Seven

The movie Seven directed by David Fincher was released in 1995 and is an award winning neo-noir thriller film released by the well known institute 'new line cinema'. The film begins with an over the shoulder mid-shot showing the apartment of Detective Somerset who is played by Morgan Freeman. The apartment is best described as dingy and is very dark. This darkness is both from the lack of natural light in the scene as there is only one light source- which is a theme throughout the entire movie and the fact that a chemical process called bleach by pass was used in production, which is when the silver in the film stock is not removed which allows for the dark to become deeper, allowing for more intense shadowy images in the film and increases the overall tonal quality of the film. This may also be used as a foreshadowing effect implying that the film as a whole will have a dark atmosphere. During this opening scene there are diegetic sounds of a city being heard softly in the background, police sirens are easily the most notable which allows for the audience to build up an idea quickly that the area and the city in general is not a safe or particularly nice place to live. This theme of danger and crime juxtaposes with the fact that it is later revealed to the audience that Somerset is a detective, when a close up shot of his badge is given. In the shot where his badge is shown, the audience is also given an insight into Somerset’s personality as he has arranged his belongings to be in a neat line, this anal-retentive behaviour is shown in various scenes throughout the film. 

Throughout the film there is a constant buzz of the city in the background, this use of diegetic sound adds to the tension of the scenes as it is used to emphasize certain key moments and build the idea that the city is full of crime up in the audiences mind. This works as the diegetic sounds used are often police sirens, cars honking their horns, people arguing and dogs barking. This also adds to the imagery the audience is building up in their mind of the surrounding city as it sounds like a busy city, it sounds dangerous. In the first shot the use of diegetic sounds are used to build tension as they're emphasized for example the noise of the tap is emphasized to make the silence louder. This adds tension and fits to the genre of a thriller. 

In the next shot when Somerset is entering the crime scene the dark shadowy theme with only one light source is continued, and the diegetic sound of police radio's is introduced to add another layer to the sound. In this scene the audience is given a clear view of Somerset’s stereotypical detective clothing, which consists of a trench coat, suit and hat. This stereotypical styling given to Somerset allows for the audience to draw some initial conclusions about his character, some of which could be that he is an old school detective, who has seen everything. His character develops even more as the scene continues when he shows concern for the child of the victims, as he enquirers as to whether 'the kid saw it' this based with the reply given by the fellow police character gives the audience the impression that Somerset often questions crimes, and tries to cares about the people involved. During this conversation shot-reverse-shot was used to show the dialogue between the two characters, and let viewers get in touch with what was going on within the scene, it also gives an idea as to what the other character was seeing at the time.

The audience is introduced to Brad Pitt’s character in the next scene, Detective Mills. It is clear from the start that the characters are opposites; simply looking at how Mills is styled gives an indication that he is more modern than his counterpart. Styled in a suit with a leather jacket he appears more dynamic than Somerset. This difference in personality is highlighted once again when the two detectives leave the crime scene. Somerset wants to find a bar to discus the case whereas Mills wants to return to the precinct. During this scene it is raining quite heavily, the diegetic sound of which is made louder. This use of rain is a constant throughout the film and symbolizes how the city is dirty, violent and polluted by hate. This use of rain also adds an oppressive feel to the film. 

During the title sequence the first non-diegetic sound track is used the song closer by 9 inch nails. This song highlights the killer’s obsession with sin and god through the lyrics ‘let me get closer to god’. The use of this song also creates tension as it leaves the audience feeling as though they're being watched and judged. It highlights the eeriness of the thriller genre. The emphasized use of screams also adds to this tension as well as providing the audience with feelings of helplessness and insecurity. Unlike the main film, the title sequence appears to have a sepia filter this gives the images a dirty brown tint and adds to the theme of impurity and pollution that Fincher tried to create. The images and video clips used in the title sequence also create tension and mystery as the audience is given an ambiguous view of the killer. They’re given a look into how he operates and his particular form of psychosis. It adds a hook for the audience as they want to find out who the killer is. Connotations can be also made about the particular images shown for example the meticulous list being written out by the killer shows obvious psychological distress, it shows obsession and intelligence. Editing in the sequence varies from quick cuts to slower focal shots highlighting the importance of certain aspects. The quick cuts add tension as they are only giving quick flashes into the killers though process whereas the slower focal points allow for deeper understanding and thoughts to develop. 

By Hannah Constantine