Film Analysis: Se7en

To start with, we see one of the main characters begin to get dressed. There is a medium shot of him in a mirror putting on a tie, which implies importance in his job. After this opening scene it cuts straight into a tilt of someone laid dead on the floor surrounded by blood. Blood is an obvious convention of horror. The lighting in this scene is dark, but the light reflects off the blood making it look much fresher and more sinister. It’s interesting to see that the 25degree rule isn’t used at this point; after the close up of Morgan Freeman’s face while he is looking at a board, we can see another figure stood in a door way behind him. The shot then cuts to a medium shot of the man behind him, without moving position in the hallway. In the background there is blood on the blind, which is emphasized by the contrast in the colours. Brad Pitt then enters, and the lighting illuminates his face from the side, casting dramatic shadows. This foreshadows his importance in the film.


The next scene is outside as they are walking away from the crime scene. The camera tracks with them, and always views them in a low angle shot. This emphasizes their importance. They continuously move sides so no one person is constantly at the front of the shot. This shows that the status between the two of the characters isn't set, so we don't know who's going to be more important.

The titles of this film are quite horrific. They leave the audience wondering what's happening and wanting to know more. The words are shaky and  disjointed, which possibly reflects the killer in the film's fame of mind. We see a lot of close ups of his hands as he shaves his fingerprints off, and sews paper. At this point the audience have no idea what's happening, and the tense non-diegetic music adds to the suspence.