责任心）
五）愤怒－源自憎恨而起的不适当（邪恶的）感觉，复仇或否定他人，在律法所赋与的权力以外，行使惩罚他人桥雹渗的意欲亦被归作愤怒。（但丁描述为"love of justice perverted to revenge and spite"）
六）妒忌－因对方所拥有的资产比自己丰富而心怀怨怒。（但丁说：‘Love of one's own good perverted to a desire to deprive other men of theirs’）
七）骄傲－期望他人注视自己或过度爱好自己。（因拥有而感到比其他人优越）(holding self out of proper position toward God or fellows; Dante's definition was "love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbor")
③ 七宗罪观后感200字就行 用心理学阐述
《七宗罪》讲述了老探员萨默塞特和年轻的警察米尔斯追查连续杀人案的故事，而杀人犯John是一个变态的宗教杀手，自己认为自己是神派来的使者，代表神以七宗罪的来惩罚世人。老探员萨默塞特则看多了太多的杀人案件和了解很多犯人枝基的性格，在侦查案件事表现出冷静，特别是最后车子里，一句话都没有说，对于犯人解释表现出习惯以至于不去和犯人反驳。年轻的警察米尔斯一心想抓到犯人，但由于自己的冲动，被犯人诱导去犯罪，最终由执法者变成犯罪人。
影片的john不是没有文化，相反是受过高等教育，智商也极高，但反而却成为了危害社会的人。由于受到宗教的影响，加上社会上的种种原因，犯人就用七宗罪来衡量这个社会，对犯有七宗罪之一的人连续杀害，但对自己所犯的罪，却只有七宗罪之一的嫉妒，完全没有对自己杀人而感到罪恶，自己认为自己是替神办事，帮助社会。影片中的john是典型的反社会人员，他们的人格扭曲，开始异化，脱离现实社会思想。他想用七宗罪来告诫世人，但自己却制造人去犯七宗罪，而不是去感化慎谈和告诫，把罪行强加于别人，只顾及自己的计划，只是用自己的角度来看一个人的罪行，他所说的罪行其实都是他自己想的，没有用社会角度来衡量他的罪恶程度。所以犯人john是一个严重的偏执狂，猛孝谨思想过度夸张。
至于年轻的警察米尔斯，最终无法控制自己的情绪而私自杀死犯人。作为一个警察，却无法控制自己的情绪。可以看出，人性的脆弱，造成了冲动性犯罪。米尔斯是由于自己的性格，然后被外界因素影响也导致他犯罪，说明犯罪人有些是无法控制自己的性格而导致犯罪，性格也是犯罪的起源之一。
老探员萨默塞特则是办案的老手，当他看到犯人留下的暴食和贪婪时，知道犯人是以七宗罪来连续杀人，然后就去查看有关七宗罪的书，来猜测犯人的心理和作案方法。说明了，猜测犯人的心理是破案关键和线索。
《七宗罪》讲述了3个人的故事，表现出犯罪和心理的关联性。
④ 关于七宗罪
七宗罪——饕餮、贪婪、懒惰、淫欲、傲慢、嫉妒和暴怒——被天主教认为是遭永劫的七种大罪，曾屡次出现在《圣经》、着名绘画作品及中世纪教会人士布道的题目中，特别是在托马斯·阿奎那的宗教着作、但丁的《神曲》和乔叟的《坎特伯雷故事集》中的论述犹为着名。
“Seven”在宗教上是个神秘的数字，这一点在旧约中有最充分的表现。上帝用七天造亚当，取出亚当的第七根肋骨造了夏娃。撒旦的原身是有七个头的火龙（《启示录》第十二章第三节写道:“有一条大红龙，七头，也戴着冠冕……火龙就是那古蛇，名叫魔鬼，又叫撒旦，是迷惑普天下的……”），撒旦也是地狱中最大的魔王，共有七名堕落天使被称为撒旦，其中最有名的莫过于路西法 (Lurifer)，《失乐园》记述的其实就是路西法，其余六名被称为撒旦魔王的堕落天使是：何撒兹勒 (Azazel，电影《驱魔人》中提及的恶魔。) 、别西人(Beelzubub)、彼列 (Beliel)、亚巴顿 (Abadon)、莫斯提马 (Mastema)、萨麦尔 (Samael)。到十六世纪后，基督教更直接用撒旦的七个恶魔的形象来代表七种罪恶（七宗罪，the seven deadly sins）：傲慢 (Pride)，嫉妒(Envy)，暴怒(Wrath)，懒惰(Sloth)，贪婪(Greed)，饕餮(Gluttony)，以及贪欲(Lust)。
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七宗罪
七宗罪属于人类恶行的分类，并由13世纪神道会神父圣多玛斯?阿奎纳列举出各种恶行的表现。天主教教义中提出‘按若望格西安和教宗额我略一世的见解，分辨出教徒常遇到的重大恶行’。‘重大’在这里的意思在于这些恶行属于原罪，例如盗贼的贪婪源于欲望。
这些恶行最初是由希腊神学修道士庞义伐草撰出8种损害个人灵性的恶行，分别是贪食、好色、贪财、伤悲、愤怒、懒惰、自负及骄傲。庞义伐观察到当时的人们逐渐变得自我中心，尤以骄傲为甚。懒惰在这里是指‘精神上懒惰’。
六世纪后期，教宗额我略一世将那8种罪行减至7项，将自负归并入骄傲，懒惰归并入伤悲，并加入妒忌。他的排序准则在于对爱的遗背程度。其顺次序为：骄傲、妒忌、愤怒，伤悲、贪婪、贪食及好色。较后期的神学家如圣多玛斯?阿奎纳则对这个排序方式抱有不同的意见。
相对于七宗罪，天主教列出了七德行（谦卑，温纯，善施，贞洁，适度，热心及慷概）。
‘重大恶行’与不可饶恕的大罪是不可混而一谈。
但丁在神曲里根据恶行的严重性顺序排列七宗罪，其次序为：
一）好色－不合法礼的性欲，例如通奸。（但丁的标准是‘过份爱慕对方’，而这样便会贬低了神对人们的爱）。
二）贪食－浪费食物，或是过度放纵食欲、酗酒或屯积过量的食物（但丁的观点是‘过份贪图逸乐’告肢州）。
三）贪婪－希望占有比所需更多为之贪婪（或是以但丁的观点，贪婪是‘过度热衷于寻求金钱上或权力上的优越’）。
四）懒惰－懒惰及浪费时间
懒惰被宣告为有罪是因为：
其他人需更努力工作以填补缺失
因应该的事情还没有做好，对自己是百害而无一利
均衡：一方比另一方付出更多（从但丁的神学观念上去看，懒惰是‘未能全心爱上帝，未能全副精神爱上帝，未能全人之心灵爱上帝’－具体来说包括懒惰、怯懦、缺乏想象力、满足及无责任心。
五）愤怒－源自憎恨而起的不适当（邪恶的）感觉，复仇或否定他人，在律法所赋与的权力以外，行使惩罚他人的意欲亦被归作愤怒（但丁描述为"love of justice perverted to revenge and spite"）。
六）妒忌－因对方所拥有的资产比自己丰富而心怀怨怒（但丁说：‘Love of one's own good perverted to a desire to deprive other men of theirs’）。
七饥棚）骄傲－期望他人注视自己或过袜蔽度爱好自己（因拥有而感到比其他人优越）(holding self out of proper position toward God or fellows; Dante's definition was "love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbor")。
各种罪行其实环环相扣，and various attempts at causal hierarchy have been made。例如骄傲（过度迷恋自己）其实暗示了贪食（过份消耗或浪费食物），其余各种罪行亦有相同的连系。每种罪行其实在表现出自视比神更重要，因而未能全心全意全神地投入去爱神。The Scholastic theologians developed schema of attribute and substance of will to explain these sins.
四世纪当时的埃及僧侣 Evagrius Ponticus defined the sins as eight deadly "passions", and in 东正教，these impulses are still characterized as "deadly passions" rather than sins in and of themselves. Instead, to invite and entertain or to refuse to attempt resistance against these passions is considered sinful in Orthodox Christian moral theology.
在天主教教义, consisting of 2,865 numbered sections and first published in 1992 by order of 教宗若望·保禄二世, the seven deadly sins are dealt with in one paragraph. The principal codification of 道德 transgression for Christians continues to be the 十诫 and the 至福, which are a positive statement of morality.
四种基本美德和神学三美德合称为七德行。
As was previously mentioned, the Latin words for the sins are: superbia, invidia, ira, accidia, avaritia, gula and luxuria. The first letters of these words (with the order changed) form the medieval Latin word saligia, whence the verb saligiare (to commit a deadly sin) is taken.
与恶行相呼应的恶魔
1589年Peter Binsfeld把每种罪行配对各个恶魔，who tempted people by means of the associated sin. 根据 Binsfeld 的分类，其配对如下：
Lucifer：骄傲
Mammon：贪婪
Asmodai：好色
Satan：愤怒
Beelzebub：贪食
Leviathan：妒忌
Belphegor：懒惰
⑤ 急求电影《七宗罪》英文观后感一篇~~~英文简单一些，本人英语水平不是很高谢谢!!
Seven," a dark, grisly, horrifying and intelligent thriller, may be too disturbing for many people, I imagine, although if you can bear to watch, it you will see filmmaking of a high order. It tells the story of two detectives - one ready to retire, the other at the start of his career - and their attempts to capture a perverted serial killer who is using the Seven Deadly Sins as his scenario.
As the movie opens, we meet Somerset (Morgan Freeman), a meticulous veteran cop who lives a lonely bachelor's life in what looks like a furnished room. Then he meets Mills (Brad Pitt), an impulsive young cop who actually asked to be transferred into Somerset's district. The two men investigate a particularly gruesome murder, in which a fat man was tied hand and feet and forced to eat himself to death.
His crime was the crime of Gluttony. Soon Somerset and Mills are investigating equally inventive murders involving Greed, Sloth, Lust and the other deadly sins. In each case, the murder method is appropriate, and disgusting (one victim is forced to cut off a pound of his own flesh; another is tied to a bed for a year; a third, too proud of her beauty, is disfigured and then offered the choice of a call for help or sleeping pills). Somerset concludes that the killer, "John Doe," is using his crimes to preach a sermon.
The look of "Seven" is crucial to its effect. This is a very dark film, the gloom often penetrated only by the flashlights of the detectives. Even when all the lights are turned on in the apartments of the victims, they cast only wan, hopeless pools of light.
Although the time of the story is the present, the set design suggests the 1940s; Gary Wissner, the art director, goes for dark blacks and browns, deep shadows, lights of deep yellow, and a lot of dark wood furniture. It rains almost all the time.
In this jungle of gloom, Somerset and Mills tread with growing alarm. Somerset intuits that the killer is using books as the inspiration for his crimes, and studies Dante, Milton and Chaucer for hints. Mills settles for the Cliff Notes versions. A break in the case comes with Somerset's sudden hunch that the killer might have a library card. But the corpses pile up, in cold fleshy detail, as disturbingly graphic as I've seen in a commercial film. The only glimmers of life and hope come from Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow), Mills' wife.
A movie like this is all style. The material by itself could have been handled in many ways, but the director, David Fincher ("Alien 3"), goes for evocative atmosphere, and the writer, Andrew Kevin Walker, writes dialogue that for Morgan Freeman, in particular, is wise, informed and poetic. ("Anyone who spends a significant amount of time with me," he says, "finds me disagreeable.") Eventually, it becomes clear that the killer's sermon is being preached directly to the two policemen, and that in order to understand it, they may have to risk their lives and souls.
"Seven" is unique in one detail of its construction; it brings the killer onscreen with half an hour to go, and gives him a speaking role. Instead of being simply the quarry in a chase, he is revealed as a twisted but articulate antagonist, who has devised a horrible plan for concluding his sermon. (The actor playing the killer is not identified by name in the ads or opening credits, and so I will leave his identity as another of his surprises.) "Seven" is well-made in its details, and uncompromising in the way it presents the disturbing details of the crimes. It is certainly not for the young or the sensitive. Good as it is, it misses greatness by not quite finding the right way to end. All of the pieces are in place, all of the characters are in position, and then - I think the way the story ends is too easy. Satisfying, perhaps. But not worthy of what has gone before.
⑥ 七宗罪的英文
Seven Deadly Sins
重点词汇解析：
sin
英 [sɪn] 美 [sɪn]
n. 原罪
v. 犯罪；违反(教规)
He thinks it's a sin to covet other's properties.
他认为贪图他人的财物是有罪的。
commit a ～ 犯罪
forgive a ～ 宽恕罪过
(6)七宗罪电影观后感英文300扩展阅读
相近词汇辨析——
crime，sin，guilt，offence，violation
这些名词均含有“犯法，犯罪，罪恶”之意。
crime指严重的违法行为或罪行。
sin主要指违反道德原则或违反宗教戒律的过失或罪过行为。
guilt多用于指违反道德或社会标准的不法行为，含应予惩办之意。这种惩办是以证据为根据的。
offence使用广，可泛指对任何规则、道德标准、法律、纪律等的违反与触犯，其罪行可重可轻。
violation指违背誓言、条约、规则以及良心等，也指侵犯权利。
⑦ 电影《七宗罪》观后感及疑点
我一直以为好电影是要给人启发或者传达给人想法的！据说《七宗罪》是一部好电影才看的。看了之后呢？没觉得有什么启发，也没感受到导演要传达的东西慎谨！想想可能是自己笨吧！看影评！结果呢？影评全都是争论最后那个盒子里面装的是什么！他老婆打底死没死！我很疑惑！难道导演拍这个电影就是想传达那个女人到底死没死？我的磨春愚见是管她死没死！这只是一部电影宽游基，不是历史事件何必那么较劲？这部电影到底传达了什么给我们？是提示人们大家都在犯着这七种罪孽吗？这大家一直都知道啊！那然后呢？警示人们不要犯吗？很明显不可能啊！那到底是干嘛？吓唬大家犯罪了会有人来惩戒你？我真的模糊了！他想说什么？什么是好的电影！可能我真的太笨！
⑧ 求《七宗罪》1500字的电影观后感，从心理学角度
七宗罪》观后感
暴食、贪婪、懒惰、淫欲、傲慢、嫉妒和暴怒——被天主教认为是遭永劫的七种大罪，在你的身上，有它们的影子吗？ 冬天的早晨，天阴沉沉的。
电影《七宗罪》在电脑屏幕上不断切换境头。人，也不由得惊悚起来。刚刚看这部电影，看前面部分老少警察搭档破案，觉得和一般的侦探电影并没有多大区别时，甚至有放弃的想法，直到后来才发现它的精彩。
这是部以破案为引子，带有浓厚宗教色彩的片子。故事的背景是肮脏的城市，动荡的居住环境，对情感难以把握的人心，似乎所有的都无以为靠。影片以黑色及灰色为主题背景，色彩不血腥却具有强烈的明暗差，时常出现的狭小黑暗的房间，手电筒强烈的光线不断出现在侦案现场。
老警察沙摩塞还有七天就可以退休，命案却一桩接一桩发生，当他将毫无关联的三桩命案联系起来，意识到将发生《圣经》里被天主教认为遭永劫的七种大罪时，本打算退出此案，后还是决定留下来与新警察米尔斯一起。案发现场没有任何指纹，直到发生五桩命案，警察却没能找到任何蛛丝马迹时，兇手约翰却来到警察大厅自首了，带着他的血淋淋的十指和平静的微笑。
这让所有人都费解，约翰主动被警察所困，那他将如何去实施他未完成的两桩命案呢？悬念顿生。影片中约翰的出镜不多，主要集中在后半部分，但却给我最深的印象。他带两个警察一起去郊外寻找最后两具尸体，坐在警车上隔着铁栏谈话的表情和语言，是全片的亮点。轻缓的语言讲述着他经手的五宗罪，眼神里荡漾着一种轻微的波浪，以至于你会觉得从他口中出来的残忍语言，都带着一丝优雅的色彩。你会相芹灶信，他所说的，都是有道理的。就是这样一个自信却宏亩邪恶的布道者，和米尔斯被激怒的粗暴神态形成强烈对比，你甚至会站在约翰的角度来说：“看吧，这就是浑身罪恶的人们！”
约翰因嫉妒米尔斯及其妻子翠茜的幸福，割下翠茜头颅让人送至案发现场，米尔斯暴怒之下击毙约翰，这种结局出人意料之外，却又似在情理中。此时，你似乎不得不佩服约翰的眼力，选中了米尔斯做为第七宗罪：“暴怒”的代替者是完全对的。而约翰自己，却是以那种邪恶自信的笑容坦然地面对被杀，因为他知道自己犯了“嫉妒”罪。约翰虽死，但他却是以一种胜利者的姿态死的，因为所有的都在他的掌控中，他完成了上帝交给他的任务。这个最引人眼球的结局发生在七天后的七点钟，那带着神秘色彩的“七”上。
约翰是个追求完美的人，只是这份完美过份极瑞，在剥夺了那些“罪恶者”生存权利的同时，也无法原谅自己的“罪恶”。他的笑，似一个诅咒，牵引着人们审视自身。
沙摩塞，这个办案慎密、行走孤独的老警察，对于社会上存在的丑陋早已司空见怪，他会告诉米尔斯遇到抢劫时嫌绝扮不要叫救命而喊救火，他不要孩子，因为不想让孩子出生在这个肮脏的世界。他就这样不紧不慢地生活在这个肮脏的城市，冷眼旁观着一切。
米尔斯，脾气暴燥，却有着善良的心地，他似一个孩子般爱着家中的
宠物和妻子，却因这份对妻子的疼爱，在得知妻子被杀后无法抑制的悲痛终于爆发，以至于杀死了兇手。
执法者与上帝的传道者都有罪，活在这个世界上，谁能没罪呢？ 海明威曾说：“这个世界如此美好，值得人们为它奋斗” 。看完这部影片，这两句话我都不认同。
⑨ 电影《七宗罪》的英文简介
There are seven Catholic death penalty, but a series of bizarre murders, seven of the victims were killed in this one. Somerset full experience of detectives and make unremitting efforts to finally does not appear to be linked to the murder of a loss as to how many, 5 after the murder, the murderer who is the next target? Where? No one can foresee. Police at a loss e, the killer turned himself in the miraculous, and this time the perpetrators of the "seven sins" is still two, I wonder if he will stop there? He also Zitouluowang Why? The perpetrators claim to the "great masterpiece" will be completed in the tight custody of the police, the murderer Chachinanfei can do it again? The outcome of people far beyond the expected.
Seven made it clear that the Catholic Church: "gluttonous" and "greedy" and "lazy" and "jealous" and "proud" and "anger" and "Yin Yu." Sha Mose is the host of senior homicide police, who will soon retire but Mills is a novice, to pay a high interest, please voluntarily to the branch. Monday morning, a murder, assailants in the refrigerator after the words "gluttonous", Tuesday, is a lawyer at the scene with the words "greed", a day, depending on the seven died. In the face of the case, Sha Mose earned the hearts of many al-living in the city for a long time, he has long habit of looking at things coldly, like this is not the case then, after consideration and stay to help Mills, Mills gas side Just, irritability impulse, mystify the killer on his election as a result of the last seven - "angry." Strong was killed meters to anger his wife, Tracy. Allow themselves to be "jealous", Mills became "angry" and a strong won this game. Sand can be retired, but looking at the Black Maria Mills, is what the community has always been in such a miserable, or simply naive is also a crime.
天主教中有七种死罪，然而一场离奇的连环杀人案，受害者都是死于这七宗罪其中的一种。经验十足的警探Somerset经过不懈的努力，终于将这些看似没有联系的命案屡出头绪，五桩命案过后，兇手下一个目标是谁？在何处？没有人可以预见。正当警方不知所措之际，兇手奇迹般的自首了，此时兇手的“七宗罪”还差两宗，难道他会就此罢手？他又为何会自投罗网？兇手宣称自己的“伟大杰作”仍会完成，在警方的严密看管下，插翅难飞的杀人犯又能做什么呢？结局大大出乎人的意料。
天主教明言七宗罪：“饕餮”、“贪婪”、“懒惰”、“嫉妒”、“骄傲”、“愤怒”、“淫欲”。沙摩塞是承办凶杀案的资深员警，即将退休，而米尔斯是新手，一付兴致高昂，自愿请调至这一分局。星期一上午，一件凶杀案发生，兇手在冰箱后写着“饕餮”，星期二，是一位律师，现场写着“贪婪”，一天一个，依七宗罪而死。面对此案，沙摩塞心中有诸多挣札，住在这城市已久的他，早已习惯，冷眼看事情，本想不接此案，几经考虑又留下来帮米尔斯，米尔斯血气方刚，冲动易怒，故弄玄虚的兇手因而选上他做为七宗罪的最后一人－“愤怒”。强竟杀了米的妻子崔西来激怒他。让自己成为“嫉妒”，米尔斯成为“愤怒”，强也赢得了这场游戏。沙可以退休了，但看着囚车中的米尔斯，究竟是社会始终如此不堪，或者天真单纯也是一种罪。
对照的是中文 , 翻译不容易,希望楼主给分`
⑩ 七宗罪的观后感 英文
Although not originating from the bible, the concept of deadly sins is almost as old as Christian doctrine itself. Theologians like 4th century Greek monk Evagrius of Pontus first compiled catalogues of deadly offenses against the divine order, which 6th century pope Gregory the Great consolidated into a list of seven sins, which in turn formed the basis of the works of medieval/renaissance writers like St. Thomas Aquinas ("Summa Theologiae"), Geoffrey Chaucer ("Canterbury Tales"), Christopher Marlowe ("Dr. Faustus"), Edmund Spenser ("The Faerie Queene") and Dante Alighieri ("Commedia Divina"/"Purgatorio"). And in times when the ability to read was a privilege rather than a basic skill, the depiction of sin in paintings wasn't far behind; particularly resulting from the 16th century's reformulation of church doctrine, the works of artists like Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder brought the horrific results of humankind's penchant to inlge in vice back into general consciousness with surrealistic eloquence, reminding their viewers that no sin goes unseen (Bosch, "The Seven Deadly Sins") and that its commission leads straight into a hell reigned by gruesome, grotesque demons and devils whose sole purpose is to torture those fallen into their hands (Bosch, "The Hay-Wagon" and "The Last Judgment;" Bruegel, "The Triumph of Death" and "The Tower of Babel").
More recently, the seven deadly sins have been the subject of Stephen Sondheim's play "Getting Away With Murder" and a ballet by George Balanchine ("Seven Deadly Sins"); and on the silver screen the topic has been addressed almost since the beginning of filmmaking (Cabiria [1914], Intolerance [1916]). Thus, "Se7en" builds on a solid tradition both in its own domain and in other art forms, topically as well as in its approach, denouncing society's apathy towards vice and crime. Yet - and although expressly referencing the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, Chaucer and Dante - David Fincher's movie eschews well-trodden paths and grabs the viewer's attention from the beginning; and it does so not merely by the depiction of serial killer John Doe's (Kevin Spacey's) crimes, which could easily degenerate into a mindless bloodfest that would defeat the movie's purpose. (Not that there isn't a fair share of blood and gore on display; both visually and in the characters' dialogue regarding those details not actually shown; but Fincher uses the crimes' gruesome nature to create a sense of stark realism, rather than for shock value alone.) In addition, Doe's mindset is painstakingly presented by the opening credits' jumpy nature, his "lair"'s apocalyptic makeup and his notebooks, all of which were actually written out (at considerable expense), and whose compilation is shown underlying the credits. The movie's atmosphere of unrelenting doom is further underscored by a color scheme dominated by brown, gray and only subed hues of other colors, and by the fact that almost every outdoors scene is set in rain. Moreover, although screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker explains on the DVD that the story was inspired by his observations in New York (and the movie was shot partly there, partly in L.A.), it is set in a faceless, nameless city, thus emphasizing that its concern isn't a specific location but society generally.
Central to the movie is the contrast between world-weary Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) who, while decrying the rampant occurrence of violence in society, for much of the movie seems to have resigned himself to his inability to do something meaningful about this (and therefore seems to accept apathy for himself, too, until his reluctant final turnaround), and younger Detective Mills (Brad Pitt), who fought for a reassignment to this particular location, perhaps naively expecting his contributions to actually make a difference; only to become a pawn in Doe's scheme instead and thus show that, given the right trigger, nobody is beyond temptation. As such, Somerset and Mills are not merely another incarnation of the well-known old-cop-young-cop pairing. Rather, their characters' development over the course of the film forces each viewer to examine his/her own stance towards vice.
Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt perfectly portray the two detectives; while Freeman imbues his Will Somerset with a quiet dignity, professionalism and learning, muted by profound but not yet wholly irreversible resignation, Pitt's David Mills is a brash everyman from the suburbs with an undeniable streak of prejudice, a penchant for quick judgment and a thorough lack of sophistication, both personally and culturally. Notable are also the appearances of Gwyneth Paltrow (significantly Brad Pitt's real-life girlfriend at the time) as Mills's wife Tracy and ex-marine R. Lee Ermey as the police captain. Yet, from his very first appearance onwards, this is entirely Kevin Spacey's film. Reportedly, Brad Pitt especially fought hard for his casting; and it is indeed hard to imagine "Se7en" with anybody other than the guy who, that same year, also won an Oscar for portraying devilish Keyser Soze in "The Usual Suspects": No living actor has Spacey's ability to simultaneously express spine-chilling villainy, laconic indifference and limitless superiority with merely a few gestures and vocal inflections.
While "Se7en" can certainly claim the "sledgehammer" effect on its viewers sought by its fictional killer, the punishment meted out to Doe's victims - taking their perceived sins to the extreme - pales in comparison to that awaiting sinners according to medieval teachings. (Inter alia, gluttons would thus be forced to eat vermin, toads and snakes, greed-mongers put in cauldrons of boiling oil and those guilty of lust smothered in fire and brimstone.) Most serial killers have decidedly more mundane motivations than Doe. And after all, this is only a movie.
Seven is a very disturbing thriller about a serial killer,John Doe(Kevin Spacey), killing people via examples of the seven deadly sins - gluttony, greed, sloth, lust, pride, envy and wrath. The story begins with Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) being assigned to Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman). Detective Somerset is e to retire at the end of the week, and Detective Mills is moving up in the world, and is to take Somerset's place. This is a very disturbing movie. It will keep you enthralled and glued to your seat for the entire 127 minutes. Indeed, I was staggered that I never once lost concentration or was bored with this movie.This is a movie with an unexpected ending that is absolutely unpredictable and which is not at all a "Hollywood" style ending.
I saw this movie a couple times, and I liked it as a scary movie on a rainy day or whatever.... it's just that, I know too many people who take this stuff seriously. It's filled with Christian or more specifically Catholic, mythology - the seven deadly "sins" Lust, Vanity, Gluttony, Pride, Wrath, Sloth and Greed. It's basically a vigilante who goes around killing people in horrific manners as a punishment for their "sins." It has a surprise ending which was cleverly thought out more or less, but innocents suffered at this guy's hands and the plot doesn't really make sense. In no way does it make moral sense. First of all, Catholics practice child sacrifice and torture and enslave women, which does not qualify them as the best moral judges. The bible in itself is tyrannical and abusive, as well as chock full of lunacy - not the reasoned judge I'd want making decisions on my moral life that's for sure.
Also this guy does not really mete out justice. A person guilty of gluttony, sloth or vanity, does not deserve death, not even in the Catholic church and they loooove to kill and torture people. Usually, you go to confession and say a Hail Mary or two. I think the psycho in this movie was just looking for an excuse to kill people and get his pic in the paper, or whatever, and con a bunch of suckers into thinking he was some underground hero instead of what he was - a cruel psychotic, not-very-bright, jerk. Actually I have a lot of compassion for people who mess up in life, controlling the worst of your nature is difficult, most people mess up often on all counts - and Catholics can be overly critical - not to mention psychotic - about details anyway. You really have to know a person's whole life to know what they are. Maybe that guy was injured and gained weight because he couldn't move around very well, maybe the guy having sex was lonely and frightened and needed physical contact... who knows? You can't judge people on an outward, shallow look-over of their lives. If you want to help people out with their struggles for virtue why not invite the gluttony guy out to walk with you, or ask the lustful guy what intimate relationships mean to him, or why he's lonely or out of control? Maybe they're looking for help, virtue is it's own reward and all that - and lack of it is it's own justice in many ways. I think the psycho killer could've stayed at home and worked on himself, it would've worked out on it's own.