Dark and visually the best film ever!!!!!!!

Rating: 10/10 (12 June 2002)

Colour and lighting, Fincher emphasizes shadows and dimly lit scenes--the kind that lend more to the tone of the shot than to the ego of the star. You'd be hard pressed to find any light situation in any of his films that truly flatters the actors. Se7en is definitely Fincher's darkest movie--in mood and in lighting. The majority of Se7en contains very little light, the crime scenes being the most notable examples. In fact, most of Se7en's lighting is directional, meaning that it comes from an artificial source focused in one direction with a low falloff. The brightness of the desert setting during the climax is a dramatic shift from the rest of the movie and is perfect for the change in tone and action of the finale. The most interesting use of colour in Se7en comes when Mills and Somerset explore John Doe's apartment. Everything is, of course, red and dark. Camera work and editing, The chase scene with Mills and Doe is about as exciting as they come. The camera moves quickly with the characters, and the odd angles keep the audience from seeing everything--building paranoia and escalating the tension. The steady movement of the SWAT team as they descend upon the sloth victim is another well-choreographed sequence. All of Fincher's films feature some kind of chase scene, which is definitely a good thing, considering how effectively he pulls them off. Production and set design, A lot of the settings are buildings in decay; many of them were built from scratch and then made to look worn. I believe that Fincher often films on sets rather than scouting out interior locations because actual interiors rarely live up to his meticulous imagination. Rotting wood, rust, water stains and peeling paint all help to make each scene totally believable--more like moody still life's than movie sets.
In the spirit of rule breaking, Fincher makes his credits ascend upwards. I'm not sure if this is the first time this has ever been done, but it's the only movie I have seen it in. Aside from scrolling up, the credits are also visually interesting. Careless lines and scratches weave in and out of text.