*SPOILER WARNING: SPOILERS INVOLVED IN THIS ARTICLE*I don't think people give Morgan Freeman enough praise in what I believe is his best acting performance.By far his most popular and celebrated is his turn as Red in Shawshank Redemption which was the movie that effectively earned him an induction into the voiceover hall of fame. Others will say his Oscar winning turn in Million Dollar Baby was where he reached his peak.As good as those two performances were, I feel that what he did with Detective Somerset in Seven, was not only Freeman at his very best but showed a kind of acting that very few actors are able to achieve.For me, the best piece of acting is when you don't see the peformer "performing". Their actions, speech and mannerisms are so real that you forget you're watching someone play a role.Gian Maria Volonte in A Few Dollars More comes to mind, where at no point did I ever think I was watching someone acting. It felt so genuine, so real that it was as if I was having an insight into a real life sociopath and not just someone pretending to be one.Rewatching Seven again, which is a classic by the way and a rare perfect screenplay, I had the realization that the film isn't about John Doe, or the trajectory Detective Mills goes through or even about the seven deadly sins.When I was younger, I was drawn towards the elusive figure of John Doe and trying to get into the psychology of someone who would do such atrocious crimes. After all, the name of the film is Seven, so I guessed that the film had to be about Doe and his carefully orchestrated murders.No, it's about Somerset. It's his film, and his own personal journey from leaving behind a line of work that he can make no sense of to realizing that as much as he's at a loss at being a detective in a world filled with sick and twisted people, the universe demands he stays in it.Freeman has a very difficult but very interesting challenge in this because both Fincher and the writer, Andrew Kevin Walker, don't give us too much backstory to who Somerset is. We get tidbits but nothing much. So Freeman has to get the audience to have a bit of an insight into the kind of man he was with those introspective, quieter scenes that Somerset has.And it's played to a T by Freeman who gives us the idea of an extremely talented and skilled detective who has been doing a lot of reflection, but even as he is dead-set on retirement and nothing as it seems will change his mind, there is still an inner conflict that Freeman conveys through the film.There's a scene where Somerset tells his superior, who is still trying to coax him into staying, about an incident he investigated involving a man who stabbed another in both his eyes.The senselessness of the act and how Freeman was able to convey that in such an understated way before promptly reverting back to his typing was perfect. You could see that Somerset just could not make any understanding of it, and that along with similar instances are what pushes him towards retirement.From the moment you see Somerset and for most of the film, it's as if he's floating in his own world. He's doing the work, and when the John Doe killings start to happen he's going by the routine, but he's not really all there. His motions and actions are all auto-pilot.After all, he's the veteran, he's the genius detective. The procedures of investigation, analysis and deduction all come second-nature to him. But Freeman knows the character is heading into retirement so he perfectly plays the detective doing his work and a man fed up of the work beautifully.That is where Freeman's brilliant take on the character comes in because it feels so real. Being an actor myself, I can tell when actors are trying to perform and really steal a scene or force an emotion out of you. That's the worst thing you can do. A lot of up and coming actors can learn a lot from his performance where all the work is internalized and all the audience should see from a character like this are minimal facial expressions and an aura you exhude.Freeman never cheats the audience and he knows and I'm sure Fincher did as well that this story is told through the eyes of Somerset. The severity of the John Doe murders and Somerset's state of mind are both intertwined because the very plot of the movie is the reason why Somerset wants out.But as I got older, I realised that the very meaning of the film is about how messed up the world is. That is what the screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker wanted us to really get. The shock-value of the murders is the dressing, but the actual core and juice is how even a seasoned detective who has seen it all has had enough.Another example I want to point to of Freeman's impeccable acting is the gripping finale where Somerset decides to take it upon himself to open the box. Now, the audience have no idea what is inside when Somerset reacts so it is crucial that Freeman can let us know just how horrific the contents of the box are just by his expression.There are numerous ways to play the reaction. Freeman could have exclaimed, held his mouth, bulged his eyes; because if you saw the severed head of the wife of your partner, that would be an understandable acting choice to make.Instead, Freeman just lets out a very brief gasp and steps back abruptly. That is all that was needed. A small, very real response that keeps the audience guessing but lets them know whatever is inside, is really, really horrible.Freeman hit the note just right. We can see on his face his shock, and it's an expression we have not yet once seen of this very stoic, guarded character all through the film. That tells us the audience..."oh dear"Very few actors would have been able to have that acting choice and execute it in the way that Freeman did. Less is always more when it comes to acting and Freeman perfectly exemplified that in the moment.Freeman's performance in Seven is just like the film itself, criminally under-appreciated. Of course, both the film and Freeman were and are championed for what they did but it needs to be even more.I remember when Brad Pitt was asked about his three acting gods, and he named Freeman as one of them and he talked about how Freeman was the master of stillness. Conveying a multitude of emotions without doing or saying anything.No other film does Freeman do that best than in Seven. A lot of his best scenes are were he doesn't say anything. Just like when he looks at the wall where Doe has "Greed" written on it. Mills turns to ask: "Have you ever seen anything like this." Before Somerset answers, for that brief moment, you can see in his eyes how he can't make sense of this psychotic genius, but his detective mind is working overtime to figure him out.No words needed, but he tells us everything just by his internalized acting. Nobody does it better.An absolute incredible film, and one of the best acting displays from a legend you will see. HH