The Seven Deadly Sins A Film Review of "Se7en" Written by Alison Friedt

Essay by miata101High School, 12th grade December 2004

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"Sin creates [an inclination] to sin; it engenders vice by repetition of the same acts. This results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgment of good and evil. Thus sin tends to reproduce itself and reinforce itself, but it cannot destroy the moral sense at its root."

Para. 1865, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994

Gluttony, greed, sloth, envy, wrath, pride, and lust; these are the seven deadly sins that are being punished with inconceivable cruelty by an inscrutable killer in director David Fincher's thriller "SE7EN." In a rainy, unnamed city, this serial killer starts a succession of murders over a period of one week, choosing his victims based on the Seven Deadly Sins. The killer stalks the city, looking for people that embody their particular sin. The murderer, whose chosen alias is "Jonathan Doe," feels it is his duty to deal out the complete and irreversible punishment to these select seven.

He feels it is a call from God.

The Seven Deadly Sins are not listed formally in the Bible. The closest references are found in Matthew's Gospel Ch.5-7, but they are not in a clear list. These sins were identified as a group around the same time as the Bible was being translated into a single language. Rather than these sins being categorized into one specific location in the Bible, they are found all throughout, from Genesis to Revelations.

In the film, Detective William Somerset is set for retirement in one week. One of his final duties before retirement is to prepare and train a young detective, David Mills, who's fresh from the country and ready to tackle big city crime. But his trial will only prove that he is not ready - not in the least. When the two detectives accidentally stumble...