Se7en- Thriller Film Research

Se7en (1995)  is a psychological thriller directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Characters
The main characters in the film are two detectives. One called Somerset who is retiring  and the other called Mills who is taking his place. The other important characters are Mills' wife called Tracy and the serial killer John Doe.

Setting
The main settings in the film are the Offices of the detectives, the Library in which detective Somerset researches the case, the streets of the city and the empty desert area in the final scene. The offices are used in the film as it offers the audience a safe place in the film that is recognisable and where characters feel safe and also this is where the characters start to make a breakthrough in the case. The streets of the city are only ever seen when it is raining and the sky is dark. This is an example of pathetic fallacy and helps to set the mood for the audience. The final scene is set in an isolated area which plays on people's fears of being lost/isolated as there is nobody to help and have to deal with problems themselves.

Narrative
The narrative in psychological thrillers are very clever and their strength is that the audience can often be confused and so can't predict what will happen next. People often taken comfort in being able to predict what will happen. Todorov's theory can be applied here as the audience prefer a equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium but seven ends with a few twists that keep the audience guessing.