电影赏析Se7en

Act II Act III
Point of no return
Turning point 2 Climax Resolution
Discovery of John Doe
John Doe turns himself in Mills realized the murder of his wife by John and killed him Somerset draw a conclusion
Se7en
Good VS Evil Guilty VS Innocent Moral Ambiguity Apathy
About the Movie
• Written by Andrew Kevin Walker, directed
by David Fincher, starring Morgan Freeman,
Brubaker (1980)黑狱风云 Unforgiven (1992)杀无赦 The Shawshank Redemption (1994)肖申克的救赎 Seven (1995)七宗罪 Million Dollar Baby (2004)百万宝贝 10 Items or Less（2005）十件或更少 Driving Miss Daisy (1989)为戴茜小姐开车
David Fincher
Born in Denver, Colorado on August 28, 1962, David Leo Fincher is an American film and music video director known for his dark and stylish portraits of the human experience. 杀人十二星座Zodiac ------- (2007) 战栗空间/房不胜防 Panic Room ------- (2002) 格斗俱乐部 Fight Club ------- (1999) 致命游戏 The Game ------- (1997) 七宗罪/火线追缉令 Se7en ------- (1995) 异形3 Alien³ ------- (1992)
Act Event
The Hook Act I Inciting Incident Turning point 1
Event in Se7en
Tension between MIlls and Somerset Investigation of first murder Discovery of the pattern and the fact of a serial killer
The Antagonist as Everyman
A plaintiff not able to be named
Representative of American Culture
John Doe
Bible: infallible, historically accurate & decisive Fundamentalism See the work of Satan around
Andrew Kevin Walker
With his sharp insight into human nature, baldfaced description of the after-effect of crimes, he is a well known thriller screenplay writer. The Wolf Man狼人 (2009) (post-production) (screenplay) Sleepy Hollow 睡谷/断头谷(1999) (screen story) (screenplay) 8MM 八毫米(1999) (written by) Se7en七宗罪 (1995) (written by) Brainscan六度战栗/杀人方程式(1994) (writer)
• Desire for celebrity (serial killing as a modern and urban phenomenon): wound culture as current trend (cf: The Lambs of Silence)
The Function of Culture
Strict moral code
Terrorism
Brutal and cold blooded Serial killer
• The majority of scenes are lit for night.
• Oblique and vertical lines are preferred to horizontal.
Brad Pitt and later Kevin Spacey, this 90s
classic film noir present a serial killer case in the gloomy setting of New York with its emphasis on unremitting bleakness and weary cynicism.
Brad Pitt
Morgan Freeman
1937— Genius black actor, three Oscar nominations and one won as the best supporting actor. Acting style: Slow, humorous and detailed anti-hero
• Elected as the sexiest man ever, Brad Pitt is well known for his charming smile and strong connection with the audience. • Generally typecast as a masculine, competitive, aggressive figure with a dangerous but attractive dark edge. 大河恋 A River Runs Through It (1992) 七宗罪 Se7en (1995) 第六感生死缘 Meet Joe Black (1998) 傀儡人生 Being John Malkovich (1999) 墨西哥人 The Mexican (2001) 特洛伊 Troy (2004) 史密斯夫妇 Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) 通天塔 Babel (2006)
• Water • Eyes & Spectacles
Discussion Question
Consider how the following two comments about real life serial killers help us to better understand Se7en: 1. One of the chief ironies of the whole Yorkshire Ripper case is that the police spent millions of pounds fruitlessly searching for an outsider, when the culpirit was just an ordinary bloke, a local man who shared their background and attitudes ro an extraordinary degree. 2. The urge to characterize Peter Sutcliffe as mad has powerful emotional origins: it has as much to do with how we see ourselves and the society in which we live as it has to do with our perception of him and his crimes.
Somerset Mature Unmarried Experienced Careful and deliberate Cultured Rational Cynical Wants to leave the city Survived Mills Immature Married Inexperienced Rash and impetuous Philistine Emotional Optimistic Moves to the city Destroyed Reference?
Theme
• The relationship between good and evil. • Innocent or guilty? • Apathy
• Sin in modern world
• Function of culture • Possibility of change
Symbols
RepresentativesKevin Spacey
Highly lauded for his formidable acting talent coupled with the outstanding skills in carrying the complex and profound social misfits, he is considered as one of the most substantial thespians in the history of American film-making. • 大卫· 戈尔的一生 The Life of David Gale (2003)
Sin in the Modern World
• The pervasiveness of moral ambiguity: the possibility of every person to become a villain.
• Well fostered and recommended apathy
Character Analysis
John Doe (Kevin Spacey)
Possibilty of corruption
Moral ambiguity
Somerset (Morgan Freeman) & Mills (Brad Pitt)
Tracy
Frustration of Narrative Expectations
• A force for individual empowerment and good • The inability of civilization to prevent the emergence of barbarism: the failure in its role as agent of moral growth. • The coexistence of culture and brutality as well as the role of culture as a tool to justify the latter. • Culture leads to increased sophistication but not a higher moral or intellectual level.
• 美国美人 American Beauty (1999)
• 洛城机密 L.A. Confidential (1997) • 杀戮时刻 A Time to Kill (1996) • 七宗罪 Seven (1995) • 非常嫌疑犯 The Usual Suspects (1995)
Cop/buddy Relationship
Film Noir
• Equal lighting emphasis is given to actors and settings.
• A strong attachment to water. • The caharacters are moral ambivalent. • The atmosphere is surreal and nightmarish. (unexplained motives and plot twists) • A fear of the future as the overriding theme. • Of loss, nostalgia and trepidation.