Analysis: Seven opening sequence

Seven (1995)

Opening credits analysis

The film Seven is a police drama about a retiring detective (Freeman) and the young, short-fused detective replacing him (Pitt). Together, they investigate a series of gruesome murders relating to the seven deadly sins- gluttony, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and wrath.

The opening credits subtly foreshadow the later events of the movie. We are shown an unknown set of hands with bandages on the fingers writing prolifically in a series of journals. There are shots of other things, such as drawings of hands, blades, someone slicing off fingertips with a razorblade, someone cutting up negatives of photographs and pictures of murder victims spattered with blood. These images give us an idea of what the movie will contain and sets the tone as being dark- you wouldn’t expect a romcom to have credits like these, for instance.

The music is used to unnerve the audience. The piece of music is punctuated by scratchy sounds reminiscent of a saw- this is intended to make viewers uncomfortable and hint at the murders in the movie. The song itself has an eerie feel to it; this echoes the harshness and scariness of the film’s content. Also, there is something similar to a heartbeat track in the music, which is used in this genre to indicate fear. In my opinion, the music used is extremely effective; it effectively conveys the themes and tone of the movie and it engages the audience, showing them that the character in the opening credits is sinister and giving them ideas of what to look out for during viewing. It is worth noting that the only lyrics that can be heard are “You’ve got me closer to God”- this would seem to be deliberate, given the antagonist’s obsession with sin.

The shots have been carefully constructed to convey a particular message to the audience. Extreme close ups are the only type used in the sequence- this both conceals the identity of the character and immediately arouses the suspicions of the audience, the latter being a vital component of any thriller film.

It is obvious that the colours used have been carefully selected. The only bright colour used in the entire 2:08 opening sequence is the spatter of blood on a photograph of a victim, and a few single shots are tinted red. The audience can tell, however, that this does not signify anything good- red is being used in the context of danger and death. The rest of the colours are dark, mainly browns, blacks and greys, perhaps to convey the darkness of the killer’s mindset, or even the town the movie is set in as a whole- during the film, the audience can see that the unnamed city is in a state of disrepair, falling apart with urban decay.

The editing in the sequence is interesting. In several parts simple straight cuts are used- however, at around 0:45, the fade effect is used, perhaps to show the audience that the tasks are all linked together somehow. The formula seems to be a shot- for example, the character’s hand writing in his journal- with a straight cut to a black screen with one of the credits on it. The edits here are used quite deliberately- the sharp cuts combined with the fades and the shaky cuts give us the message that the killer is perhaps methodical (straight cut) but the shakiness could imply a shaky mentality.

The font used to display the credits was also not chosen by mistake. The writing is small, handwriting-style, never put in the centre of the screen. It is almost childlike- this could contrast with the lack of innocence in the movie. The fact that the writing flickers is also interesting- again, it could be to reinforce the shaky mentalities featured in the film, or even reflect the decay of the city by seeming ‘defective’.

Personally, I found the credits to be very effective; I was immediately interested in what was going on, and the music instantly told me that something wasn’t right. The flickering effects indicated something bad was going to happen and I, as a viewer, was intriegued to know what.

The film itself opens with a shot of a seemingly normal morning, with Freeman’s character ambling into the kitchen, washing up and getting dressed. The sense of normality contrasts deeply with the opening credits, so the audience are intriegued to see the connection. The lighting is natural and the colour white is predominant, the suggest cleanliness and a kind of purity- in this case, maybe representing the untainted mind of Freeman’s character. Extreme close ups are used to create familiarity as we watch the as yet unnamed character getting ready.

Suddenly, it cuts to a shot of a body in a pool of blood- contrasting with the scene just before, but similar in tone to the credits. The scene is dark and the shot is a mid-shot from a high angle, showing that the corpse no longer has any kind of power. We hear another officer’s voice explaining what he thinks happened to the man- a domestic row turned nasty. Freeman’s character squints at a child’s painting on the fridge, which would again seem to be there to contrast the innocence of childhood with the darkness and corruption of the scene. He asks if the child witnessed the murder, to which his colleague aggressively replies that it doesn’t matter and it’s none of their business- this shows that Freeman’s character is concerned about the children, and is therefore more caring about such things than his colleagues, which makes him seem more sympathetic to us.

After this exchange, Pitt’s character bounds up the stairs of the gruesome scene. The way he is dressed contrasts entirely with Freeman’s- Pitt is wearing a black and white suit with a leather jacket. This shows that he’s traditional- but the leather jacket adds an edge which could imply something of a harder side. Freeman, however, is in a dowdy beige mac and a black hat- this echoes the classic police uniform of years gone by, indicating his position as ‘old fashioned’ and showing the difference in police morals between the two, which becomes more evident as the film progresses.