Se7en Analysis

Open Seven from Stephen Adams on Vimeo.

The film begins with an establishing medium shot fading in of a Morgan Freeman’s character, Somerset, in his kitchen. We can hear the diegetic sounds of a bustling city, such as traffic, sirens, shouting/arguments and dogs barking, slightly faded because the kitchen window is shut. This creates an atmosphere of chaos, impending danger and violence. Urban areas typically have higher crime rates than rural areas, suggesting that there is going to be some kind of crime committed. The kitchen looks neat and clean. This juxtaposes the busy sounds of the outside world, as it is very peaceful inside the house. In the foreground we can see a chess set and in the background there are some animal statues, which suggests that this man is intelligent and well-travelled.

There is then an ellipsis edit to a close up over the shoulder shot of Somerset fastening his shirt and adjusting his tie in the mirror. This shows that he is a tidy character. The lighting is very low key, low contrast, making it seem dark and dreary. The camera then tracks up so that we can see his face. He looks down at his desk and the camera cuts to a close up of numerous things on his desk – his detective’s badge, a small flip knife, a handkerchief, a pen and another item which is hard to make out. The badge indicates that Somerset works for law enforcement as a detective, and the flip knife could indicate that he lives and works in a dangerous area. The items are arranged in a neat line, and his handkerchief is neatly folded. This emphasises his neat and thorough, maybe slightly obsessive, nature. He picks each item up separately, in a very deliberate manner. As he picks up his pen we cut back to the close up and watch him slide it into his shirt pocket.

We then cut to a medium shot, where we can see Somerset from the waist down stood beside his neatly made bed, which has his suite jacket neatly laid out on it. He reaches forwards to pick something off it which is too small for us to see, emphasising his attention to detail and again his obsession with neatness. He picks up the jacket and puts it on, before moving towards his bedside table and switching off his lamp. The camera tracks with his movement.

There is an ellipsis edit to a medium shot of a room. We can still hear the diegetic city noises. The lighting is chiaroscuro, and the scene looks dark and seedy. In the centre of the frame is a man lying face down on the floor, with a pool of blood beside him. The camera tilts slowly upwards so we can see more of the man. We hear dialogue from a man which seems diegetic. He is explaining how an argument ended with two gun shots, and the man on the floor was found dead. The sudden cut from Somerset’s house to this scene makes the viewer feel tense and uncomfortable. There is a cut to a long shot of Somerset walking down the landing of a house. He is dressed in a long coat and hat, making him look like a typical detective. He walks down the landing towards the camera, and the camera tilts up slightly to keep his head in the frame. He speaks in a very calm and controlled manner. The house is very dark and shadowy and this makes the viewer feel uneasy and heightens the tension. Somerset stops to look down at something on the fridge, which the viewer cannot see. He bends down and puts on his glasses, and the camera tracks with his action. He asks if the kid saw the murder happen, which makes us assume that he is looking at a child’s drawing on the fridge, and shows that his is a caring, empathetic character. It also emphasises once again that he is very thorough in his work and checks every little detail. We can see a blurred figure in the background, and we cut to a medium shot of this figure who appears to be another detective. He laughs a little at Somerset’s comment and moves around a little in a restless manner. He says that they will be glad when they get rid of Somerset. This tells the viewer that the other detectives are not as thorough as Somerset and find his obsessive ways aggravating. We also know that this must be Detective Somerset’s last case which is often a convention of thrillers; having a last case or deadline to meet. 

We cut back to a medium shot of Somerset as he stands up from looking at the fridge. Again, the camera tracks with his action as he stands, and he removes his glasses. He continues to stare at the fridge and looks thoughtful and worried. There is another cut back to a medium shot of the other detective, who states that it isn’t there job to worry about the kid. This shows he is very focused on his work and emphasises how thorough and concerned Detective Somerset is. The man turns and walks into the room at the end of the landing, as another character comes up the stairs. We hear the enhanced diegetic sound of his footsteps just before we see him. The camera tracks down a little to allow us to see this character. The4 character walks towards the camera to a medium close up, and addresses Detective Somerset, introducing himself as Detective Mills. Detective Mills appears to be a young, keen detective, and he is new to the area. He looks much more casual than Somerset, with his leather jacket and chewing gum, showing that these are two very different characters. 

There is another ellipses edit to a medium shot of outside of the house, as the body is being stretchered out of the front door. There is a blue filter to make it appear downcast and dreary. We see that there are bars on the windows of the house, emphasising the how seedy and dangerous the area is. It could also be symbolising prison and being locked behind bars, which is what will happen to the killer. The camera tracks up and around the door a little as Mills and Somerset come out. The shot is low angle, emphasising the importance of these characters. We can still hear the city noises, but this time they are louder as the two men are outside. The rain is pathetic fallacy, and makes the area seem even more downcast and dreary. We stay on this shot as the two men converse, and then the camera begins to track backwards as the pair walk along down the pavement continuing to talk and find out more about each other. The conversation acts as narrative exposition. We discover that Mills is new in the area but has done work elsewhere and so is not new to the job. He believes he knows what he is doing however Somerset informs him that working in that area won’t be like where he has worked before. It appears that Somerset is going to be like a mentor for Mills, and he will have to rein Mills in a little, who comes across as being a confident character. They are going to have to learn to tolerate each other. We see more of the buildings on the street and lots of the windows are barred. It looks like a very miserable place. There are people walking in the opposite direction who bump into Mills and Somerset, making the action more natural. 

   We then have an ellipsis edit to Detective Somerset’s bedroom – back to where we began. It is a long shot of him sat in bed reading. The lighting remains chiaroscuro, and we still here the faint, diegetic city sounds coming from outside. But the warmer glow from his lamps makes the room look more cosy and friendly. This suggests that he needs time to relax and unwind at the end of his busy and stressful days. We cut to an extreme close up of Somerset placing his glasses down on his bedside table, and the camera tracks up with his hand as he starts his metronome. We cut to a medium shot from the end of his bed, which slowly zooms in to him. The sound of the metronome is steady and used to try and ‘fight’ the chaos and disorder. This is again addressing Somerset’s thorough nature. There is a cut to an extreme close up of the metronome, swaying steadily and calmingly. We then cut back to a close up of Somerset’s face, and we can see how he is trying to ignore the sounds of the traffic and the shouting and trying to sleep. We cut again to the shot of the metronome. 

There is a sound like thunder and the screen goes black. At this point the titles begin. They are represented in a montage, with unsettling, scratchy sounding non-diegetic music. The titles are very unsettling, with forensic images of bodies, lots of sharp objects and cutting, razors and needles implying violence and death. This is also reflected in the jerky text which looks scratched or cut into the screen. There are picture of children with their eyes crossed through, implying they have been killed. We see images of things such as tightly packed, hand sewn journals implying psychotic and obsessive behaviour. The killer seems to have a very similar obsessive nature to Detective Somerset – he is the flipside of Somerset. Both are intelligent, organised and obsessive but while Somerset is a very moral character the killer is psychotic. The colour scheme during the titles is black, white and red, representing binary oppositions, danger, blood and death.

Originally written by Hannah Cocklin, edited by myself.