For anyone interested, here’s a stab at analyzing Seven, written by Andrew Kevin Walker.
Plot: Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his modus operandi. (ref. IMDB)
MC: Detective Somerset (Freeman)
IC: Detective Mills (Pitt)
OS: Activity: hunting down a serial killer
MC: Situation: Somerset is stuck working on a case he doesn’t want
IC: Fixed Attitude: Mills believes they’re making a difference, stopping bad people from doing bad things
RS: Manipulation: appreciating, or understanding, who / what the killer is and what their function in the investigation is
CHARACTER DYNAMICS:
MC RESOLVE: Change After planning on retiring, Somerset does an about face and decides to stick around.
MC GROWTH: Stop Somerset gives up on the idea he’ll ever get out of there
MC APPROACH: Do-er Somerset uncovers clues by returning to the scene of the crime and moving things around, by researching the seven deadly sins. He focuses by throwing his switch blade on a dart board.
MC STYLE: Linear: Somerset predicts the start of a series of murders before anyone else can by looking at the facts and drawing a straight line through it (the killer had no ulterior motive and he took his time). When the second murder is found, he draws a second line and reveals the pattern of the seven deadly sins. There will be seven murders in all.
PLOT DYNAMICS:
DRIVER: Action
- The discovery of the first murder sets the story in motion.
- the 1st act turn is when the second murder is found and Somerset connects them (gluttony & greed)
- midpoint is receiving the FBI library list that leads them to John Doe’s apartment
- 3rd act turn is John Doe surrendering to Somerset and Mills
- the climax is Mills killing John Doe
LIMIT: Optionlock John Doe succeeds in carrying out his plan when Mills shoots him. The climax rests in Mills making a choice, either kill John to avenge his wife, or let him live.
OUTCOME: Failure Detectives Somerset and Mills not only fail to stop John Doe from carrying out his plan, they become a part of it
JUDGMENT: Bad Somerset remains stuck in his job, trapped in a world he no longer understands
OVERALL STORY
DOMAIN: Activity hunting down a serial killer
CONCERN: Gathering Information the police force gather clues, trying to piece together a portrait of their killer in order to better understand (benchmark) who he is
ISSUE: Prerequisites in order to catch their killer, the detectives need clues, but the killer doesn’t leave them with any.
COUNTER POINT: Preconditions in order to catch the killer, the detectives break the law and in so doing, jeopardize their legal integrity.
PROBLEM: Potentiality with nothing to expose the killer’s identity, the detectives are faced with the prospect of never catching him
SOLUTION: Certainty John Doe surrenders to the police and offers a full confession (if certain conditions are met!)
SYMPTOM: Possibility the detectives have no way of knowing what the killer’s next move will be
RESPONSE: Probability the detectives try to anticipate the killer’s next move