Analysis of Thriller- Seven

The first scene of seven takes place in an urban city in America; it is chaotic which forebodes the messy crimes to come. We see Detective Somerset played by Morgan Freeman in his apartment there is a medium shot of him cleaning dishes, this shows he is a rather anal and clean character which helps him to be a rather precise by the book detective. Outside there is diegetic noise of sirens which connotes the danger around him, this is juxtaposed with his clean and modern apartment.  He wears white which again reinforces his fastidious and obsessive nature. His apartment is rather modern and very minimalistic; however key bits of furniture e.g. the chess board inform us that he is rather intellectual. There is then an ellipsis to an over the shoulder shot of Detective Somerset buttoning up his shirt in the mirror, the camera then pans to his face which looks very serious and focused. We then cut to a close up of his belongings lined up in order on his table, shortly followed be a medium shot of him picking a small piece of fluff of his blazer this signifies he has a rather obsessive and compulsive nature.

There is then an ellipsis edit to the murder scene where a man lies in a pool of blood. Low key high contrast lighting is used to convey an eerie atmosphere, the camera pans to show the whole body. We then cut to a medium long shot of Detective Somerset slowly walking down the dimly lit corridor. The camera pans him as he puts on the glasses to get a more in depth look of the clues; this shows us he is eager to know the true cause of the man’s death, this juxtaposed with the other detective who wears a discoloured unbuttoned shirt with which is symbolic of his lazy carefree attitude towards the case. There is then a medium shot as Brad Pitt runs up the stairs, his running shows he is eager. There is then a medium close up of Brad as he introduces himself to detective Somerset, he is chewing gum and appears rather confident. There is then an ellipsis edit as the two leave the apartment after a body bag into the busy city where it is raining the use of pathetic fallacy emphasises the dull situation also a blue filter is used to make the area seem downcast and dreary. The camera tracks the two detectives as they walk down the busy sidewalk, Brad Pitt wears a leather jacket which emphasises his individuality and perhaps rebellious nature this is juxtaposed with Detective Somerset’s clean cut appearance and professional suit. Their age also contributes to this odd pairing, however it may connote compatibility as they both possess qualities that the other lacks. The low angle shot used as the two converse shows they are both confident and dominant characters. Brad Pitt acts a very self-assured and confident character, however it is clear Detective Somerset is to act at his mentor and his boss.

We then use an ellipsis edit of an interior long shot of Detective Somerset in his bedroom, reading a book which again connotes the idea that he is a intellectual, this reinforced by the mounds of books in his room. Low key high contrast lighting to give an atmosphere of darkness and threat. There is an extreme close up on Morgan Freemans hand as he puts down his glasses and puts on his metronome as he uses as an orderly device in order to drown out the chaos of the diegetic shouts and screaming that comes from outside. His need to create a sense of order again symbolises his fastidious ways. The metronomes’ repetitive ticking acts as a device to help him sleep there is a medium close up as we zoom to him trying to sleep, we cut back to the metronome as it fades to black.

There is a fade to black as we then cut to a montage of images as the overlay titles begin a rather wiry non diegetic soundtrack, there is a constant beat which of a high hat on the drum which ties in with the aforementioned metronome. With key images shown that link to crimes, we first see a diary, which refers back to Detective Somerset’s compulsive ways; it suggests there is perhaps a paradox between the villain and Morgan Freeman, as they both keep things in an organised way, we also can infer that the villain is highly skilled in the way he fastidiously organises his diaries and his skills in sewing suggest he pays great attention to detail in his crimes, making them seem more vicious and him more dangerous. There is then several extreme close ups on the villains hands as we see him using a small blade to shave the top layer of his finger off (in order to destroy his fingerprints) we can infer from this that he is extremely clever and cunning. The eerie soundtrack continues as white flashing overlay titles flicker on the screen the way in which the titles flicker connotes images of panicking and desperation. We see the villain in many ways is very similar to Morgan Freeman as the diary and the way he keeps everything organised suggest he is also a rather assiduous character. The colour red act as a catalyst for fear throughout the titles, as red connotes danger violence and death.  We see a montage of pictures of victims who have been brutally assaulted and look disturbingly disheveled.  The non-diegetic music builds to a crescendo and the fast pace thus reinforcing the thriller genre it makes us more on edge. The words “you bring me closer to God” connote images of death as dying brings you to God.