Se7en Film Analysis

Se7en

This is the title credits for the classic crime thriller film ‘Se7en’.

This close up shot emphasises that the book is in focus in this shot. Drawing attention to the book allows the viewers to notice the rigid edges of the book underlining that the book is old. The background of the shit is not in focus leaving the viewers to only focus on the book and text in the shot. Furthermore, the contrasting lighting in this show connotes the good and bad uses of this book or the message the book brings out building tension about why this book is significant. The white text positioned slightly right centre stands out from the dull colours in the background. This allows the audience to clearly see that new line cinema who is infamous for its thriller films make have created this movie so viewers know that they are going to watch a good film.

The overhead shot shows a pair of hands placed on square pieces of paper which underlines that they could be measuring the hands. Again the shot contains high contrast lighting which vaguely allows the audience to see one of the hands which is very veiny and looks grey. This connotes to the audience that the person whose hands they are is dead or severely ill due to the condition of their skin. The high contrast lighting can again highlight to the audience that the person whose hands they are has a good or bad aspect to them. The white text again stands out so the audience acknowledges that the film is directed by David Fincher who is known for producing previous successful thriller films including fight club. This will connote to the audience that will be watching a well structured thriller film.

 This big close up shows a man peeling his skin off with a metal blade. This action already highlights the frantic and unsettling atmosphere the thriller film holds and can build tension to see why this is happening. Also the lighting in the background of this shot is very dark so the audience cannot see anything in the background. This can cause mystery and unease amongst the audience as they do not know what is around this person, or who is.

 This is the name of the film. The font that is used for the title is rigid which may be used to symbolise the rigid storyline the film has connoting to the audience the plot is strange and unusual. Also the title itself has the number ‘7’ in it to replace the ‘V’ in the title. This underlines to the audience that this is a significant number throughout the film and has great importance. The colour of the title contrasts with the very black background which may represent the dark themes and the title itself representing good, especially with the number 7.

This shot shows a big close up shot of a book. We can see that a shadow (a thriller convention) has formed on the book which shows that an individual is reading or researching about something as he is getting rid of irrelevant information. This connotes to the audience that this could be a doctor as the word ‘pregnant’ is at the top of the page so it involves women who are often stereotyped to be vulnerable and weak. Again high contrast lighting is apparent in this shot as the shadows doesn’t allow the audience to clearly see the words on the page compared to the left hand side where the words are more clearer. This connotes that information on this page secretive and is also bad.

 This shot shows an image of a young boy’s eyes being crossed out. This could represent the person who crosses the child’s eyes out is paranoid that the child is staring at them.  This creates an unsettling and uneasy atmosphere as children are also stereotyped to be victims which are apparent in thriller films. The low key lighting in the shot also makes it difficult for the audience to see anything other than the image of the boy and the text. The text in this shot is a lot larger and is at centre screen which connotes that they want this to be noticed and because of the quick cuts in the opening the image of the boy is not focused on although this does catch the eye of the audience.

 This shot shows a close up of a man sticking nail tape down onto the book. The man’s hands in this shot are covered in small cuts and have a plaster on it. This connotes that the man has had a fight or been doing something dangerous for his hands to be so distort and injured. This can symbolise that this character is a dangerous person as they are careless. The lighting in this shot is dim although there is enough light to see what the character is doing and what his hands look like.

 This overhead shot zooms into the images that are placed on the surface. The images are in black and white which highlights the era that this thriller film has been set in previous eras and not in modern time. The images are of dead people who have been bandaged up which connotes to the audience that the setting is in a laboratory of some sort highlighting that murder is another relevant topic to the film which builds tension due to this. Because of the pictures of victims it highlights that detectives and police are also involved which is another thriller convention.

This big close  up of the dollar bills highlights that money may be relevant in the film. Money is often a common convention of a crime thriller film as crime can often be motivated for money. This shot also focuses on the word ‘god’ which signifies that religious morals and conspiracies may also be relevant which can be hugely controversial. This builds tension because binary oppositions good and bad are often represented through religious aspects.