Being a highly celebrated Oscar-winner has its perks. You can be choosy with roles, and you don't always have to sweat it out in an audition room. The modern Hollywood landscape only has a few actors who enjoy such privileges, and Denzel Washington is one of them. The actor recently revealed that he has about five movies lined up, and when he is done, he might contemplate retirement. No one would be angry when such a day comes, since Washington has blessed fans with plenty of timeless gems to enjoy.
Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Like Follow Followed Se7en R Thriller Drama Crime Mystery Release Date September 22, 1995 Runtime 127 minutes Director David Fincher Writers andrew kevin walker Cast See All Brad Pitt Gwyneth Paltrow John C. McGinley Morgan Freeman
Powered by Expand Collapse
No movie in Denzel Washington's catalog can be labeled "unwatchable." Even the productions with average reviews are still entertaining, thanks to his wonderful performances. However, his resume would have looked slightly different if he hadn't turned down some roles. The actor confessed to rejecting offers from the directors of Furious 7, Hotel Rwanda, Michael Clayton, Amistad, A Perfect World, and 48 Hours, among others. But he is most regretful for not signing up for David Fincher's crime thriller, Se7en.
'Se7en' Has a Delusional Serial Killer with Biblical Leanings
Like many other David Fincher movies, Se7en has a mania for detail and twists that set it apart from the spate of '90s thrillers that seemed to be far more preoccupied with style, shock, and visual impact. The movie first introduces audiences to the disillusioned police Detective Lieutenant William Somerset (Morgan Freeman), who is one week from retirement. For his last days, he is partnered with David Mills (Brad Pitt), a young, daring, idealistic detective who has recently moved to the city with his wife. Somerset hopes his final days on the job will unfold without incident, but how wrong he is.
Before Mills can even settle down, he and Somerset are tasked with investigating a bizarre case. An obese man was forced to eat until his tummy burst, killing him. Scribbled on the wall is the word "gluttony" written on the wall. Disturbed, Somerset asks to be reassigned, but the higher-ups say, "Hell no!" He has to find this devil first. The following day, the two cops find another victim, who was forced to cut a pound of flesh from his body. Scribbled on the crime scene is the word "greed." The lawmen quickly conclude that the killer is murdering people who have committed the seven deadly sins of Christianity.
Related The First Brad Pitt Movie Released in Theaters Was a Precursor to 'Scream'
'Cutting Class' may have been a side note in the career of Brad Pitt, but it acts as a precursor to the popular slasher franchise 'Scream.'
Posts
As is common in this taxonomy of cinema, solving murder is far less important here than the slow and arduous process by which the police drag their feet to get things done. But you'll still love it. To identify the killer, Mills and Somerset search libraries for anyone checking out books based on the seven deadly sins. The move pays off, leading them to the apartment of a man known only as John Doe. When Doe returns home and is chased by Mills, he turns the tables by striking him with a tire iron and incapacitating him. But rather than harm him, he chooses to flee. When the police investigate the apartment, they find numerous notebooks, pictures of victims, and a large amount of money.
Several more victims are killed, and as Mills and Somerset wallow in despair, they get a surprise. Doe shows up at the police station covered in blood and surrenders himself. Cocky, he threatens to plead insanity at his court trial, unless the protagonists accompany him to an undisclosed location where he is keeping victims who are guilty of the sins of envy and wrath. Doe also claims that God has chosen him to deliver punishment to mankind. How will the officers deal with this new kind of psycho? The cops get justice in the finale, but only after following a lengthy, winding itinerary piled into the sky with corpses. The wild ending -- thought-provoking and poignant in equal quantities -- is one of the greatest of any Hollywood production, a tantalizing foretaste of what David Fincher would achieve with some of his future hits.
Washington Felt 'Se7en' Was Too "Demonic"
During a 2018 OFF SCRIPT interview with Jamie Foxx for Grey Goose Vodka, Denzel Washington was asked if he had ever turned down a role he wished he had said yes to. After much thought, he confessed that he regretted turning down Se7en, saying that at the time, it felt it was "too dark."
"I thought the script was too demonic, then I saw the movie, and I was like 'oh, I blew it.' But, you know, it worked out alright."
Indeed, with its fog-wreathed dirty streets, noisy highways, and dull interiors, all laden with a sense of never-ending brooding menace, this is a thriller that chills the bones and has all the qualities of an unscrambling nightmare. Reading the events on paper might even be more terrifying, so we can understand why Washington felt a bit disturbed. He revealed that he was meant to play Mills, the part that eventually went to Brad Pitt. This potential casting would have paired Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman for the second time, after their successful team-up in the 1989 American Civil War-themed movie, Glory. That particular movie earned Washington his first-ever win, and he would likely have gotten another here, though neither Pitt nor Freeman were recognized by the Academy for their work.
Related Denzel Washington's Only Western Got a 4/10 for Accuracy, but Audiences Didn't Care
Discover the historical inaccuracies in Denzel Washington's The Magnificent Seven and why audiences overlooked them.
Posts
A Los Angeles Times piece reveals that Fincher was initially against the idea of Pitt playing Mills, a surprising mindset, considering the actor had established himself as an in-demand movie star following successes with Thelma & Louise, True Romance, and Interview with the Vampire. The director felt Pitt didn't fit the image he had in mind for the character. However, after meeting the actor, Fincher changed his mind, acknowledging that he was charismatic enough to make the audiences like Mills, no matter what the character did.
On his part, Pitt rejected several film offers because he wanted to escape his typecasting as a 'bro' or romantic lead character in favor of something more artistic with urban settings and great storytelling. To prepare for the role, he shaved his hair and lost all the weight he had gained for Legends of the Fall. Even though he didn't walk home with any trophies, the movie would push his career to the next level.
Washington's Shaky '90s Run Could Have Been More Memorable with 'Se7en'
Washington realizes that Se7en would have been great for his resume, and we see it. For most of his career, the Gladiator II star hasn't had a time when he really struggled, but the '90s can be described as his least impressive years. Of the 18 movies he starred in during this decade, only three remain memorable: Malcolm X, Philadelphia, and Courage Under Fire. The rest are good (better than what many other actors can say about their own work), but they aren't iconic.
The second half of the '90s was especially worse for Washington as movies like The Preacher's Wife and The Devil in a Blue Dress came and went without many headlines. The A-lister would even attempt to correct his Se7en mistake by starring in Fallen, a supernatural cop thriller where he plays a detective investigating a copycat killer. Unfortunately for him, that movie only made $25 million at the box office, way below its $46 million budget. In it, the screenwriters seemed to have had more fun with the odd assortment of shady urban characters than they did with the flimsy investigative plot full of carelessly tossed about McGuffins.
Related Denzel Washington's Intense 2010 Action Thriller Is Surprisingly Authentic
The making of 'Unstoppable' tested star Denzel Washington's intense fear of heights.
Posts
It wasn't until the turn of the century that Washington truly regained his form, with movies like Training Day, Man on Fire, Inside Man, and American Gangster all putting him firmly among Hollywood's elites. And he has never slowed down since. Today, he continues to be one of Hollywood's most in-demand actors.
Would Washington have been perfect for the role of Mills? Sure, he is never the wrong fit for anything. Mills also has the kind of attributes and arcs that the Glory star is known for executing perfectly. His natural desire for justice comes with more than a soupçon of complacency, amorality, and cocky deviousness, making the character an unpredictable and deeply flawed cop, a refreshing change from the archetypal Hollywood crime-fighting hero. Mills is ambitious, daring, and frustrated, traits that Washington demonstrated in Training Day, Malcolm X, and a few other films.
Additionally, he has starred in numerous films that rely on protagonist duos rather than a single person. Most importantly, he and Freeman would have played off each other with ease, having shared the set before. Missed opportunity, but none of the parties involved is likely to be too bothered by how things went down.