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The Rewatchables ·

Se7en

year 1995decade 90sdirector David Finchergenre Crimegenre Thriller
host Bill Simmonshost Sean Fennesseyhost Chris Ryan theme Fincher Week
All 17 categories

Most Rewatchable Scene · 36:40

Car ride with John Doe

Bill Simmons: Somerset’s library research and dinner with the Mills couple are nominated for filmmaking and establishing affection.

Bill Simmons: The SWAT discovery and apartment pursuit are nominated; the cough reportedly surprised actors, and Pitt’s real arm injury was incorporated.

The film

Se7en (1995)

Directed by David Fincher · Crime

126

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Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Brad Pitt Mills
Morgan Freeman Somerset
R. Lee Ermey Police captain
Kevin Spacey John Doe

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

35:30

Roger Ebert's review
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:35:30Read transcript
  • The later four-star review is distinguished from the original three-and-a-half-star review and praised as an especially good late-career piece. — Sean Fennessey
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36:40

Most Rewatchable Scene

Car ride with John Doe; desert ending

Car ride with John Doe; desert ending

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:36:40Read transcript
  • Somerset’s library research and dinner with the Mills couple are nominated for filmmaking and establishing affection. — Bill Simmons
  • The SWAT discovery and apartment pursuit are nominated; the cough reportedly surprised actors, and Pitt’s real arm injury was incorporated. — Bill Simmons
  • The car ride and ending are leading choices; the helicopter view and Freeman running back and forth to the box are praised.
  • Small procedural moments are appreciated, while the car speech is praised for voice changes and sustaining suspense after the killer is known. — Sean Fennessey
  • John Doe’s bloody-handed entrance and demand for a lawyer are celebrated.
  • The car ride is explicitly preferred because new details survive familiarity with the ending; fingerprints, pizza-parlor research exchange and the office-name removal are added favorites.
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45:55

What’s Aged the Best?

John Doe performance; credits; seven-sins structure; unnamed rainy city; music; unseen box contents; Mills’s reading ...

John Doe performance; credits; seven-sins structure; unnamed rainy city; music; unseen box contents; Mills’s reading frustration; sound; Somerset

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:45:55Read transcript
  • Spacey’s performance is praised; earlier De Niro, Will Patton, Tim Blake Nelson and Billy Bob Thornton are considered possible alternatives, and the dead-dog denial is admired. — Bill Simmons
  • The serial-killer-style credits immediately establish a grimy, modern world. — Bill Simmons
  • The seven-sins structure and intersecting final sins are praised, with literary influences and clue-solving conventions discussed.
  • The unnamed city and relentless rain create an authentic, oppressive setting. — Chris Ryan
  • Love Plus One at the pizza place and the decision not to show the head in the box are praised. — Bill Simmons
  • Mills’s reading frustration, city noises and Somerset’s lonely, cynical research-driven existence are admired. — Sean Fennessey
  • The industrial rock music, Nine Inch Nails and the later scoring partnership are praised. — Sean Fennessey
  • Somerset is imagined as a difficult social companion, with speculative sports allegiances.
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56:06

What’s Aged the Worst?

First-viewing shock; horror labels; Pitt–Paltrow romance; composition books; persuasive killer rhetoric

First-viewing shock; horror labels; Pitt–Paltrow romance; composition books; persuasive killer rhetoric

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:06Read transcript
  • The initial shock can never be recovered; the ending leaves viewers unable to continue an ordinary evening. — Bill Simmons
  • The standard horror label is considered inadequate for dread built from unseen violence, with thriller/horror alternatives unsuccessfully proposed. — Bill Simmons
  • The movie is a weird document of Brad and Gwyneth’s love because it did not work out and ends with her head in a box.
  • Composition books are compared with an imagined blog or online community that might have redirected the killer.
  • The angry case that each victim deserved to die jokingly prompts recognition of some solid points. — Bill Simmons
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1:00:14

Casting What-Ifs

Denzel Washington; Sylvester Stallone; Robert Duvall; Gene Hackman; Al Pacino; Val Kilmer; Jeremiah Chechik; Guillerm...

Denzel Washington; Sylvester Stallone; Robert Duvall; Gene Hackman; Al Pacino; Val Kilmer; Jeremiah Chechik; Guillermo del Toro

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:14Read transcript
  • Washington reportedly rejected Mills as too dark and later regretted it. — Bill Simmons
  • The Stallone claim is doubted; Duvall and Hackman are reported Somerset alternatives, and Pacino reportedly chose City Hall.
  • Kilmer as John Doe is enthusiastically imagined after a reported rejection; a Chechik directing attachment is questioned. — Bill Simmons
  • The claim that del Toro rejected the film as too dark is treated skeptically. — Bill Simmons
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1:02:40

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Leland Orser; unidentified booth attendant

Leland Orser; unidentified booth attendant

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:02:40Read transcript
  • Orser is chosen as familiar by face but difficult to name or separate from this role.
  • The booth attendant is added as a familiar actor whose name remains unresolved.
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1:03:16

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Leland Orser; John C. McGinley

Leland Orser; John C. McGinley

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:16Read transcript
  • Orser and McGinley are nominated; McGinley’s energy is defended as his usual persona and admired on the commentary.
  • Orser reportedly prepared with rapid breathing and several days without sleep to appear disoriented. — Bill Simmons
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1:05:06

Brandy Booth Award for Best Performance by a Pet

Pitt’s dog

Pitt’s dog

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:06Read transcript
  • The dog cameo is praised as great-looking and given six out of ten on the host’s pet-rating scale. — Bill Simmons
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1:05:06

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Kevin Spacey

Kevin Spacey

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:06Read transcript
  • Spacey is deemed eligible despite the importance of his four scenes. — Bill Simmons
  • Schiff’s lawyer, Roundtree’s press conference, the coroner report and the police captain are alternatives. — Sean Fennessey
  • Paltrow’s diner performance is praised before the final Spacey vote. — Bill Simmons
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1:06:17

Recasting Couch

Original top four; Jason Patric, Duvall, River Phoenix and an unresolved alternative

Original top four; Jason Patric, Duvall, River Phoenix and an unresolved alternative

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:17Read transcript
  • The top four are defended, with Jason suggested for Mills and Duvall for Somerset; another suggested name is unclear in the transcript. — Bill Simmons
  • River Phoenix is imagined as a compelling dark alternative had he lived. — Bill Simmons
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1:07:25

Half-Assed Internet Research

Handwritten books; diner; fleeting face image; Michael Reid MacKay

Handwritten books; diner; fleeting face image; Michael Reid MacKay

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:25Read transcript
  • The books reportedly took two months and $15,000 to make; Pitt’s injury is recalled. — Bill Simmons
  • The diner is identified as the Quality Coffee Shop, also used in Training Day. — Bill Simmons
  • The fleeting Paltrow image before the shooting is compared with Fight Club’s film-frame imagery. — Bill Simmons
  • The very thin actor playing the chained victim is named and described as weighing ninety-eight pounds. — Bill Simmons
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1:09:30

Apex Mountain

Morgan Freeman (disputed)

Morgan Freeman (disputed)

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:30Read transcript
  • Freeman receives a yes based on Shawshank followed by Seven and resulting leverage; 1989 and the pre-Robin Hood period challenge it. — Bill Simmons
  • Pitt and Fincher receive no; an early-Paltrow proposal is rejected as incompatible with the definition, and American Beauty is preferred for Spacey. — Bill Simmons
  • The French Revolution is preferred for decapitations and Dante for the deadly sins. — Bill Simmons
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1:11:50

Picking Nits

Tracy’s isolation and confidant; head shipment; dog; killer’s public behavior; Somerset’s reaction

Tracy’s isolation and confidant; head shipment; dog; killer’s public behavior; Somerset’s reaction

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:50Read transcript
  • Tracy’s lack of friends, the move, fear of discussing pregnancy and choice of Somerset as confidant are questioned, though the diner scene is defended as convincing. — Bill Simmons
  • The logistics of packaging, courier payment, blood and timing are explored without a settled explanation. — Bill Simmons
  • Whether the dog is killed, how the right size box is chosen and how much blood comes from the head are questioned. — Bill Simmons
  • An accomplice is proposed; the killer’s bloody taxi ride and uncontrolled behavior raise questions about earlier detection.
  • The head is imagined face-up; Somerset’s apparently restrained response is questioned. — Bill Simmons
  • Somerset’s suspicion during the car ride and established cynicism are offered to explain his reaction. — Sean Fennessey
  • The panel doubts Mills ever looks inside the box after being restrained. — Bill Simmons
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1:20:45

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie

“Just because the fucker has a library card doesn’t make him Yoda”; “Maybe you guys want to cross your fingers somewh...

“Just because the fucker has a library card doesn’t make him Yoda”; “Maybe you guys want to cross your fingers somewhere else”

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:20:45Read transcript
  • The library-card/Yoda line is a favorite Mills quote. — Bill Simmons
  • The fingerprint technician’s request to cross fingers elsewhere is another favorite.
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1:21:00

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Seven-episode series; older Mills investigates copycat sins

Seven-episode series; older Mills investigates copycat sins

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:00Read transcript
  • A seven-episode series receives interest, qualified by concern that the original depends on its unusually gifted team; Copycat is the comparison.
  • A Fincher sequel with older Mills is pitched: barred from police work and perhaps a bounty hunter, he joins a younger partner to investigate anniversary copycat killings; Michael B. Jordan and Ronan are suggested, alongside a transcript-garbled young actor name. — Bill Simmons
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1:23:27

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Favorite sin; tongue injury; dog’s fate; Somerset’s next day

Favorite sin; tongue injury; dog’s fate; Somerset’s next day

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:23:27Read transcript
  • Envy, sloth and wrath are separate favorite-sin answers. — Bill Simmons
  • The ability to bite off one’s tongue is disputed without reliable resolution. — Bill Simmons
  • The dogs are presumed alive but neglected because killing them would disturb the killer’s tally.
  • Somerset’s next day is imagined as leaving town or watching the Jets; a supposed extra ending about a football signing is a joke. — Bill Simmons
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1:25:18

Who Won the Movie?

David Fincher

David Fincher

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:25:18Read transcript
  • Fincher receives a choice and explicit agreement, while Freeman is said to nearly share the honor for guiding viewers through the world. — Chris Ryan
  • Fight Club’s lasting impact is disputed; Fincher’s subsequent creative control and craftsmanship support the choice. — Sean Fennessey
Podcast choices
Speaker not identified
David Fincher
Speaker not identified
David Fincher
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More from the conversation

The film’s bleakness and concealed killer billing are discussed as possible reasons for limited Oscar recognition; spoiler secrecy and slow-building box office are contrasted with contemporary marketing.
Approx. transcript time · 00:04:19Read transcript
The hosts discuss Fincher returning after Alien 3, defending the ending and building a style indebted to Hitchcock and influential on True Detective.
Approx. transcript time · 00:10:00Read transcript
The final stretch’s pull is contrasted with appreciation of the patient, detailed detective work in the first half.
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:55Read transcript
Reported ending alternatives include a direct cut to black and Somerset shooting the killer; the studio-added final narration is criticized.
Approx. transcript time · 00:19:49Read transcript
The 1995 Academy choices are criticized against the enduring impact of genre films including Casino.
Approx. transcript time · 00:22:34Read transcript
Pitt’s performance divides the panel: twitchiness is criticized, while Mills’s limited intelligence, good intentions and immaturity are defended as deliberate.
Approx. transcript time · 00:24:08Read transcript
An informal, revised favorite-Pitt-performance list includes Inglourious Basterds, Jesse James and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood; another settles on Moneyball first, True Romance second, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood third and Inglourious Basterds fourth. This is not a Top Ten List.
Approx. transcript time · 00:28:55Read transcript
Freeman’s late rise, Walker’s Tower Records writing period and New Line’s move into major productions are discussed.
Approx. transcript time · 00:30:41Read transcript