Thriller Film Analysis - Se7en

The film Se7en is a crime thriller film made in 1995 starring Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt. Their characters are police detectives who are set on many cases around an unknown city. The case highlighted in the film is focused on the seven deadly sins and is interesting and mysterious. The opening sequence demonstrates a lot the audience about the film.

Mise-En-Scene

The first clips of the film show an establishing shot of Morgan Freemans character in his kitchen. These first clips help us establish what type of person the main character is. His home has been set up to be cold and dull. The wallpaper and furniture are dull greys and whites, and the furniture is minimal. Around in the kitchen and bedroom, there are not many objects of homeliness and there are no signs of companionship, but we are frequently shown how tidy and in order his possessions are. From this the producers want to show us that he is a lonely man, but also very tidy and pays attention to detail.

The next location is of Morgan Freeman at work, on a crime scene. The producers again have made the set dark and dull, and there are props of bodies and blood on the walls. This is a contrast to his neat and pristine home.

He is dressed in smart attire and a peak hat, almost playing into the part of detective in the film. When Brad Pitt enters onto the location he is dressed in a leather jacket, shirt and tie, almost scruffy compared to the other character. The film creators wanted to show that these two characters are very different and that their relationship will be vital through the film.

Outside of the crime scene into the streets of the town, the location looks very run down with graffiti on the walls and bars over windows. Also there is a dark, gloomy feel to it because this is establishing the location is a rundown, decrepit town which the audience will expect horrible crimes to happen.

For the title sequence there are many props being used such as razor blades, pictures that have been anonymously shot of random people’s faces, pages of writing and clippings from books. These all look eerie and old, faded and the film makers want you to recognise that these are clues to the film, thus creating an interest for the audience.

Use of Soundtrack

The use of soundtrack is most evident in the opening credits. An eerie, mysterious sounding soundtrack is played whilst the credits and title are played, alongside the images of an anonymous hand cutting and sticking from pages and sticking pictures. This was intentionally added to show the audience something strange and also important is going on, but they do not know exactly what. The soundtrack also is there to establish that the genre of the film is a thriller.

Diegetic Sound

The diegetic sounds are very useful to help the audience understand the characters and their values. Morgan Freeman’s character is seen to be very articulate and pays attention to detail. He also seems very detached from everybody he communicates with and lacks emotions. We find out that Brad Pitt’s character is slightly hot headed.

We are shown that he thinks about the unobvious through him asking “did the kid see it” whilst at the crime scene. His colleague responds that his question is irrelevant, they don’t care and all that matters is the man is dead. Also the colleague mentions that “we are all going to be real glad when we get rid of you”. This demonstrates to the audience that this character thinks the unthinkable and considering he is a police detective, this is foreshadowing the fact that he will use these skills that others find so annoying, to unveil a mystery.

The non-diegetic sounds that were on the opening titles were put there to add suspense to the film. The slow tempo drum beat imitates a plot being unfolded slowly which is what will happen in the film. The sounds like thunder add a scary factor to the music.

Editing

The editing is very important for the opening titles because the shots used in a random order add to the enigma of the film, the audience want to know what is going on.

Camera Shot, Movement & Composition

Camera shots are important within thus film. The most important are to establish the main character Morgan Freeman. One shot that particularly stands out is the shot of him with a neatly made bed and a blazer perfectly lay out upon it. The jacket looks perfect but he picks at little bits of unseen fluff on it. This shows that the little things are noticed by him.

An eye line match shot of his dressing table top shows his carefully lined up objects that he carries around from day to day. He puts them into his jacket one by one suggesting that this is a daily routine for him.

When this character is going to bed at the end of this sequence, a close up shot of a metronome is shown to the audience. It is to imply that he has to use a repetitive noise to fall asleep which is not normal. This gives the audience suspense about the character making them want to continue to find out about him.

The opening title shots are very shocking, such as the close up of a person scratching the tips of their fingers off with a razor blade. This is an audience grabbing shot because it is not a normal everyday occurrence.

Special Effects

There were mainly special effects used in the opening titles, such as shots being merged into one another, taken from different angles. Also special effects were used for the title fonts and the way in which they were shown on the screen.