The sequence I have chosen to analyse is from Se7en (David Fincher, 1995). This film is a thriller based around the idea of the Seven Deadly Sins, and this scene is the twist denouement of the film. John Doe (Kevin Spacey) reveals to Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) that he has killed his pregnant wife and placed her decapitated head in a box.
The location is an empty desert. This piece of mise-en-scene enunciates that the three characters are in their own discrete world. Also the fact that the desert is endless represents the fact that there is no escape from this situation. It also creates a feeling of discomfort for the audience as the weather is hot and the sun is beating down on the characters.
From the characters costumes suggest that this is set in 1990’s and not the modern day. Somerset (Morgan Freeman) wears a long jacket and a fedora hat, which is deliberate icon of a crime thriller. It also fits in with the character as it fits in with the heritage and old nature of the character. Somerset is carrying a Smith and Wesson Model 15, which looks quite old fashioned and antique. Mills carries a Custom Springfield Armoury 1911-A1, which looks like a modern gun. The weapons that they both carry denotes the difference in their experience as Mills is younger than Somerset.
The sequence begins with detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) unwrapping a mysterious box delivered to him moments before by a courier. This is characteristic of the preparation and planning of the antagonist that the delivery was cleverly planned to get be delivered to that location at that specific time. Fincher uses very quiet diegetic sound to build tension for the audience. There are only a few diegetic sounds, such as the wind, birds tweeting and the sound of his knife. It’s almost like Somerset is cutting the tension with a knife. There is a close-up on the box, which allows the viewers which draws the viewers’ attention to a smear of blood. There is a profile shot of the box, then as soon as he discovers the contents, there is a sharp cut to his face, then back to the box. This gives the audience an “oh my god” sensation.Then another to his face and another to the box. When the scene cuts back to the two shot of Mills and Doe, Doe is out of focus suggesting the fact that Mills isn't paying attention to him and that he isn't important to the scene at the moment. The ambiguity of what’s in the box makes the potential contents more horrifying to the audience, because it is left to the imagination. As soon as he discovers the contents of the box, he jumps up and freezes for a second as the camera does a close up on his face. He has a moment of realisation that the tables have turned. A dramatic score kicks in and the camera cuts from him to Mills and Doe. The score is staccato and unsettling, which represents Somerset’s sudden rush of panic. He runs back to Mills and Doe. When Somerset arrives, he throws his gun on the floor. This mise-en-scene is important as it shows that he is stripping away his defence to enter this dangerous, intimate triangle. When Doe speaks a low angle shot of him is shown. This is to show that the tables have turned and that he has the position of power now. Mills is carrying a gun, which is a classic icon of a crime-thriller.
Sound is very important in this scene. Doe speaks in a very calm manner, whereas we see Mills swearing and shouting, which represents the taking over the power from the two detectives. He starts getting irritated and sweary when Doe starts to reveal his wife’s fate. Mills is getting angry, which suggests that Doe is getting into his head. The soundtrack is very dramatic and has a recurring descending note pattern. The soundtrack is in minor key, which makes the atmosphere sad and negative. Woodwinds are used to give a dramatic effect. There is a screeching noise, which sounds like the internal screaming of Mill’s.
In Fincher films the colour is a very important storytelling tool. In this scene, the colour is saturated and is very yellow. The desaturation, gives the film a dark, cold feel and the yellow achieves two things. Firstly, they are in a dessert, so the yellow gives the film a dry, empty feel. Secondly, dark yellow is a very lifeless colour that connotes Mills helplessness, as him and the audience don’t want to see his wife's head in the box, not want Doe to win.
With the line “Her pretty head” Doe calmly reveals that he put Mills’ wife’s head in the box. When he says, “Her pretty head” a medium close up is used to emphasize the importance of what he has said. The camera becomes to shaky to suggest that Mills’ world is slowly starting to crumble. When Jon Doe is shown speaking, the camera is completely still to show that he is in control of the situation now. In the frame, Mills is seen on his own, which shows that he is on his own now and that his fate is up to him. Mise-en-ecene is effective as we see various cuts and bruises on Mills. He even has a massive bandage on his hand.
This is to show that he is a character that has been hurt a lot, physically and mentally. In contrast Somerset and Doe have no injuries. Also, at this point, Mills is jabbing his gun repeatedly at Doe’s forehead. This shows that he is really angry at him and not really thinking about the consequences. At this point Mills shows a mixture of many emotions, such as anger, confusion and disbelief. Doe keeps on speaking calmly until he reveals the final piece of his plan. When he mentions that Mills’ wife was pregnant, the dramatic music becomes the same as to when Somerset looked in the box. There is a moment of silence between the three characters as Mills processes what was just said. What is interesting at this point, the camera does only close ups on the three characters. Throughout the sequence, the shots have become closer and closer and more intimate. The helicopter view is not shown anymore, which shows that these three character are in their own little world now. The music notes descend down in terms of pitch, which is like the dropping of a revelation. It almost sounds like that classic, clichéd three note sound effect to signify that a major detail has been revealed.
The camera does a close up on Mills, which allows the viewers to see the raw emotion on his face as he slowly breaks down. I have to comment on how beautiful and rich the frame looks. This is what you would call aesthetically beautiful as it’s something that looks beautiful in a horrible event. The sunshine reflects beautifully in Mills’ eyes and is almost poetic even though he is breaking down. Fincher did this to create a contrast to the disaster that is happening in this scene. I also notice how the gun is not in focus and his face covering up most of the frame. It shows the importance of seeing his facial expressions in this moment. I mentioned that the three are in their own world now. But now the shots are between Mills and Doe. The jumpy soundtrack plays again, representing Mills’ conflict in his mind. Mills has to make this life changing decision. We see Mills repeatedly saying, “Oh God!” and looking down and pointing his gun at Doe. This shows that he is really trying to fight himself not to kill Doe. The camera tilts down as he looks down. This is so the viewers can see his facial expressions properly. We briefly see a flash of his wife before he finally decides to kill Doe. This is called single frame insertion and Fincher does this a lot in Fight Club. This is to show what Mills was thinking of his wife before he makes this decision. The frame is very bright and almost holy, to represent that she in a better place, in a place where there are no murders and killings. We only see her head in the frame, which draws the viewers focus to what may be in the box. Mills finally decides to shoot Doe. We see a close up on the gun and a non-diegetic sound of a gunshot. The gun shot is loud and cuts through the soundtrack, which shows its importance and power.
One thing I realize is that in most of the frames the character is placed in the middle. This draws our eyes to the character as it is in the middle. The two rarely share the frame.
The camera goes to a medium shot, which symbolises breaking of the intimate triangle between the three characters. The triangle ends with a low angle shot of Mills shooting Doe. I took inspiration about the triangle from the Youtube channel, Every Frame a Painting when they did a David Fincher episode. This is to show that Mills has taken back the power now as he has killed Doe. We see Mills and Somerset in the same frame with their backs to each other. This is to represent that this event has broken their relationship. Mill’s looks emotionless and drained. The sequence ends with the helicopter’s god eye view watching Mills walking away. This is to show that Mills is walking way into nothing, because he has lost everything.
The scene ends with Mill’s losing everything. This is a common trademark of David Fincher. Most of his films, such as Gone Girl (2014) and Zodiac (2007) don’t end with a happy ending. He is a director who is interested in making the protagonists suffer a lot of pain and has a downfall. Movie endings with twists are a common trait within good thrillers. For example, in The Usual Suspects (Bryan Singer, 1995), which also stars Kevin Spacey as the antagonist role, the film concludes with a twist.
