David Fincher's Seven Film Analysis - Essay Example

Film Analysis – Seven Introduction This essay will discuss narrative, characterisation and form in David Fincher’s 1995 film, Seven. It will attempt demonstrate how, in spite of being a film which eludes specific categorisation, Seven contains many of the defining characteristics of film noir, whilst also managing to maintain an accessible and Hollywood style gloss. It will initially explain how Seven can be regarded as what Hardy (97, 301) describes as a ‘neo-noir’ film, whilst also fitting into the New-brutality film category, in order to present a chronological narrative structure. It will then go on to discuss aspects of narrative which bridge these two categories and examine the narrative structure the film follows. Finally, it will focus on the neo-noir protagonist and demonstrate how characterisation in the film draws heavily from this genre. There is a close and very important relationship between narrative, characterisation and mise-en-scene in any film. As Bordwell & Thompson (02, 75) explain ‘we should strive to make our interpretations precise by seeing how each films thematic meanings are suggested by the films total system. In a film, both explicit and implicit meanings depend closely on the relations between narrative and style’. It is, therefore, only when the film is taken as a whole that its full array of meanings emerges. Overall form and dynamic: Attempting categorisation Gilles Deleuze argues that the classic Hollywood film is hallmarked by ‘action-images’. These action-images are, as he explains ‘the relation between [milieux and modes of behaviour] and all the varieties of this relation. It is this model which produced the universal triumph of the American cinema.’ (Deleuze, 86, 141) In Deleuze’s definition of a standard Hollywood film, the character is acted upon by the milieu, or the circumstances in which he finds himself. He is presented with a situation to which he reacts in order to modify the milieu or his relationship to it. He must therefore find what Deleuze (86,141) describes as a ‘new way of being’ or alternatively adopt his current way of being to meet the demands of the situation with which he is presented. It is this struggle which has made American (intended as Hollywood) film so popular and provides the viewer with the reassuring filmic shape which is repeated time and again in blockbuster movies. At first glance Fincher’s Seven appears to fit into this category. It has a straightforward linear narrative and the two key protagonists, Mills and Somerset, are taken up by events as they unfold. Both men are victims of the circumstances in which they find themselves, Somerset more consciously than Mills, and both have to adapt their way of being as the events of the film unfold and the milieu acts upon them. Somerset shifts from initially unmoveable, embittered and disinterested to feeling a certain degree of sympathy with Mills and a desire to see the case through to the end. Mills evolves from a one dimensional ‘rooky’ character, loud mouthed and over confident, into an introspective and emotionally complex individual. The changes in both characters are instigated by the challenges they face, which necessitate a modification of their way of being to cope. The film could, further, be classified as a modern take on film noir. Although film noir cannot be regarded as a genre because it is not defined by a set of cinematographic conventions in the same way as a Western or Gangster movie might be, it can be regarded as having occurred during a specific period (the forties and early fifties) and is recognisable for its unrelenting bleakness. Seven has many of the stylistic hallmarks of classic film noir. Grant (03, 235) cites seven defining film noir stylistic techniques; scenes lit for night, oblique lines which fracture the screen, actors and setting have equal lighting emphasis, a control of the action of a scene by the cinematography rather than movement of the actor, an attachment to water, a hopelessness created by the sense of an irretrievable but better past and a disruption of chronology. Seven can be seen to bear all these stylistic hallmarks except, notably, the final one. An absence of chronological disruption is what gives Seven its sense of classical Hollywood and allows the viewer to approach it through Deleuze’s definition. It makes this dark and deeply critical film manageable for spectator and it is perhaps for this reason that the film unfolds chronologically1. However, in every other way Seven can be seen, either overtly or in traces, to reflect film noir stylistic conventions. The film is immersed in darkness. Both Somerset and Mill’s apartments are in gloom, they move around the city in the half-light and none of the murder scenes that they visit are well lit. The only scene which is significantly illuminated is the desert scene, in which the package is delivered. Given that this is the scene in which the lesson is finally taught and Mills and Somerset are illuminated by John Doe, it is highly significant that it is shot in an open and bright location. However, filters help to mute even the glare even here. Associated with the gloom in which the film is shot it the way the characters blend into their surroundings. Time and again when Mills and Somerset enter apartments and most notably when they enter John Doe’s apartment, the spectator loses sight of the character as they move around. This darkness and merging of characters with scenery helps to create a sense of hopelessness and despondency. As LoBrutto & Harlan comment (05, 285) ‘the look of Se7en created by the production design and by the cinematography is the visual equivalent of the story content’. It is also often the camera which creates the movement in a scene rather than the character. When Somerset initially goes to the library, the camera does not follow him around but rather slices up his movements by filming him through book shelves and using tables to disrupt the flow of movement. They also act to fracture the screen. The constant cutting between Somerset and Mills in the scene emphasises this fracturing, especially since when the camera cuts to Mill it is always in close up on parts of his body, usually his eyes, rather then to observe him as a whole. A similar fracturing can be seen in the car journey out in to the desert when Mills and John Doe are both observed through the metal grill in a deliberate rupturing of their faces. A sense of hopelessness can also be seen in many of the characters2. However, there is something more complex at work in this film. Gormley (05,161) explains that films such as Seven represent what he terms ‘New-brutality films’.3 They represent a departure from action-image because ‘the cinema of action-image portrays characters in an organic relationship to the milieux in which they find themselves, such that the milieu and the actions they undertake reciprocally condition and are logically connected to each other through narrative; this cinema is in crisis once this relationship appears the be broken. New-brutality films...have taken the clichés of this ‘action-image’ cinema and recharged them with affective and political meaning’. (Gormley, 05, 161) To define Seven as an ‘action-image’ film seems to lose much of its power and purpose. It also over-looks the deep rooted meanings to be found within the stylistic techniques it borrows from film noir. Gormley’s categorisation of New-brutality films which take this genre and revives a tired set of clichés, imbuing them with new, thought-provoking and very relevant significance seems, therefore, a useful way of defining Seven. It retains all the classical Hollywood aspects of the film but also allows it to move beyond the tried and tested, allowing a powerful communication of its messages. In this way Seven can be seen as a hybrid between New-brutality film and neo-noir. Aspects of narrative: Linear narrative structure and its role Seven follows a classical linear narrative structure. As Bordwell (85, 35) comments ‘the most common template structure can be articulated as a “canonical” story format, something like this: introduction of setting and characters – explanation of a state of affairs – complicating action – ensuing events – outcome – ending.’ Seven conforms very closely to this model. The only omniscient character is John Doe and his absence in all but the final scenes means that the film is narrated by Somerset and Mills resulting in a restricted narration. The narrative is structured around the seven deadly sins of gluttony, greed, sloth, lust, pride, envy and wrath in that order and they take place through one week. Early on Somerset and Mills realise that there will be seven murders but this is the closest they get to omniscience. There is, therefore, an inevitability about the film which is what is most compelling about it. This inevitability is mixed with suspense, as the viewer does not know how or when the murderer will strike next. It is a powerful mixture which compels the viewer to keep watching. The murders unfold just as the detectives know they will, but they are powerless to stop them. The plot rolls out before them, free of flashbacks or ellipsis. Only the very minor sub-plot of the distress of Mill’s wife distracts from the main plot and this is largely subsumed in the overall sense of despair which pervades the film. However it is this choice of linear narrative which, although so common-place, is also extremely interesting. It is the only departure by the film away from the film noir genre. As Rombes (05,132) comments, Seven ‘is [not] deliberately experimental in narrative structure’. It does not attempt to disrupt chronology and is not experimental with narrative structures. This is in many ways surprising, given that it otherwise stands side by side with films such as Fight Club and Memento which are highly original in their narrative structures. However, the linear narrative is highly effective in the film and there is no sense of boredom or lack of originality. This is perhaps the key to understanding this choice of narrative structure. Although it may be suspenseful for the reader, it also serves to act as an additional sense of inevitability in the film. The narrative structure plods endlessly on in the same way that the hopeless characters within the film do and so it actually heightens the effect of the film. A non-linear narrative would break up the film too much, cause too much disruption and not convey so effectively the underlying film noir emotion of despair. The only moment in the film which contains a flashback is when Mills discovers that Doe has killed his wife. A brief image of her in black and white flashes up on screen and helps to reflect Mill’s wrath and his disturbed state of mind. It is especially effective because it stands in such stark contrast to the rest of the film. Aspects of characterisation: The film noir hero and a sense of hopelessness The sense of loss of a better past and hopelessness in the present is the overarching motivational force which drives the central character in the film, John Doe. Although the character appears on screen only in the closing scenes (excepting his brief and at the time anonymous appearance as a journalist) it is his actions which form the basis for the plot and so it is in this sense that he is the central character. John Does is compelled to commit his crimes out of a sense of horror at the world and a desire to teach what he regards as an ignorant and desensitised public to open their eyes and be horrified by the proliferation of sin which goes on around them. Somerset throughout the film refers to John Doe as ‘preaching’. He finds the banality of modern life so awful that he even throws up on a fellow subway passenger, he recounts to Mills. Doe is therefore, to some extent, the classic film noir hero, dogged by a sense of hopelessness and longing for a better time in the past when man was not immersed in sin. However there is a key difference. Doe is aware and he is shouting about it. He is not merely unhappy, he is enraged and determined to do something about the terrible situation he finds himself. This is not classic film noir character, but rather neo noir. It is also clear that, although he is a murder and therefore could be considered insane, Doe’s character is designed to be taken seriously. He has an important message and although it may be presented in a shocking way it is a very real and serious critique of modern society. Mills often refers to John Doe him as a lunatic. However, his protests are unconvincing based as they are on shock, revulsion and a degree of ignorance. Mills is the rookie and he comes in, swearing, shouting and largely devoid of three-dimensional characterisation. His definition of Doe as a lunatic is therefore hollow-sounding, designed to reflect tabloid headlines rather than a well considered opinion. Somerset, in contrast, is a quieter and more reflective character and so when he insists ‘don’t call him a lunatic’ his message is a powerful one. Although Doe might be a murderer, he has something very serious to say. It is in the car scene, driving out to the desert, when Doe finally explains his motives. He does not appear a raving madman and many of the comments he makes are designed to strike a chord with the viewer. When Mills accuses him of killing innocent people, Doe describes the people he has killed and concludes ‘only in a world this shitty could you even try to say these people were innocent and keep a straight face’. Somerset and Mills have no comeback to this, since it is clear that Doe has hit home with both of them. Doe is disillusioned, hopeless and repulsed by society and he is determined to make others take notice. In Doe’s absence, it is Somerset who takes on the role of the film noir hero and in a much more classical way. The two characters are inextricably linked as the extremes of reaction to the same loss of hope. Doe preaches but Somerset by contrast reverts to almost total silence. He speaks very little throughout the film, especially at the beginning when his disillusion is greatest. He therefore carries Doe’s message on screen, just in an alternative guise. In one of the earliest scenes, Somerset is filmed in bed, the camera observing him from the foot of the bed and a metronome ticking nearby. The meaningless passing of time is summed up in this shot, together with a sense of despair and lack of direction. This crystallizes as a need to escape from the horrors of life later in the film when Somerset gets into a taxi and the driver asks him where he’s going. ‘Far away from here’ is his reply. Conclusion It is, therefore, clear that elements of both characterisation and narrative contribute to Seven’s categorisation as a neo-film noir. However, the film also goes beyond this definition, constantly innovating and finding new meaning even in the most clichéd of narrative structures. There is a complex inter-relationship between characters and also between characters and narrative structure which, taken as a whole, make Seven a highly innovative film. It can be called neo-noir, new punk cinema or a new-brutality film but Seven ultimately transcends these definitions and stands as a land mark film on the cinematic horizon. Primary Sources Fincher, David (1995) Seven. New Line Cinema Secondary Sources Bordwell, David & Thompson, Kristen (2004) Film Art: An Introduction 7th edition. New York: McGraw Hill (Chapter 3) Bordwell, David (1985) Narration in the Fiction Film. London: Methuen. (Part 2, Chapter 3) Deleuze, Gilles (1986) Cinema 1: The Movement Image. London: Continuum International Publishing (Chapter 9) Gormley, Paul (2005) The New-brutality Film: Race and Affect in Contemporary Hollywood Cinema. New York: Intellect Books (Chapter 5) Grant, Barry Keith (2003) Film Genre Reader III. Texas: Texas University Press (Part 2, Chapter 15) Hardy, Phil (1997) The BFI Companion to Crime. London: Continuum International (Section entitled ‘Se7en’) LoBrutto, Vincent & Harlan, Jan (2005) Becoming Film Literate. Michigan, University of Michigan (Section 42) Rombes, Nicholas (2005) New Punk Cinema. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (Part 1, Chapter 1) Read More