Analysis of Se7en

This film opening contains many conventions of the thriller genre; the scene begins with a black screen fading into an establishing shot of a flat. The lighting is chiaroscuro creating an eerie effect, there appears to be a blue filter being used here as the scene appears very blue/grey; these colours connote depression and negative ideas which is quite common in thriller films. In this establishing shot we see a window with blinds across it, these seem purposefully placed to look like bars on the window connoting imprisonment and also suggesting the area Morgan Freeman’s character is living in is a rough and dangerous area. We can hear off screen diegetic police sirens quite often through the film opening, this is also a common convention of thrillers, again suggesting the location is a crime ridden big city, we do not know specifically what the city is called which creates a feeling of unknown around the area, the unknown is often a theme in thrillers. Thrillers are often set in big cities as here people are less likely to know people as the population is very big, making it easier for criminals to hide and remain anonymous.

 In this scene we meet the main character played by Morgan Freeman (Detective Somerset.) We know he is going to be a main character, a Proppian hero, as he the shots and story line seem to focus on him. We see an overhead close up of objects that the detective picks up before leaving, keys, a pen knife, a police badge, a pen and a handkerchief. This suggests lots of things about the character Detective Somerset. The pen knife is more like a tool than a weapon suggesting that he is not a very violent man but is clever, the pen also supports this, the police badge shows he is professional and the keys show he is not forgetful but remembers everything and is well organised. Morgan Freeman’s character is a middle aged male in his 50’s and is a detective; these are common conventions of ‘the hero’ in thriller films. The protagonist in thrillers often usually has some kind of flaw, in this thriller the flaw may be that he is very obsessed and devoted to his work and has no life outside of his work. This is proven by the lack of family photos around his house and also when he asks Detective Mills if he wants to go to the pub with him. In the opening shot we also see a game of chess set up, this could also suggest Detective Somerset is clever, methodical and also connotes patience. Detective Somerset’s flat appears very tidy and simple. There are no luxurious items showing he is not a greedy man, the lack of photographs of family or friends on the walls tell us he is quite lonely.

We see a medium shot through the mirror as he puts his tie on quite slowly and methodically, we then cut to a shot of him picking up his jacket that has been neatly laid on the bed. The slow pace of this scene show and mundane normality of the tasks show he is very well organised but is also juxtaposed with an ellipsis edit taking us directly to a grim and squalid murder scene. This shows that Detectives Somerset’s reasons for getting up in the morning are to go and deal with crimes like these. By cutting straight to the body on the floor it makes it seem a little less shocking which reflects that Detective Somerset is very used to these incidents.

We then cut to a new scene which begins with a dead body on the floor; this suggests that this scene, and maybe the film, is centered on the murder victims. The lighting is high key low contrast, chiaroscuro which is commonly used in thrillers. We can hear the sounds of sirens and rain, pathetic fallacy is used here as the weather is gloomy relating to the depressing mood around the murder scene. We meet another detective here who contrasts to Detective Somerset as he seems to want to sum up the crime quickly even if it means lazily ignoring evidence; Detective Somerset is much more observant and asks more questions. This other detective also serves the purpose of telling us Detective Somerset is coming to the end of his career and retiring, this is narrative exposition. We also learn from this detective other detectives don’t often like Detective Somerset; this may be because he is such a thorough detective who is almost always right. In learning that Detective Somerset is retiring it makes the audience wonder what he will do with his life after seeing as he does not seem to have friends/family, we later see this loneliness when he asks a third detective, Brad Pitt’s character Detective Mills, if he wants to go to the pub for a drink, Detective Mills rejects which could suggest he has friends/family and other things to do. Detective Mills is a lot younger than Detective Somerset and they appear very different to each other. This odd couple partnership is another genre convention and suggests that there will be friction but Detective Mills may eventually learn from Detective Somerset’s experience. Detective Mills may play the role of ‘the helper,’ when we first meet him he is wearing a leather jacket and chewing gum, he looks about 30 and we learn he is new to this job. He is younger and less wise than Detective Somerset; these are common characteristics of the helper. We learn more about the area when the two detectives talk, Somerset asks Mills why he would want to work in a place like this city; again this is narrative exposition as it tells the audience that the area is not pleasant and full of murders.

In the scene outside the murder apartment there is a medium two shot of Mills and Somerset talking, this shot lasts tracks them and for much longer than average which is quite a common convention in thrillers, it suggests these two characters are the main ones to be focused on. In the background of the shot are lots of bars on the buildings, like the blinds in Somerset’s apartment these suggest imprisonment and danger. Mills bumps into people whilst they walk but Somerset appears not to bump into as many, this could reflect the idea that Somerset is more experienced in life and in detective work than the younger Detective Mills. It could also suggest that Mills is more likely to initiate conflict whereas Detective Somerset observes, avoids and solves problems.

In the final scene before the titles we venture to Somerset’s apartment in his bedroom. We start the day here and then end the day here and all we see between in Somerset at work, this shows again that his work is his life and the only things he does at home is get ready for work and then go to bed, we don’t even see him eating at any point in the day, (although he probably does) which could show that his work is even more important to life’s necessities such as food. The colour scheme is washed out colours, mainly greys and blues, blue connoting depression. The shot is a mid-shot showing his room is confined and not spacious or luxurious. Again we can hear sirens, dogs barking and people having an argument, all these are typical city sounds that suggest a high crime rate area which is a typical convention of thrillers. We see a close up of an old fashioned ticking metronome, this is what Somerset uses to help get to sleep, it could be seen as what Somerset uses to bring order to these disturbing sounds, he seems like a very ordered organised man and this sequenced sound is fitting for helping him get to sleep. It brings some order to the chaos outside and also suggests that in his time as a detective he has seen some terrible things. This suggests that the film will focus on Somerset work as a detective and his, perhaps hopeless attempt to bring order to this chaotic crime ridden city.

After being introduced to the main characters and establishing the themes and genre, the clip fades into a montage sequence for the titles. In the opening we see the equilibrium of Somerset getting ready for work, and several disruptions, an unsolved crime, Somerset’s retirement and a potential new partner, this opening is a common convention of thrillers. There is a sound bridge before we go into the montage with a rumble of thunder merging into a non-diegetic sound track, this is pathetic fallacy as thunder  connotes danger suggesting what we are about to see is threatening. In the montage sequence we meet a new character who we assume to be the killer; we only see his hands and his identity is not revealed creating mystery or enigmas which is a common convention of thrillers. We assume him to be the killer as the eerie sound effects played whilst viewing what his hands are doing is quite suspicious. At one point there is an extreme close-up of the killer’s finger tips and a razor showing him scraping off his own fingertips. There are metallic creaking sounds and industrial noises heard in the sound track. The heavy bass of the sound track connotes the killer to be dangerous. We see pages and documents of scribbled out faces and highlighted words, the killer appears to be sewing documents together suggesting there are reasons for the murders he is to commit, words such as “intercourse” and “homosexual” stand out suggesting maybe the murders are to do with these type of things. There are extreme close ups on the killers hands shaving his fingerprints off which suggest he has thought out what he is going to do and also signify violence; he is organised and prepared like Detective Somerset. The ‘hero’ and ‘villain’ being equally matched in intelligence is another common convention of thrillers. We see an extreme close up of a pen writing, the image is super imposed over the top of itself creating a blurred effect which creates a feeling of abnormality and altered states which is common in thrillers. There are lots of close ups on knives and blades which makes the audience feel uneasy and also shows this person as ‘the villain.’ The titles themselves appear in black and white overlaying onto the footage and sometimes full screen in-between the footage, the black and white are binary oppositions and suggest bad versus evil. The words appear in the corners of the screen making them stand out less than the footage they are overlaying. The font used is scribbled and looks almost scratched in connoting sharpness and knives; the words flicker around on the screen in an eerie manner.

There were many thriller conventions in this film opening, such as the character types and the colours and themes. The colours were often dark with colours such as blue which often connotes depression. A recurring character type in thrillers is ‘the hero,’ usually a middle aged knowledgeable man, Morgan Freeman’s character fitted this role perfectly, also the idea of ‘the villain’ being equally matched to the hero was already being suggested in the titles. As the opening is quite slow it introduces us to the main characters and plot of the film it suggests the whole film may be quite slow moving and could be a physiological thriller meaning the film is aimed at older wiser people who want their minds to be challenged, perhaps people of the age 25 and over would enjoy it the most.