Seven Deadly Sins In Movie Se7en

David Fincher’s 1995 film ‘Se7en’ centres around serial killer John Doe (Kevin Spacey) murdering people according to the seven deadly sins. Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) who is new to the city and Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) who is about to retire are tasked with arresting the criminal. I intend to analyse the editing techniques that Fincher uses in the ending scene. Fincher uses several different editing techniques including screen forces and principles of both editing and montage to create an emotionally charged and thrilling scene.

This scene takes place in the desert and begins with Detective Somerset removing a pen knife from his pocket which creates an index vector along the Y axis of the scene. This knife is then used to open a box that is marked ‘Fragile Handle with Care’ using several red stickers attached to the box. The use of these stickers is by no means accidental or used for the film’s aesthetic. This is used to intrigue the audience and build suspense as there is no reason for something that is to be handled with care to be left in the desert. As detective Somerset opens the box he states “there’s blood” before the scene cuts to Detective Mills. This use of simultaneity editing allows Fincher to cut between two events and create suspense and parallelism.

Christopher Bowen states in ‘The Grammar of the Edit’ that “The cut is the most frequently used transition in any kind of filmmaking. It can be defined as an instantaneous change from one image to another. If you are working in the continuity style of “invisible” editing, then the viewing audience should not consciously notice the cut transition. A hard and abrupt jump from one screen image to another can represent the mood of your story perfectly. Hidden or not, cuts instantly change picture or sound (or both) for the audience” (Bowen C. J. and Thompson, R. (2013) Grammar of the Edit. 3rd ed. Abingdon: Focal Press.)

As detective Somerset opens the box, he jumps away from it in shock, the camera the cuts to the helicopter that is circling over head before cutting back to Detective Mills. Once again, the camera cuts back to detective Somerset and what follows is both a tonal and intellectual montage of Detective Somerset looking at Detective Mills and then back at the box. Fincher’s use of these montage styles allows him to provoke a mood of suspense and almost horror. It also allows him to generate an idea/association. With these short montages it is less about the pace of the editing but the framing of the shots. The audience can understand that whatever is in the box is also associated with Detective Mills. The introduction of the soundtrack in this scene that matches with each cut is also another way that Fincher edits his films to create enormous amounts of suspense and uncertainty. Furthermore, the lack of dialogue also helps to build the emotion and suspense in this section of the film. Detective Somerset is a cop that is due to retire the audience throughout the film is led to believe that he has seen it all, the look of fear and the fact that he is speechless is a perfect way to illustrate the horror that he has found within the box. As Detective Somerset begins to run away from the box and towards Detective Mills and John Doe for the first time in the scene Fincher cuts to a frame with only John Doe. This is very interesting as it is framed in a low angle with the sun behind John Doe which paints him in an almost angelic and innocent glow which contradicts everything he has done throughout the rest of the film. What proceeds after this shot is over tonal montage of shots between John Doe, Detective Mills, Detective Somerset and the circling helicopter. As Detective Somerset arrives next to Detective Mills and John Doe the cross cutting continues but the scene feels all the more intimate especially as the bombshell is dropped about what is actually in the box. As detective Somerset tries to defuse the situation, he repeatedly asks Detective Mills to put his gun down before he throws his own away from him. The tossing of the gun creates a motion vector as it pulls the audience’s eye away from John Doe who is still seen in the other side of the frame. What follows is another over tonal montage of cuts between the three men, this montage is more frenzied and fast paced as we see Detective Mills understand what has happened. This frantic editing can be seen as a symbol of Detective Mills state of mind as it appears there is no reasoning behind it. Fincher uses this frenzied editing style to also disorientate the viewers and to shift the attention away from what John Doe has already done and towards what Detective Mills could do. Fincher is able to bring the scene to its climax by using the index vector that is created when Detective Mills aims his gun as John Doe. The use of this means that the audiences’ attention is focused solely on Detective Mills and John Doe, this is also a very clever way of symbolizing how nothing that Detective Somerset does from here on out will have any effect on the situation. As the scene continues Fincher begins to use extreme close ups of Detective Mills and John Does faces. This technique continues to build the tense atmosphere within the scene but to also reestablish how different these two characters are as we see the look of pain and anger on Detective Mills and one of complacency and nonchalance from John Doe. This makes the scene more emotionally intriguing to the audience as it creates a new dynamic as John Doe’s nonchalance about his crimes comes to the forefront of the film.

“In cutting emotional rhythm, a performance is given to the editor and the editor has to work with its rhythm and make choices about it. The choices might range from respecting it completely to disrupting it entirely and creating a new rhythm. There is a lot of room for rhythmic creativity and decision making along the spectrum between these two poles. One consideration is the strength of the performance— a strong performance is more likely to be used and to be respected. It will shape the emotional rhythm by putting emphasis on the emotions it conveys.” (Pearlman, K. (2016) Cutting Rhythms: Intuitive Film Editing. 2nd ed. Abingdon: Focal Press.) Pearlman’s theory is put into practise in this scene as Fincher chooses to show the emotions of the actors to create atmosphere instead of trying to do it trough a shocking montage.

The scene continues focusing mainly on Detective Mills with the occasional cut between Detective Somerset and John Doe. This is almost symbolic as the audience is overwhelmed by the sight of Detective Mills this is reflective of his state of mind. We continue to see Detective Mills try to process what has happened then for a split second we see the image of Tracey (Detective Mills’ wife) this image is representative of Detective Mills being pushed over the edge within the next second Detective Mills shoots John Doe in the head thus completing the cycle of the Seven Deadly Sins murders. As soon as the shot is fired Fincher cuts back to the circling helicopter, this technique is another shock to the audience as the tension of the exchange between Detective Mills and John Doe is enough to make the audience forget about everything else that was happening before that moment. Once again Fincher quickly cuts back to Detective Mills shooting again but this time from an entirely different angle. Detective Mills is now framed from a low angle as though looking down at the audience from this angle Mills empties his clip into John Doe but due to the angle it feels that Detective Mills is shooting directly at the audience. Next, we see a shot of detective Somerset as he stands looking lost and Mills continues to empty his clip into John Doe’s body. Fincher then cuts to a shot of the two detectives standing looking in opposite directions with their backs to one another, again this is another clever way that Fincher uses his framing and editing to show an idea/association without actually saying it. This editing allows the audience to understand that the bond between the two detective is broken forever, they are standing on two different sides of the law. The scene ends with a shot from the circling helicopter as Detective Mills walks away from both Detective Somerset and John Doe’s body into the desert symbolizing his descent into the emptiness after his wife’s death.

In conclusion David Fincher uses a varied range of editing techniques to help build tension and heighten emotion throughout his films. Fincher use of simultaneity editing and over tonal montage help to bring another element to his films that keeps the audience of the edge of their seats throughout the film.