Section 2: Research into examples of comparable products (SE7EN)

'Se7en' is a 1995 American thriller film directed by David Fincher, written by Andrew Kevin Walker and starring Brad Pitt, Margan Freeman and Gwyneth Paltrow. The Film follows David Mills (Pitt) and William Somerset (Freeman, police detectives working in a crime-filled city, who become deeply involved in a case involving a series of barbaric murders all in correspondance to the seven deadly sins.The following anyalasis will focus on the first seven minutes of the film.


Mis-en-scene
The mis-en-scene of the film creates an archetypal atmosphere associated with thrillers, dark and eerie. It also allows us to understand the characters and what persona they adopt and their motives.

• In the scene where Somerset is dressing,ready for work. We see him take great care in doing so. He ties his tie very slowly and carefully, watching himself in the mirror. This presents the character as a very proud and careful character, and when he is taking the items from his dresser (A flip knife, a pocket watch, some keys and a pen) he takes them in a specific order and they have been assembled in correspondance to that order. This suggests that Somerset is a rather routine based person and does things a certain way all of the time. From this we are able to gether so mcuh of Somersets character in just that scene, allowing us to connect with him and follow him through the story.
• The fact that he carries a knife suggests the setting and atmosphere of the film. The knife is a rather primative weapon and by having a shot of this weapon suggests to the audience that the place where Somerset lives is a dangerous place.
• Within one minute of the film starting we are shown a shot of a dead body pouring with blood. This prepares the audience for later events in the film whihc are much more violent and sadistic.
  Also, the room in which the body lies is very dimly lit. this creates a dark and eerie environment, again mirroring the atmosphere of the film and perhaps the murderers frame of mind.
• When Somerset approaches the body he asks the police officer "did the kid see it?" to the police officers' surprise. He then tells Somerset that they will be glad to be rid of him when he's gone. This tells us that Somerset is not liked or appreciated in his job, and perhaps doesn't like his job due to this, again allowing us to feel involved and connected with the character, allowing us to sympathise with him. Also the fact that he asked a question about an insignificant matter, suggests that he looks rather deeply into the crimes, perhaps too deeply which exposes to be both a fault and an advantage later in the film.
• When Detective Mills is first shown to us, he appears to be a complete contrast to Somerset. His hair is rather jagged and stuck up, whereas Somerset has straight groomed hair. This is a representation of their characteristics, Mills is rather arrogant and eager to work, and Somerset is toned down and reserved and does his job. Mills' tie is also hanging loosely, whereas Somerset took time into ensuring that his tie was tied to perfection. Also, Mills's shirt is evidently unironed, wheras Somerset is dressed rather dapper, again presenting us with a variation of the 2 characters from the moment Mills appears on screen, preparing the audience for how the characters will react and behave later in the film.
• The majority of the outdoor scenes are shot in the rain. The rain heavily emphasies the aspects of misery and dread throughout the film.
• Another contrast is also made between the 2 characters when we see Somerset in bed, alone. Wheras Mills has a wife (Paltrow) who he appears to love dearly. However Someret has no one to talk to or confide in at home, however there appears to be a bedside lamp eitherside of his bed, suggesting that their is an absence of someone in his life, who ought to be with him.
• Somerset's bedroom is also heavily decorated with Books and is shown to read. This implies that Somerset is an intellectual man and a discrepency to Mills as his home is undecorated as he and his wife have only just moved to New York City.
• Whilst in the scene of Somerset's bedroom, the camera focusses on the metrenome Somerset plays after reading.
  
  This could refelct Somerset's persona that he is steady and well timed as the metrenome will click at the same time all the time and Somerset will follow routine all of the time and every time. The Metrenome could also represent a trance for Somerset and a way out of his busy and hard working lifestyle, a chance to escape. We have witnessed that Mills is given oppertunity to escape from the the hard lifestyle of a New York detective via his wife and 2 dogs, referred to as his children. Mills escapes this life through family, however Somerset has no family and perhaps is married to his job and must escape through literature and the trance of the metrenome. Again creating a major contrast in the characters.
• Many of the sets and location have a high emphasis of bars and chains, for example the crime scenes tend to have barred windows or metal gates surrounding them. This could signify the high content of crime and danger in the city or perhaps symbolise Somerset's relationshop with his work, he is chained and a prisoner to it.
• When the opening credits are rolling, we getting several XCU shots of the murderer assembling his works and cutting the skin off of his fingertips. This suggests that the character is rather methodical and takes time and effort in his work, implying that the protagonists of the film are not apposing a psychopathic killer, but rather an antagonist of intellect and will prove to be a difficult criminal to catch.
  

Sound
The sound in the film again allows to set the tense and eerie atmosphere of the film and allows us to understand the characters.

• At each of the scenes where we are presented with Mills and Somerset we hear the offscreen digetic sound of New york traffic.However, At Somerset's apartment, the sound is rather faded and quiet, yet at Mills's apartment the sound is rather loud and sounds clear. This suggests that Mills who has just joined New York to work as a detective is new to the city and so everything in rather loud, exciting and Extravagant , whereas Somerset who has lived in the city and has been doing this ob for years isn’t effected by the goings on, and it seems normal to him. This gain prepares us for how the 2 characters will react later in the film.
• When the opening credits roll the music is very high pitched as often resembles a screech or a scream. The sound is very uncomfortable and eerie, contrasting the delight the murderer receives from these sound when killing his victims. Also, the music is rather warped and distorted; this reflects the character’s frame of mind as he is evidently unstable
• The song played at the begging is the Nine Inch Nails song- Closer. The lyrics of this song are rather twisted and disturbing e.g. “I want to feel you from the inside/ you let me desecrate/penetrate you” from this we can gather the personality of the murderer, rather disturbed and unwholesome.