Looking at the opening sequence to 'Seven'

Film: Seven (1995)

Lead actor(s): Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Director: David Fincher

Titles: The titles look extremely creepy and eerie, combined with the sounds of screaming and the flickering of images. The font of the titles looks scratched and hand written. Seems as if it’s through the eyes of the murderer, obsessive collection of clippings and drawn over pictures of children. Presents a psychotic and disturbing feeling after such a normal and naturalistic beginning. The titles look really constructed in contrast to the slow and still first scene.

Shots: Fade into medium shot of the main character in his kitchen. Shows him getting ready from work, he’s wearing a suit. It switches to the dead body/crime scene after such a normal start. There are lots of two shots so you can see the characters reactions. It’s quite claustrophobic, lots of close ups. Gives a feeling of intensity. As they walk down the road, the camera follows the two characters. Makes you feel as if you are walking with them, part of the scene.

Movement: There aren’t any dramatic camera movements, it’s quite still and slow. There is quite a lot of slow zooming onto characters.

Generic themes: The rain reflects the mood of the film, and of the theme of the film – murder. Rain – constantly trying to clean out the city, like the police officers. As the two characters walk down the street, Morgan Freeman has a hat, walks dominantly. Brad Pitt is out of his comfort zone; he gets knocked by someone walking and is trying to shelter himself from the rain. When Morgan Freeman asks about the children involved in the murder, the other officer gets angry and accuses him of always asking those questions. This suggests Morgan Freeman is compassionate towards the feelings of the people involved, rather than just getting on with his job. In the opening sequence, Morgan Freeman appears to be very neat and independent. He has the sounds of the world around him, but within his own space his world is very different. This gives us an insight into the kind of character he is playing.

Sound: You immediately hear sirens in the distance before you see a picture. Gives us an idea of location and a feeling of mystery. The opening scene is quiet, empty and hollow, there is no music playing.

Mise-en-scene: The shots are quite dark and normal. Wearing a suit, and the way he dresses shows he takes care in his appearance. Prophetic fallacy, it is raining as the come out of the crime scene. The rain creates an ominous feeling about the city. The rain gives us an idea of the urban city location. A linear sequence, they don’t play with the narrative. Very naturalistic and gritty look.