Se7en Analysis

The opening title sequence of ‘Se7en’ is constructed by using quick shots which creates mystery and eeriness throughout the trailer. It could also give the audience an insight to what the protagonist may be like (twitchy) and the genre of the film (horror/thriller). Another technical code would be the lighting in the trailer; it’s quite dark and uses earthy tones to create a grimy feel. This could suggest to the audience that there is a mysterious quality about the film/its characters and portrays the intensity of the film to come. Within the scenes there are a lot of reds which denote blood and/or danger- both that a horror/thriller needs to scare its targeted audience. There are a lot of close ups in the scene, especially of a man’s fingers, this could imply that the protagonist is male and by the fact that he’s making/binding books tells the audience that he is a book maker – the plastered thumbs also make it obvious as well.

The two frames in the opening sequence make it hard for the audience to distinguish whether we’re reading the right text, but also link’s to the character, who is covering images and/or text with the same picture or text, with something different added, using transparent plastic. This could be interpreted as some sort of lie-not everything is as it seems in this world.

The font in the scenes could be seen as the handwriting that the protagonist uses, the handwriting is quite spindly, and almost something that Tim Burton would apply. This creates a view of the character from the audience’s point of view-the character could be frail and creepy.

Throughout the beginning, there is also the use of non-diegetic sound, which for some could link to the sounds that ghosts make a sort of raspy breathing.  Nearing the end of the opening sequence a sound track begins to kick in, the music is quite slow and for some, haunting.

There were needles being used in one or two of the close ups, which could symbolise the slyness of the character we may be watching, there was also a link to religion: the word ‘God’ kept flashing up, which could mean that in the film there will be a lot of religious references, or the lead character is a very religiously isolated person. Another reason for this would be the character highlight or ‘blacking out’ words that have anything to do with pregnancy, homosexuality and transsexual things/people. This could imply to the audience that the character is very strict about religious sins, such as being homosexual; the audience could believe that the people whose eyes he decides to black out are homosexual too.

At the end of the opening title sequence, the soundtrack, which had no voice until the title of the film comes up, along with another flashing of the word ‘God’, says “I want to be closer to God”.  This could portray the killer or the protagonist as a ‘False Hero’. He could foolishly believe that if he follows in God’s teachings then he will be closer to him. However the way he goes about the process of becoming closer to God, could be a warped and sinister view of his chosen or inherited religion.