Narrative Theory in Seven

Structure and Plot are used to great effect in Seven. Plot, to summarise, is what happens within the film, for example the plot of Seven is a serial killer, John Doe (Kevin Spacey) commits murders that are connected to the seven deadly sins,whilst two detectives try to find him, before the serial killer is shot by Detective Mills (Brad Pitt). Structure is how the information is given to the viewer, i.e.. in Seven, we only know as much as Mills and Somerset (Morgan Freeman) know - as if we are actually working the case with the two detectives. This is especially powerful in the ending of the film, when it is revealed that Mills is Wrath, Doe is Envy, and he has killed Mills' wife Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow). Throughout the film, we see hints of the anger that lies beneath the surface of Mills', for example when Doe pretends to be a journalist he reacts violently towards him, hinting that he was Wrath, but in the ending, when Doe reveals that he is Envy, I had not seen that coming, as they had been very guarded about Doe's character beforehand, another example of Structure, we had almost no indication of Doe's character and motivation until he turned himself in. This also contributed to the narrative theory as Doe's character was unknown until almost the end.

By contrast, we knew the two detectives very well. Somerset was a veteran cop who wanted to retire, had never pulled a gun/shot someone, whereas Mills, the rookie, had. The two cops had a binary opposition, in that as well as their experience with guns in the field, and their age and experience in general, Somerset is calm, reserved and can handle situations calmly and professionally, however Mills is un-experienced, quick to anger and dislikes being told what to do. Doe exploits this in order to fulfil his plans.

The way the cinematography is used in Seven creates a very claustrophobic effect, it's almost constantly raining, which effects the mise-en-scene as this means the lighting is often very low-key, which adds to the closeness of the film. It feels quite cramped, as the detectives have little to no room to move to try to outwit Doe, as he is always one step ahead of them. The only time this is any different is at the end, when they are out of the city and into the country in an open field. This could reflect the fact that the detectives thought they had solved the case and caught Doe, which was of course, not the case.