Analysis of Thrillers....SPOILER!!

During the last week I have watched the ever so famous thriller film Se7en and what a good film it was!
It starts out showing us an average day of detective Somerset played by Morgan Freeman. We see the gruesome sights he views on a regular basis, then comes the opening title sequence where the credits roll and the movie reel cuts and gets played backward, it also burns, and every other horrible thing imaginable whilst showing close-ups of the killer preparing his evil scheme. Very, very effective.

The film is very dark, in spirit and in lighting. It is raining in every scene except the end scene, and the lighting in general is dim and dreary giving a depressive atmosphere. After the credits roll we see Somerset meeting his new partner David Mills, played by Brad Pitt, as they are assigned to investigate the murder of a very obese man. We find out that someone had force fed him to eat spaghetti until he bursts with his hands and feet secured by chicken wire.

We then see the detectives work together, despite their differences, and as they unveil more victims of these strange and cruel deaths...we start to realise the killer is acting on the "Seven Deadly Sins." As each victim suffers whatever sin they chose in life. The obese man committed gluttony, then we meet a lawyer who is killed by greed, the next a hooker killed by lust, a model by pride, and a drug user by sloth. We don't see any on-screen violence, but the way in which the director portrays each killing effectively gives us chills, by allowing us to see what has already happened and trying to figure out the amount of pain and torture the victim has gone through. Keeping the audience guessing and on the edge of their seat is one of the main features of a thriller and this film did this brilliantly.

As each victim is found, the killer leaves more clues until they get closer to him. Somerset goes to the library to see who's been researching the seven deadly sins and comes up with a list of names John Doe being the first. They arrive at John Doe's apartment and people start shooting the detectives then realize they have the right guy.

The detectives unravel the mystery behind the killings, five of the seven killings happen before they manage to capture John as he appears at the police station about to turn himself in. He seems quite normal for a killer, except for his own bloody fingers, because he keeps slicing them so that he has no legible finger prints. He is also covered in someone else's blood.

As we've found out, the killings are based on the seven deadly sins, so what about the last two victims? According to John Doe the only way to find out about the other two is to drive him to a deserted field at a specific time and wait for his instructions. They do this to try and save the other two victims, this is the only scene in the movie that is bright and sunny, a direct contrast of the rest of the film.

Suddenly, we see a van pull up with a guy carrying a small box. He was the reason that they had to be there at a specific time. We never see what's in the box but as Somerset opens it, John Doe tells Mills, who has a gun pointing at him the contents of the box....the pretty head of Mills' wife, played by Gwyneth Paltrow. 

We find out that earlier in the day, John visited Tracey and after killing her, he ships her head to this location, making sure that the two detectives to are there with him. John Doe then explains that since he himself envied the life of Mills and his wife and unborn child that fairs fair he should be shot, this is when Somerset tries to hold Mills back and tells him not to shoot him as this is what he wants. He then keeps bugging grieving Mills to let the sin of anger destroy his own life and shoot him making him  the sin of wrath...the last victim. He gives in and Shoots Doe ending this cycle. Mills is led away in a police car as we realize that this was all planned, the film ends with the two detectives saying their farewells.

Throughout the film the audience are kept sat on the edge of their seats as the film cleverly has many differnent clues that could link the killings to different people so you are always wondering who the actual murderer is. There is a twist in the film as we figure that all the killings will be the same but the last two have a twist as the killer is cruel and deseving and sends Mills his wifes head to complete the last deadly sins. In all honest I think that the ending was the only part of the film that I found not too good as it doesn't really bring closure to the story, other than that I'd give the whole film an A+!

The trailer....



Id give this film 4 out of 5 stars, i thought it was a great film but i didnt like the endimg as it didnt bring closure to the film.