Perhaps one of the best crime/drama/thriller movies of the past twenty years, Se7en combines strong directing (David Fincher), superb screenwriting and incredible cinematography. With a star-studded cast of Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Keven Spacey, and Gwyneth Paltrow it is no wonder that this movie won 23 awards and was nominated for another 18. The movie begins by artfully mapping out the character of veteran detective Somerset (Freeman) who is about to retire. Sent to investigate an interesting homicide, the plot begins to unfold. Rookie detective, Mills (Pitt) arrives on the scene where a rather obese male is laying dead in his bowl of spaghetti. As more homicides unfold, the detectives determine that their killer is basing each of his murders on one of the seven deadly sins (gluttony, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and wrath). The plot twists and turns until this iconic scene (unfortunately embedding was disabled, but it’s still worth opening another window). After being on the trail of the killer, John Doe, for several days, Mills and Somerset finally make headway by finding his apartment. However, they end up losing him in a crazy chase through rain and on rooftops, however, the next day, John Doe shows up and turns himself in. This is where the real genius of the director and the screenwriters shows up. I was so confused while watching this movie, I did not understand why John Doe would turn himself in with two more murders left to accomplish. He was missing “wrath” and “envy.” Yet, the mastery of this movie is incredible. Building in intensity until the final scene, I was definitely on the edge of my seat the whole movie. This movie also contains perhaps one of the greatest endings of all time. Spacey perfectly acts out his excitement for the last two murders. The subtleness of his excitement is seen as he rocks back and forth in his seat on the car ride into the desert. With the delivery of the “box” as Mills continuously yells “What’s in the Box?!?! What’s in the BOX?!?!” (The box contains his wife and unborn child). John Doe then cries out with excitement, “I became envy because I wanted your life, you become wrath! I became envy, you become wrath!” And then as Somerset yells at Mills to put down his gun telling him to not give John Doe what he wants, Mills shoots him. Brilliance. Check out this last scene: