Seven Essay

In this essay i will be discussing what makes a thriller and how it is evident in se7en. I will be writing a macro/micro analysis of ‘se7en’. The macro elements i will be discussing are audience, narrative genre and representation. I will support them with micro evidence such as cinematography, mis-en-scene, editing and sound. I will consider how se7en fits into the thriller genre.

Se7en was directed by David Fincher, produced by Arnold Kopelson, narrated by Morgan Freeman and starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. Se7en had a small budget of US$30 million due to the fact it was produced by an independent film company named IMDb. Because of this Se7en has more of a niche audience.

Se7ens target audience is 18-36 year old males of both black and white ethnicity, who either like thrillers or work in crime as the film is to do with solving crimes. Se7en has a niche audience as its target audience is males. This is because both the main characters are male. Morgan Freeman who plays Detective Summerset is a mature black male who likes to be alone and is always neat and tidy. He is also very calm and can control his anger very well. This would relate to an older, more mature audience. On the other hand Bratt Pitt who plays Detective Mills is a hot headed young man with a wife and likes to have fun. He also lives messy. This would attract more of a younger audience as they can relate to him more. In addition other people may just watch Se7en simply for the entertainment.

Throughout Se7en i think it follows Todorov’s theory such as an equilibrium, disruption, attempted repair and a resolution. The only dsifference is in Se7en the resolution isnt relevant as there is no resolution. This gives the audience a sense of realism as in reality  happy ever afters hardly ever exist. This relates more to the thriller genre, as thrillers dont usually have a resolution. Se7en follows a linear structure as it uses editing such as typography to represent what day it is eg. ‘Monday’, ‘Tuesday’ etc. The film also has a restrictive narractive. For example in the last scene when the box is delivered, we get put in Detective Mills point of view where he didnt know what was going on which created a tense atmosphere and theatre of the mind. Se7en is different to other hollywood films as it is an independant film company. The use of editing helps us see that Se7en has a linear narrative. Enigma codes are used alot throughout the film. For example when they came across the second murder, the detectives found a picture of the victims wife with blood around her eyes. This creates the audience to start questioning themselves as to whats going to happen next and why there was blood on the picture.

I argue that Se7en fits into the thriller genre. This is because of the mis-en-scene used throughout the film. Se7en uses alot of theatre of the mind going on. For example near the beggining of the film there is a scene where detective mills looks inside a bucket and jumps back in discust. We dont actually get to see what is in the bucket, this makes the audience start to imagine all kinds of different horrible things that could be inside. This is also a use of an enigma code. Se7en also uses alot of low key lighting, this reflects what actually goes on in the film as while the weather is dull and raininy, the Detectives keep coming across more and more murders not yet to know who the killer is. But on the Sunday the sun comes out. This is the day the killer gets found out. So this suggests the producers used high key lighting to represent the resolution of the film.

In Se7en there are two protagonists. One being Detective David Mills who is represented as the rookie. He is quite young and likes to joke around alot, he is also married. Because of this he appeals to a younger target audience, those of whom are maybe married. The second protagonist is Detective Summerset who is a binary opposite of Detevtive Mills, not only because of their age and race but also because of their lifestyles and personaliy. Detective Summerset appeals to an older target audience as hes older then Mills, he is also much more mature and serious about situations. The antagonist of the film is John Doe who is represented as a evil, manipulating character who is the killer.in crime scenes John Doe is used to describe a unidentified body. This suggests that John Doe is an anonimous character. John Doe is a physchological challenge antagonist, the reason for this is because of the way he messes with peoples heads such as Detective Mills when he talks about how he killed Mills wife and trys to wind up Mills by saying unessesary things. While this was going on, there was sense dramatic music playing, creating theatre of the mind as the audience starts to wonder if Mills is going to shoot John or not. There is only one female character in Se7en, who is Detective Mills wife. She is very significant to this film as she gets murdered at the end of the film creating a shocking ending to the film.

In conclusion i believe that Se7en does conform to the convention of a thriller however there are aspects in the film that challanges the conventions. This is evident through the macro and micro elements. I think the message that the producer is trying to convey is to make the audience think about the 'seven deadly sins'