Assessment 2 Analysis of film noir opening sequence

Analysis of the opening sequence of David Finchers Se7en

The film begins with a wide shot with deep focus, within the frame we can see Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) lying in his double bed reading. Next a close up, his hand enters the shot and places a fair of reading glasses on his bed side desk. The camera tilts upwards and Somerset sets off a metronome. A metronome is often used as a device to sooth people when they are stressed and more than often to help send them to sleep; one could interpret the detective’s use of the metronome to show how he has seen horrifying crimes in his line of work, giving him nightmares and stopping him from sleeping. It also tells us how police work can be stressful at times and that a lot of work is required. We see that the detective is also reading a book; this shows that detective work takes intelligence; he may also read as an escape from reality. Throughout the rest of this sequence the camera is continually zooming in, the camera then cuts to a close up of the metronome and shows the metronome still ticking, the camera still zooming in. The zooming in is used to represent the detective’s “drifting” into a dream world in which he can escape the harsh environment of New York City.

Next the credits begin, the titles are edited onto various shots, the first being a close up of a books pages. This first image is used to introduce the audience to the killer. This book is the killers scrap book, typical of deranged murderers to collect things. The book shows how deeply the killer has thought into his plot and how crazed he must be to have images of broken hands, later shots show the killer crossing out peoples eyes and scribbling on faces, clearly showing how he wants to eradicate these people and his hatred. Close ups of the killer trimming his finger tips with a razor representing the killers determination not to be discovered, and minimising his chances of being caught, keeping his character a mystery.

Throughout this sequence music can be heard, it has a heavy beat of percussion and creaking can be heard in the background, this music was used to provoke tension.  The only lyrics featured within the soundtrack are, “You get me closer to god,” these lyrics clearly hint towards a series of religious killings.  The amount of books that feature within the extract also point towards a library or somewhere with a large amount of books to have some significance within the movie.