Seven

Seven(1995)

Directed by - David Fincher.

Produced by - Arnold Kopelson and Phyllis Carlyle.

    Written by - Andrew Kevin Walker.

The detectives investigate a series of murders relating to the seven deadly sins, such as an obese man who was forced to feed himself to death, representing "Gluttony." They find clues at each crime scene related to other deaths, and believe they are chasing a serial killer. A set of fingerprints found at the scene of the "Greed" murder, the fatal bloodletting of a rich attorney, leads them to an apartment where they find an emaciated man strapped to a bed. Though he initially appears to be dead, it soon is discovered that the man has been kept alive and entirely immobile by the killer for exactly one year to the day; a drug dealer and child molester before his captivity, this victim represents "Sloth", and dies soon after from shock. Though unable to learn anything from the insensate victim, the detectives agree that the killer has planned these crimes for more than a year.

         
Does it follow the typical conventions of a thriller?

Characters:

Morgan Freeman – Detective Lt. William Somerset.Brad pit- Detective David Mills.

The film:

Above is a trailer of the film i am analysing.

· Starts off fade from black to picture.

      · Long shot of kitchen and back of man.

· Close up of hand picking up knife, badge.

· Clothing and props- Tie and shirt to show he is important.

· Pride in appearance.

· Everything is ordered.

· Maybe OCD?

· Main character, you know he is going to be involved.

· 54 seconds- goes straight to a dead body.

· Is unconventional as it sets the mystery straight away, want to know what’s happened already.

· His organised house contrasts with the chaos of the dead body.

· Goory, gruesome, pool of blood.

· Voice over talking about the scene.

· Dim lighting to make more mystery, gloom, death, the only light is on the body as the room isn’t important but the body is.

· ‘did the kid see it’ annoys the other character he knows there is one because he is looking at the fridge and see’s drawings and the other character doesn’t believe him. The other guy wants to get it over with; Morgan wants to know as he is interested.

· Brad Pitt is introduced.

· Brad Pitt – scruffy, different from Morgan, he is relaxed.

· Low angle to show power/ authority.

· The rain is a typical convention of a thriller – flushing away of life.

· Tracking shot when walking then when they stop it’s a two shot. They are having a debt of why he is there.

· Creates mystery, why is he there?, why getting transferred specifically there.

· Seven – Seven days, so concentrates on those seven days, Morgan is leaving in seven days.

· Pitt has to walk faster to keep up, they are very different, and Brad is fast and irrational whereas Morgan is slower and rational.

· The body language is different between the two.

· Close up of a clock thing, you can hear it as it’s loud. The talking may be in his head so the clock ticking keeps his mind of this, may also try to get to sleep, hypnotised.



Title sequence

·Music – creepy, screechy music, fast paced but with a slow bass. As soon as the music starts you watch it. It has an almost metallic screech to it. A sound of dragging fingernails across a blackboard so it makes you get Goosebumps. A strange sound like from the transformers makes you feel uncomfortable.

·Camera shots – jumpy and quick. Lots of close ups of hands, pens, cutting, needles etc... Close up of peeling of finger prints. Blacking out words and drawing over a picture of a child as if to hide evidence and identity. Close up of pages turning. Focused on certain objects and blurs the rest out. Close up of a picture of hands you have no clue what’s going on. Close up of red with a picture under it, red = blood, passion, danger, seduction, anger.

·Writing – the writing is strange to font is jagged and creepy. When the seven comes up it has a backwards it’s strange. The writing looks handwritten and is on angles to it looks creepy.

·Other- The book looks like a scrap book. Hand written journal, writing it is personal. They cut out things so you can’t trace a person. Background information so you know what is going to happen. Keeps flashing red. Dirty finger nails is uncomfortable isn’t nice. They are being very careful in what they are doing. Different films of photographs are red. Close up of a picture of a head with a nail in it- could be research. The audience can kind of picture that the person is either a murder or a detective. The precision and detail he puts into this makes it known that it is his life, he believes in what he does. More images then text as pictures have a thousand word whereas words don’t.

Monday - the start of the week, start of the seven days.

· First opening shot of the Monday scene- brad and wife in bed, you know it is a wife as she has her arm over him and he has his around her protectively.

· From him looking out the window it cuts to him sitting on the bed so you can’t see where they are or what’s going on outside.

· Looks like a tramp even though he is a detective.

· Morgan doesn’t care about him even though he is trying to be nice, as Morgan wants to get on with the crime.

· It’s still raining = shows that something is still going on.

· The setting is dark, grey dull colours, barbed wire, abandoned places around them; they aren’t supposed to be there.

· Because of the weather and set you know that it isn’t going to be a nice shot.

· As they walk to the scene it’s a tracking shot behind the fence to show protection or a cage of fear.

· Morgan is in front of brad shows that he is more important and wants to get on with it.

· The wire and the bar sort of hides their faces.

· No lights as no one can put them on.

· As they go from the lightish scene to the darker scene it gives you Goosebumps.

· The non-diegetic sounds make it uncomfortable.

· Two TV’s and a bowl, poster etc... Shows it’s a normal kind of house.

· The ocean on the TV shows loneliness, wanting to be free etc…

· The use of the torches makes the scene tense as they are searching for the body and as they close in on the body it makes it tense.

· Cutting Morgan’s head out of the shot hides his expression.

· As they walk up you see the back of the body, its represents gluttony, the guy is dead with his face in a bowl of food, makes you uncomfortable and feel sick.

· The spaghetti tins – are too many, but the killer put them there to show gluttony and consuming.

· Shot of Morgan looking down with the torch makes you want to know what is down there.

· Brad said it wasn’t murder.

· Focusing in on the feet showing that they are tied together shows us that it is murder. The wire cuts into his skin, blood etc… and so is his hands.

· The killer thinks it’s wrong that this guy has eaten so much.

· The music is creepy and building.

· Morgan is one step ahead and doesn’t tell us anything but Brad Pit does we wait for him to tell us.

· Bucket full of vomit, the guy has been forced to eat and the killer is proud of what he’s done. Morgan only asks is there blood in it.

· Morgan and Brad’s relationship is tense as Morgan told him to be quiet as he is thinking, and sends him outside as he thinks he isn’t ready to see anything like the dead guys face.