se7en essay

Se7en

What makes a thriller and how is it evident in Se7en? A macro/ microanalysis of Se7en (David Fincher 1995).

In this essay I will be exploring how Se7en (David Fincher 1995) is constructed as a thriller and how it creates suspense. A thriller often overlaps with mystery stories, but are distinguished by the structure of their plots. In a thriller, the hero must thwart the plans of an enemy, rather than uncover a crime that has already happened. Thrillers also occur on a much grander scale: the crimes that must be prevented are serial or mass murder, terrorism and assassination.

The director of Se7en is David Fincher and it was made in 1995. The company who funded the film was New line cinema from one of the six majors, an enormous American company. Other films David Fincher has made are Zodiac, Panic room and The Game, which are thriller mysteries. This is important because his knowledge of conventions that are included in thrillers can be used in future films such as Se7en. The company itself effects the film because it can afford popular Hollywood actors, who will help appeal to audiences including fans. It also effects the film because it is a very famous company, a lot of people who will recognise and associate with being a good film, because of what the company can afford. This may be because of its successful films in the past which have appealed to audiences.
The actors who starred in Se7en were very popular, they were Brad Pitt, who is very popular with young audiences. Another actor includes Morgan Freeman, who again is huge in America and has older fans, which widens the audience appeal. Next a female actor, Gwenith Paltrow who doesn’t star in the film much but is very famous and appeals to the female fans, who they can also relate to in the film. Which again widens the audience appeal. Lastly the actor Kevin Spacey, who in the film had a small but sinister role and in promotion and all advertisements his name was not included due to his role in the film as a killer.

The film Se7en (David Ficher1995) is a certificate 18 so it is targeted at adults from 18- 30 years of age, because of the graphic and disturbing images in the film. The film may be aimed at working or middle class males even though there is one female actress starring in the film, however predominantly male, males may enjoy this film because they can identify the two male actors in the film, Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. The female audience may enjoy this film because of the actor Brad Pitt who appeals to female fans and the female audience may also enjoy the film because they are able to identify the female role that Gwenith Paltrow plays.

The narrative is structured in a linear narration. The film starts as equilibrium with omniscient narration, however there are some scenes, particularly the shocking scenes where there is restricted narration which links into the thriller genre because of what the audience cannot see creates tension and suspense. One example of this is in the middle section of the film where one victim under the sin of sloth is on the bed lifeless, however the audience have restricted view of the victim on the bed; which suddenly cuts to a cheap surprise where the audience can see the close up of the victims face: scarred and disfigured which shocks the audience because of the build-up of tension. Another example which is towards the end of the film where a box is delivered, then opened by Sommerset (Morgan Freeman), here there are very restricted views of the box which again creates suspense.

The film uses a point of view shot which includes a lot of close-ups of the outside of the box, but not revealing any part of the inside, this keeps the audience on the edge of there seat desperate to find out what is hidden inside the box. The film also uses a few high angle shots of the box revealing to the audience that whatever is in the box is very important. This then cuts to an extreme close-up of Sommerset’s face showing facial expressions of disgust and horrific discovery, which creates an enigma. The narrative is structured in chronological order, which goes by the days of the week, from this the audience know that when it reaches the end of the week the resolution will be solved.

In this scene the sound also relates to the thriller genre for example towards the end, the van is coming towards protagonists the sound/ music gradually gets louder which indicates the audience that something bad may happen or something horrible being revealed. When the box is open the sound stops and there is a silence which again creates suspense and tension because the audience will want to hear the dialogue which the protagonist may say which could give a slight clue to what secret is in the box.

The narrative theory relates back to TODOROV theory of equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium. The protagonist are introduced in the beginning, by them being introduced, the audience know that they will be the heroes of the film however Detective Mills (Brad Pitt), may be an anti-hero as he doesn’t go about things the right way but Sommerset is an old respectable detective just about to retire, so from that the audience know he will be the person with experience. The antagonist John Doe (Kevin Spacey) is revealed towards the end of the disequilibrium, which the audience knows, because he is revealed towards the end that he is the villain. The film then ends with a new equilibrium where Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) loses his wife and their baby. Then the film end with a new narrative where everything has been explained and a resolution has been achieved.

After Detective Mills has shot John Doe there are no more enigma codes or restricted narration because everything has been revealed and the audience are left wondering what lies ahead for Detective Mills and career. Omniscient is used for the rest of the film as all of the mystery crimes have been solved. Sommerset changes his ideology and so is free, its all clear at the end, is this to represent Somerset’s clarity? That the world is worth fighting for?

The codes and conventions of the film relate to a thriller through setting, content and props.
The setting and props are typical of a thriller genre because the setting in the film has mostly dark and dim lighting, for example the antagonists house was very dim making it mysterious and making it very typical for an antagonists home. The dark lighting creates enigma because the audience cannot see all of what surprises that may come up where Sommerset has discovered a victim’s hand in a jar. Another example of setting is in the City where mostly everyday was dark, and heavily raining. The connotations of this is chaos, evil and death, every time it rained in the City something horrific was discovered like the death of the victims.
The film does not reveal the name of the City that the crimes were taking place, which creates an enigmatic atmosphere to the story. This makes the audience feel lonely and distant but also very trapped in the plot.

The props that were used in the film were guns, knives and other weapons, these were typical of a thriller because when there is a gun or a knife involved the audience know it will be used from the protagonist or the antagonist. The audience knows someone will be shot and typically the gun was fired at the antagonist. The props also create action codes so immediately the audience knows that it may contain a part of action in the film. Which is very evident in se7en, as there are a lot of action codes to help move the story forward.
The content is typical of a thriller as it involves a lot of disturbing scenes, for example when John Doe plans the death for lust, this film also involves a lot of thinking and guessing to what may happen next under the sin, which thrillers intend to achieve.

The characters (protagonists) are represented as people who the audience can relate to. Detective Sommerset is represented as very respectable because of his visual and verbal codes. He speaks very politely, no swearing like Detective Mills. Detective Sommerset is dressed in respectable clothes such as a suit and tie. This connotes that he is very realistic and serious about his career. Detective Mills is young and arrogant and wears a leather jacket and jeans. This connotes that he is immature and does not take his job as seriously as Sommerset because of his lack of experience. In the film he swears; which the film is trying to say is typical of a young male which indicates negative stereotype, whereas Sommerset gives a positive stereotype because of his attitude to his job. Detective Mills’ attitude to his job is typical of young adults which the film is trying to get across to it’s audience. As the film is a certificate ‘18’, the audience can relate to them because they are like the characters portrayed in the film. Some of the audiences may have the same occupation and may have the same attitude to their job, which they can relate to within the characters in the film. John Doe is represented in the film as a villain; his verbal codes in the film are again polite he does not swear but very complex to work out as a character. The antagonist is mind-set and psychological antagonist. His visual codes are casual clothing, untypical of any stereotype but represented in a negative way because of his crimes.

In conclusion the film Se7en (David Fincher 1995) is typical of a thriller because of the conventions he has used in the film, this is shown through a variety of camera shots. Lighting, which in some areas create a cryptic atmosphere and are alternated depending on where the lighting is located (Protagonists or antagonists home). Sound is altered depending on the action and enigma codes within the scene. The narrative is typical of a thriller because it includes a lot of restricted narration, where the audience is not able to access all views possible, creating a distant and apprehensive atmosphere. The use of character types and stereotypes, use of settings and props and content are also typical of a thriller because of what is involved within the film, which creates suspense. The genre of the film Se7en (David Fincher 1995) is a thriller however it may fall under the sub-genre crime thriller/psychological thriller because of the props and disturbing scenes within the film which is evident throughout the film.




Summery of Research

From the research i have gained detailed knowledge about thrillers which i am confident with . From the clips i have analysed i have gained interesting ideas which were successful in the actual films. I feel that voyerism is very interesting and is good for building up tension and suspense which i feel would be good to use in the opening sequence of my film. I am very confident about the use of Mise en Scene, sound, narrative techniques, camera shots and movement. the use of setting for each clip were interesting and a conventional of thrillers which has also influenced me for my film.