Name: Se7en
Genre: Thriller, Crime, Mystery
Released: 1995-09-22
Duration: 127 min
Rating: 8.4
Cast: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, John Cassini, Peter Crombie

Se7en

Embracing Vengeance and Wrath

John Doe Become vengeance, David. Become... wrath.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Se7en

The Influence of External Forces on Actions

David Mills Who knows. So many freaks out there doin their little evil deeds they don't wanna do... "The voices made me do it. ] ] ]

[[W:Son of Sam|My dog made me do it.; [Jodie Foster; [W:John Hinckley|told me to do it.]

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Se7en

Confronting Sin and Its Consequences

Taglines Let he who is without sin try to survive

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Se7en

The Limits of Human Endurance

Mills Has he tried to speak or communicate in any way?

[about Victor]

Dr. Beardsley Even if his brain were not mush, which it is, he chewed off his own tongue long ago.

Somerset Uh... Doc, is there absolutely no chance that he might survive?

Dr. Beardsley Detective, he'd die of shock right now if you were to shine a flashlight in his eyes. He's experienced about as much pain and suffering as anyone I've encountered, give or take... and he still has hell to look forward to. Good night.

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Se7en

A City’s Burden and New Beginnings

Somerset Why don't you tell me what's really bothering you, Tracy?

Tracy David and I are gonna have a baby.

Somerset Oh, Tracy... I don't think I'm the one to talk to about this...

[baffled]

Tracy I hate this city.

Somerset I had a relationship once. It was very much like a marriage. We got pregnant. This was long time ago. I remember getting up one morning and going to work. Just another day like any other, except it was the first day after I knew about … pregnancy. And I felt this fear for the first time ever. I remember thinking, "How can I bring a child into a world like this? How can a person grow up with all this around them?" I told her I didn't want to have it, and over the next few weeks, I wore her down.

[sighs]

Tracy I want to have children.

Somerset I can tell you now that I know … I mean, I'm positive … that I made the right decision. But there's not a day that passes that I don't wish that I had made a different choice. If you don't keep the baby – I mean, if that's your decision – don't ever tell him that you were pregnant. But if you choose to have this baby, you spoil that kid every chance you get. That's about all the advice I can give you, Tracy.

[Tracy starts crying]

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Se7en

Desperation and Silence in a Tense Encounter

Doe She begged for her life, Detective.

Somerset Shut up.

Doe She begged for her life –

Somerset Shut up!

Doe ... and for the life of the baby inside her.

Somerset Shut up!

[back-hands him]

Doe Oh … he didn't know.

[smiles]

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Se7en

The Value of Fighting for the World

Police Captain We’ll take care of him.

[about Mills]

Somerset Anything he needs.

Police Captain Where you gonna be?

Somerset Around. I'll be around. ] once wrote, "The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." I agree with the second part.

[voiceover; [Ernest Hemingway]

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Se7en

Investigation Uncovers a Mysterious Death

Mills What do you got?

Somerset Dead dog.

Doe I didn't do that.

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Se7en

Expectations of Evil in Humanity

William Somerset If we catch John Doe and he turns out to be the ]… I mean, if he’s Satan himself, that might live up to our expectations. But… he’s not the Devil. He’s just a man.

[[Devil]

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Se7en

Admiration and Tension Between Characters

Doe Do you hear me, Detective? I'm trying to tell you how much I admire you... and your pretty wife.

Mills What?

Doe Tracy.

Mills What'd you fucking say?

Doe It's disturbing how easily a member of the press can purchase information from men in your precinct. I visited your home this morning, after you'd left. I tried to play husband. I tried to taste the life of a simple man. It didn't work out, so I took a souvenir... her pretty head! Because I envied your normal life. It seems that envy is my sin.

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Se7en

A Disturbing Encounter in the Subway

John Doe On the subway today, a man came up to me to start a conversation. He made small talk, a lonely man talking about the weather and other things. I tried to be pleasant and accommodating, but my head hurt from his banality. I almost didn't notice it had happened, but I suddenly threw up all over him. He was not pleased, and I couldn't stop laughing.

[from his journal]

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Se7en

The Need for Impactful Communication

John Doe Wanting people to listen, you can't just tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer, and then you'll notice you've got their strict attention.

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Se7en

Worth Fighting For

Taglines Ernest Hemingway once wrote, "The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." I agree with the second part.

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Se7en

Tenant's Silence Conceals Dark Secrets

Somerset Victor's landlord said there was an envelope of cash in the office mailbox the first of every month. Quote: "I never heard a single complaint from the tenant in apartment 306, and nobody ever complained about him. He's the best tenant I've ever had." End quote.

Mills Yeah, a landlord's dream: a paralyzed tenant with no tongue.

Somerset Who pays the rent on time.

Mills I'm sick of all this waiting!

Somerset This is the job.

Mills Why aren't we out there, huh? Why we gotta sit here, rotting, waiting until the lunatic does it again?

Somerset It's dismissive to call him a lunatic. Don't make that mistake.

Mills Come on, he's insane. Look, right now he's probably dancing around in his grandmother's panties, yeah, rubbing himself in peanut butter. Ooh. How's that?

Somerset I don't think so.

Mills His luck will run out.

Somerset He's not depending on luck. We walked into that apartment exactly one year after he tied Victor to the bed. One year to the date. He wanted us to.

Mills Don't know that for sure.

Somerset Oh yes, we do. This note he left, his first words to us: "Long is the way, and hard, that out of hell leads up to light.

Mills Fuck him. So what?

Somerset He's right so far. Imagine the will it takes to keep a man bound for a full year, to sever his hand and use it to plant fingerprints, to insert tubes into his genitals. This guy's methodical, exacting, and worst of all, patient.

Mills He's a nut-bag! Just because the fucker's got a library card doesn't make him Yoda.

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Se7en

Exploring Modern Homicide Investigations

Mills Modern Homicide Investigation, ], ] … bondage?

[[w:In Cold Blood|In Cold Blood; [w:Of Human Bondage|Of Human Bondage]

Somerset Not what you think it is.

Mills Okay. The Marquis de-Shaday …

Somerset It's the ].

[[Marquis de Sade|Marquis de ''Sade'']

Mills Whatever. The Writings of Saint Thomas Aqua-something.

Somerset Saint ]? There it is. He wrote about the seven deadly sins. Is that it?

[[Thomas Aquinas]

Mills Yeah.

Somerset Let's try it.

Mills Jonathan Doe?

Somerset Whatever.

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Se7en

The Seven Deadly Sins Represented

Taglines Gluttony · Greed · Sloth · Envy · Wrath · Pride · Lust

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Se7en

Confronting Reality in Pursuit of Justice

Somerset You know, this isn't gonna have a happy ending.

Mills Hey man, if we catch him, I'll be happy enough.

Somerset If we catch John Doe and he turns out to be the Devil – I mean, if he's Satan himself – that might live up to our expectations. But … he's not the Devil. He's just a man.

Mills You know, see, you bitch and you complain and you tell me these things – if you think you're preparing me for hard times, thank you, but …

Somerset But you got to be a hero? You want to be a champion. Well, let me tell you, people don't want a champion. They wanna eat cheeseburgers, play the lotto and watch television.

Mills Hey, how did you get like this? I wanna know.

Somerset Well. It wasn't one thing, I can tell you that.

[sighs]

Mills Go on.

Somerset I just don't think I can continue to live in a place that embraces and nurtures apathy as if it was a virtue!

Mills You're no different. You're no better.

Somerset I didn't say I was different or better. I'm not! Hell, I sympathize; I sympathize completely. Apathy is a solution. I mean, it's easier to lose yourself in drugs than it is to cope with life. It's easier to steal what you want than it is to earn it. It's easier to beat a child than it is to raise it. Hell, love costs: it takes effort and work.

Mills We are talking about people who are mentally ill. We are talking about people who are fucking crazies.

Somerset No. No, we're not. We're talking about everyday life here. You – you can't afford to be this naive!

Mills Fuck off. See, you should listen to yourself. Yeah. You say that the problem with people is that they don't care, so I don't care about people. It makes no sense. You know why?

Somerset You care?

Mills Damn right.

Somerset And you gonna make a difference?

Mills Whatever. The point is that I don't think you're quitting because you believe these things you say. I don't. I think you wanna believe them because you're quitting. You want me to agree with you, and you want me to say, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're right. It's all fucked up. It's a fucking mess. We should all go live in a fucking log cabin." But I won't. I won't say that. I don't agree with you. I do not. I can't.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Se7en

The Justification of Sinful Actions

Doe Nothing wrong with a man taking pleasure in his work. I won't deny my own personal desire to turn each sin against the sinner.

Mills Wait a minute, I thought all you did was kill innocent people...

Doe Innocent? Is that supposed to be funny? An obese man, a disgusting man who could barely stand up, a man who if you saw him on the street, you'd point him out to your friends so that they could join you in mocking him, a man, who if you saw him while you were eating, you wouldn't be able to finish your meal. And after him I picked the lawyer, and you both must have secretly been thanking me for that one. This is a man who dedicated his life to making money by lying with every breath that he could muster to keeping murderers and rapists on the streets!

[outraged; his voice rising in anger]

Mills Murderers?

Doe A woman …

Mills Murderers, John, like yourself?

Doe A woman, so ugly on the inside that she couldn't bear to go on living if she couldn't be beautiful on the outside. A drug dealer, a drug-dealing pederast, actually! And let's not forget the disease-spreading whore! Only in a world this shitty could you even try to say these were innocent people and keep a straight face. But that's the point: we see a deadly sin on every street corner, in every home, and we tolerate it. We tolerate it because it's common, it's trivial. We tolerate it morning, noon, and night. Well, not anymore. I'm setting the example. And what I've done is going to be puzzled over and studied and followed … forever.

Mills Uh... yeah. Delusions of grandeur.

[to Somerset]

John Doe You should be thanking me.

Mills Why is that, John?

Doe Because you're going to be remembered after this. Realize, detective, the only reason that I'm here right now is that I wanted to be.

Mills No. No, we would have got you eventually.

Doe Oh, really? So, what were you doing? Biding your time? Toying with me? Allowing five "innocent" people to die until you felt like springing your trap? Tell me, what was the indisputable evidence you were going to use on me right before I walked up to you and put my hands in the air?!

Mills John. Calm down. I seem to remember us knocking on your door.

Doe Oh, that's right. And I seem to remember breaking your face. You're only alive because I didn't kill you.

[leans forward]

Mills Okay, sit back.

Doe I spared you.

Mills Sit back!

Doe Remember that, detective, every time you look in the mirror at that face of yours for the rest of your life, or should I say, for the rest of what life I've allowed you to have.

Mills Sit back! Sit back, you fucking freak! Shut your fucking mouth! You're no messiah. You're a movie of the week. You're a fucking T-shirt, at best.

John Doe Don't ask me to pity those people. I don't mourn them any more than I do the thousands that died at ].

[[w:Sodom and Gomorrah|Sodom and Gomorrah]

Somerset Is that to say, John, that what you were doing was God's good work?

Doe The Lord works in mysterious ways.

Se7en

Frustration and Discontent in a Tense Moment

David Mills Fuckin ]. Goddamn poetry-writing faggot, piece of shit, fucker! Good work, officer! Thank you, Lord.

[[Dante Alighieri|Dante; A cop knocks on the car window and delivers an envelope of [[w:CliffsNotes|CliffsNotes]

Se7en

The Difficult Path from Darkness to Light

Taglines Long is the way, and hard, that out of hell leads up to light.

Se7en

Admiration Amidst Chaos and Conflict

Mills Hello?

[picks up the phone]

Doe I admire you. I don't know how you found me, but imagine my surprise. I respect you law enforcement agents more every day.

Mills Well, I appreciate that, John. I tell you …

Doe No, no, you listen, all right? I'll be re-adjusting my schedule in light of today's little … setback. I just had to call and express my admiration. Sorry I had to hurt … one of you, but I really didn't have a choice, did I?

Mills Hm.

Doe You will accept my apology, won't you? I feel like saying more, but I don't want to ruin the surprise.

[hangs up]

Se7en

The Nature of Insanity and Perception

Mills I've been trying to figure something in my head, and maybe you can help me out, yeah? When a person is insane, as you clearly are, do you know that you're insane? Maybe you're just sitting around, reading Guns and Ammo, masturbating in your own feces. Do you just stop and go, "Wow! It is amazing how fucking crazy I really am!"? Yeah, do you guys do that?

[to John Doe]

Doe It's more comfortable for you to label me as insane.

Mills It's very comfortable.

Se7en

Detective Duties and Responsibilities Discussed

Mills Now, I wasn't standing around guarding the Taco Bell, alright? I worked homicide for 5 years.

Somerset Not here.

Mills I understand that.

Somerset Well, over the next 7 days, Detective, you'll do me the favor of remembering that.

Se7en

Exploring the Seven Deadly Sins

Taglines Seven deadly sins. Seven ways to die.

Se7en

A Conversation on Hope and Reality

Somerset You meant what you said to Mrs. Gould, didn't you? About catching this guy?

Mills Yeah.

Somerset Hm. I wish I still thought the way you do.

Mills Why don't you tell me what the hell it is you think we're doing, then?

Somerset Picking up the pieces. We're collecting all the evidence, taking all the pictures and samples, writing everything down, noting the time things happen.

Mills That's all?

Somerset That's all. Putting everything into neat little piles and filing it away on the off chance it will ever be needed in the courtroom. Picking up diamonds on a deserted island, saving them in case we get rescued.

Mills Bullshit!

[sits up]

Somerset Even the most promising clues usually only lead to others. So many corpses roll away un-revenged.

Mills Don't try to tell me you didn't get that rush tonight. I saw you. We're getting somewhere.

Se7en

Existential Reflection on Human Nature

John Doe What sick ridiculous puppets we are / and what gross little stage we dance on / What fun we have dancing and fucking / Not a care in the world / Not knowing that we are nothing / We are not what was intended

[From one of his journals]

Se7en

Reflections on Life and Work Choices

Mills Do you like what you do for a living? These things you see?

Man in Massage Parlour Booth No, I don't. But that's life.

Se7en

Expect the unexpected in dark situations

William Somerset If John Doe's head splits open and a ] should fly out, I want you to have expected it.

[[UFO]

Se7en Quotes