Se7en textual analysis

This is my textual analysis of the film Se7en.

"A film about two homicide detectives' desperate hunt for a serial killer who justifies his crimes as absolution for the world's ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins. The movie takes us from the tortured remains of one victim to the next as the sociopathic "John Doe" sermonises to Detectives Somerset and Mills - one sin at a time. The sin of Gluttony comes first and the murderer's terrible capacity is graphically demonstrated in the dark and subdued tones characteristic of film noir. The seasoned and cultured but jaded Somerset researches the Seven Deadly Sins in an effort to understand the killer's modus operandi while the bright but green and impulsive Detective Mills scoffs at his efforts to get inside the mind of a killer..." - IMDB.

Camera
There are many camera shots that have been used throughout Seven. An immediate camera shot I saw is a low angle camera shot whilst the detectives are talking. This shows the dominance the 2 characters have but it also gives the character a persona and character in the location of the scene; being in a run down, tatty street where the crime rate is considerably high.
Later on in the extract we are presented with a lot of close up camera shots, for example a detectives hand, as Somerset works on some documents among other things. This is used to show how detectives work using forensics. The fact these shots are close up gives the audience a real look at the characters face and features.

Sound
While watching the extract, I could hear sirens in the background throughout apart from the metronome. This gives the film a negative image as it shows a race against time to stop a serial killer who is on the loose. It also suggests that the sound is constantly in their heads throughout the film.

Editing
The first piece of editing skills visible is a montage. This editing technique shows the way Somerset has a set of things he does each day. This shows how he likes to keep things in order. The audience may feel he is a very particular person.
The piece of editing match-on-action is displayed to viewers whilst Somerset selects a folder and then opens it after. This helps show a passage of time in the extract.