The Best Scene in ‘Se7en’ Has Absolutely Nothing To Do With John Doe or the Murders

In David Fincher‘s Se7en, two detectives traverse through what must feel like seven layers of hell to catch a brutal, exceptionally grotesque serial killer. The film is one of the most relentless and bleak crime thrillers to ever reach the mainstream, so much so that it is surprising just how popular a movie this grim could become.

While Se7en is packed with many thrilling sequences as Detectives Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Mills (Brad Pitt) close in on the biblically-minded killer, the most compelling scene in the film has nothing to do with the murders. Like another beloved 1995 crime movie, the quiet center of the film is a thematically rich dialogue exchange between two characters in a diner. No murder, no detective work, just two great actors sitting across from each other and pouring their hearts out.

The Diner Scene Is the Only Moment of Solace in David Fincher’s World-Weary Crime Thriller

Image via New Line Cinema

About halfway through the film, Somerset is invited to a diner by Mills’ wife, Tracy, played by Gwyneth Paltrow. Tracy confides in Somerset that she resents Mills moving them to this violent place for his work, and she reveals that she is pregnant. Somerset offers some of the only personal details we get about his character throughout the film, confiding in Tracy that he once had a long-term relationship which resulted in a pregnancy. They chose to abort because Somerset could not face the idea of raising a child in such a place. But he expresses that he regrets not starting that family every day.

Somerset advises Tracy about two things: firstly, that she never tells Mills if she decides to terminate the pregnancy. Secondly, she spoils the child every moment she can if she decides to go through with it. The levity brought by the latter of these two comments cuts through to Tracy, who begins crying at the table. It is a cathartic emotional release that is equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking.

In those five minutes, Paltrow and Freeman both do some of the greatest work of their careers. The scene is brimming with empathy and humanity, which makes it stand out so significantly in a film that is otherwise deeply upsetting, cynical, and dark. Of course, the tragedy that is the end of Se7en upends everything that was discussed during this diner meeting, but it is what ends up pushing Somerset back into the light in the wake of the unimaginably grim climax. Because of the ending, every word and beat of Paltrow’s performance is especially heart-wrenching on a repeat viewing, as you see the little bits of hope she holds onto while knowing she is already doomed.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Character Reaffirms Somerset’s Faith in Humanity

Gwyneth Paltrow in David Fincher's 'Se7en' — Image via New Line Cinema

Se7en ends with Somerset narrating in a classical film-noir fashion. All the pieces set up over the course of the film were toppled over in the most violent and upsetting manner possible. John Doe wins. Tracy is dead, and Mills is irrevocably broken. But Somerset manages to shed the cynicism that he displayed throughout the first half of the movie. He offers a quote attributed to Ernest Hemingway: “The world is a fine place and worth fighting for.” This quote is a summation of the true arc of the film, Somerset finding his humanity again. And it happened because of Tracy. Meeting Tracy in that diner reaffirmed to Somerset that, no matter how evil the world may become, there will always be people like her who make the suffering worthwhile and give us something to care about.

Se7en is a terrifying movie, and is often reduced to its most grim moments. This is so much the case that people frequently misremember it as being even more explicit than it actually is. But in reality, Fincher’s film has more heart than its reputation suggests. Paltrow is perfectly placed in this movie, a beautiful and radiant movie star at the early peak of her career who delivers a sweet and funny performance, brings levity to a terribly harsh narrative, and garners something of a friendship between Somerset and Mills. Tracy is the sole source of light in the dark world that these detectives and killers occupy.

Without the personal, one-on-one connection shared by Tracy and Somerset in the earlier diner scene, he could easily have shrugged off the terrible events that followed John Doe’s capture as simply another day in this wicked place he resides. But Somerset’s faith in humanity was restored by Tracy. The world is worth fighting for again.