Analysis of "Se7en" opening sequence

The film "Seven", sometimes referred to as "Se7en" was released in 1995, showing first in America.

 Written by Andrew Kevin Walker and directed by David Fincher, "Se7en" takes the form of a psychological thriller, with elements of "who dunnit?" and gruesome scenes of violence and death. Its plot hinges on the key religious concept of there being seven deadly sins; Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Envy, Wrath, Pride, Lust. One by one, the two protagonists, Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) and Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman), are forced to unravel these sins when confronted by a growing number of gruesome murders. Time is of the essence; the killer promises to kill again, turning each lesson of the seven deadly sins into a physical blood bath.

This post is an analysis of 'Se7en's' opening sequence.

 In the first scene we see the obscure image of someone flicking through a book. The overall lighting, being of a sickly yellow, immediately suggests that something is amiss; this variant of yellow can most commonly be associated as the colour of illness, and by that, death, plague and disease. The soft yet deep contrast of the lighter yellow against the shadows casted by the book suggest that the book in question may have a more menacing side, while its wrinkled edges are indicative of age, or that its owner reads this book often. The outer edges of the scene are blurred; this kind of editing masks the identity of the book's reader and hinders the viewer's understanding of the greater setting of the scene. This has been put deliberately in place to create an air of mystery that will continue to circulate the character.

After a cut-to-black transition (an effect that only adds to the increasingly apparent theme of a harsh and gritty underworld) the image of two disfigured hands sits below the high angle shot of what the viewer can only assume to be a workshop desk.  

Though the pale blue lighting of this scene differs to the previous scene's yellow, it is clear that the two locations are linked; the shadows in the room remain of great contrast to the light that seemingly ekes in. 

The image itself is quite disturbing; the viewer may wonder what the owner of this picture could possibly need with such an image, being not a doctor or a man/woman of any legal medical practice (as is clear with the lack of cleanliness in the setting). Further more, the image's location atop a grid surface suggests that the character is measuring these hands and that could further suggest that he/she is meticulous in their approach, whatever their approach may be. Overall, this scene deepens the mystery of the setting and the true nature and intentions of the blurred character we see in the first clip of the montage.

The text appearing at the top right of the screen Is distorted and varies with the names of the film's developers. Its scrawly appearance enables the viewer to believe that it exists as a part of the scene, as later we are shown images of the blurred character's handwriting. The text's font builds on the feeling of this entire sequence being a grungy, gritty world where a research driven and borderline obsessive is planning something sinister. 

What follows is a close-up shot of the original character's fingers, as he (most likely a male) shaves the skin off of them:

The diegetic sound of an electric razor adds to the repulsiveness of the scene; we can see, in grizzly detail, flakes of skin fall from his fingertips, all while the sound of the razor gnaws at the viewers ears. 

This scene succeeds in establishing the character in question as odd, very odd, worryingly odd in fact; the build up of micro elements conveying this character's true nature lean increasingly toward someone who's obsessive, reclusive, driven and self harming. It is becoming increasingly apparent that this character may be the killer/main antagonist of the film, though his identity remains a mystery.