Se7en (1995) Analysis

Se7en (1995): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114369/

Director: David Fincher

Writer: Andrew Kevin Walker

Cast: Morgan Freeman (Somerset), Brad Pitt (Mills), Gwyneth Paltrow (Tracy)

Se7en is a crime/drama/thriller based on a retiring detective (Morgan Freeman) in New York and a rookie detective (Brad Pitt) who recently moved into the city. They work alongside each other in discovering the identity of a murderer and who's victims have all committed one of the 7 deadly sins. The movie contains many plot twists and has a gripping storyline that requires some thought to follow.

The film begins with a medium shot of Detective Somerset getting ready. His jacket is laid out on his bed ready for him and his bed is made. There is also no sound in this first scene which gives a calm atmosphere. This immediately establishes Somerset as an organised, mature man who remains calm throughout the film.

After Detective Somerset's introduction, the scene cuts from Somerset's bedroom to a dead body in a crime scene, this immediately implies that murder will be a common theme throughout the movie. The theme of the movie is shown before Mills, one of the main characters is introduced, this shows the importance of getting across to the viewer the plot of the film to keep them grasped in the movie.

From 0:36-0:43 in the scene when the other detective states "We are all gonna be real glad when we get rid of you Somerset", Somerset ignores what he says and continues to look for evidence.
This suggests that Somerset is rather lonely and doesn't work as a team with his colleagues and prefers to do things alone. This gradually changes over the course of the movie as Somerset learns to work with his new colleague Mills.

Also during the conversation between Somerset and the other detective, the camera is mainly focused on Somerset, even when the other detective is still talking and has been in control of the entire conversation and he has had the majority of the speech. This shows that even though the other detective is in control of the conversation, Somerset still holds all authority in the situation.

At 0:52 in the scene, Mills is seen for the first time in the movie as he strolls into the room. It is instantly clear to the audience that Mills has a cocky swagger about him by his open body language and energetic persona.

This is also shown again just after the pair meet for the first time when they are walking down the street together, Somerset has a very confined stance with his hands behind his back and his shoulders remain straight and motionless throughout the walk. On the other hand, Mills has a more laid back walk that represents his personality, he sways his shoulders and his hands are constantly changing position. Another contrast between the two detectives is their dress sense, Mills is wearing a casual leather jacket whereas Somerset is wearing a three piece suit with a Mac coat. This difference shows that Mills and Somerset are complete opposites with one person being a confident young man and the other being an organised, older gentlemen.

As the two step foot outside of the building, it is clear that it is raining heavily, the miserable weather symbolises the sad plot of the movie. Also they are located in New York City, a large urban city that is very loud. This location suits the plot since it is an unpredictable place where something strange is always occurring.

A low angle mid shot is used throughout their conversation which shows that both of them are powerful characters since it gives the audience the impression that they are looking up at the pair. The  camera pans across the pair taking it in turns to face them rather than focussing on just one of them. This shows that they are both equals and have t
he same authority.

At 2:10 a mid shot is used during Mills and Somerset's conversation. They are once again shown as equals since the camera isn't directing towards either of them individually. Mills is still showing is confidence and comes across as arrogant to Somerset who is very blunt towards him. Somerset shows that he is still in control of the rookie Mills by constantly interrupting him mid-conversation and using phrases like "I want you to look, and I want you to listen". This quote shows that Somerset still has more power than Mills and is asserting his authority on him.

The opening credits are separate from the opening scene and are not integrated in anyway. It begins with the production companies name being shown in a white font that stands out on the dark, blurry background. The background music is repetitive yet uncertain, this gives an intense atmosphere and puts the audience on edge from the beginning.

The crooked hands at 0:07 and the razor blade at 0:15  make the audience feel uneasy know that something isn't right instantly. The constant changing camera angles also make the audience feel on edge and confuses them, further getting them gripped into the movie so that they can try to understand the plot.

A pair of hands doing all sorts of different things is shown multiple times during the opening credits, this could be possibly be the murderer that the entire movie revolves around since his identity is never revealed during this sequence. This draws the audience in even further since it adds mystery to the storyline and makes them wonder who the person is who's hands are shown in the opening credits.

The opening credits then begin to fade into shot in a white blurred font that stands out from the black background but is still difficult to read due to the blur which confuses the audience and further adds to the mystery in this film. They also use a small font for the major actors and the movie title which each appear one and fade out one by one which is surprising since there is usually a lot of emphasis on the main actors during a movies opening credits. 

The credits appear in the order as follows:

New line Cinema presents

An Arnold Kopelson production

A film by David Fincher 

Brad Pitt

Morgan Freeman

Se7en

Gwyneth Paltrow

Richard Roundtree

R.Lee Ermey

John C. McGinley

Julie Araskog

Mark Boone Junior

John Cassini

Reginald E. Cathey

Peter Crombie

Hawthorne James

Michael Massee

Leland Orser

Richard Portnow

Richard Schiff

Pamala Tyson

Casting by Billy Hopkins

Suzanne Smith 

Kerry Borden 

Music by Howard Shore

Costumes designed by Michael Kaplan

Edited by Richard Francis-Bruce

Production designed by Arthur Max

Director of photography Darius Khongdji

Co-producers Stephen Brown 

Nana Greenwald

Sanford Panitch

Co-executive producers Lynn Harris

Richard Saperstein

Executive producers Gianni Nunnari

Dan Kolsrud

Anne Kapelsun

Written by Andrew Kevin Walker

Produced by Arnold Kopelson

Phyllis Carlyle

Directed by David Fincher

Up until 0.37, the entire opening credits are in black and white and there is no colour featured at all. The first colour shown is red which is a symbol of death and pain, this sets the tone for how the plot of the film will unfold and gives an early indication that there will be many deaths throughout the course of this movie. Also at 0.40, non-diegetic screams are heard, this could be an indication of one of the characters getting into turmoil or just another one of the mysterious murderers victims. Then the word 'God' is heard

Another common feature in the opening credits is a piece of paper with a load of writing on it. The writing is blurred out or crossed out in some. This sneak peak of the paper with the writing makes the audience more eager to find out what is on the paper and what relevance it has to the plot of the movie. This traps the audience into the storyline because they become intrigued into what is going on and want to find out what happens in this mysterious thriller.

At 0.45 the word 'God' is shown on a bank note. God is known to be all powerful and money is often used to represent power since the richest of people commonly have high amounts of power of the lower classes. Both of these factors could be a symbol of either how powerful detectives Somerset and Mills are, or could be suggesting that the serial killer is more powerful than they thought. The word 'God' could also be related to the seven deadly sins which are a massive influence on this film since the killer bases all his murders on one of the seven deadly sins (Gluttony, Lust, Greed, Pride, Sloth, Envy and Wrath). The seven deadly sins are a Christian creation to prevent people from committing them by telling people that if they did any of the seven deadly sins they would go to hell.

At 1.00, a page is shown with a few of the words crossed off with a black marker. At the top of the page, the word 'Pregnant' is shown, this could be representing a character in the movie who is pregnant. The fact that it is shown in the opening credits could mean that it plays a key role in the storyline and that maybe the murderer may target a pregnant woman as one of his victims.

Many disturbing pictures are shown during the opening credits such as this one which appears at 1.30  which shows a head with some sort of sharp object stabbed into the back of his skull. The disturbing photos shown puts the audience on edge and leaves them wondering what is happening in the movie for all of these murders to occur.

At 1.37 the first shot is repeated again, it is followed by new shots that have not yet been seen. This gives the audience a sense of confusion. This could also suggest that one of the characters has a cyclical lifestyle that is about to change. This relates to Somerset who has been a detective for over 30 years and is about to retire, this could mean that his life has been very similar day in day out and that chain of waking up and going to work everyday is about to be broken.

The opening credits conclude with the same bank note shown earlier on with the word 'God' now being removed and the note is now flipped the other way. This could suggest that the murderer is attempting to replace God by punishing people himself for committing one of the seven deadly sins. The fact that the note is upside down could also be symbolising that the murderer is trying to turn the tables on God or maybe society by suggesting that these victims are the truly evil people and that he is doing a good thing for the world.

Conclusion of analysis

In my opinion, I think that the Se7en opening sequence is one of the best opening sequences ever made, with its mix of disturbing images and sounds and how it has given off a fair bit of information, but yet still manages to leave plenty to the imagination. It gives the audience a clear idea of what the main two characters are like but also doesn't give the audience much information about either of them. In the opening credits, the hidden identity whoever hands are shown multiple times is also very good because it leaves the element of mystery and confusion in the viewers minds and keeps the wanting to watch more to find out more about the killer and the two detectives.