The film Seven is a good example for some of the more difficult ideas from the booklet. In particular, it is an excellent example of the difference between plot and story. If you remember, the plot is the series of events and actions that lead on, one to another in the film. It is the thing that makes the film seem fast moving and exciting. The story, on the other hand, is the heart of the film- sometimes called the emotional story. In this, the filmmakers track the journey of the main character and shows him or her growing as a person.

The plot of Seven is certainly a fast moving one. If we try to fit it to Syd Field's three act structure, we can see that the timings don't quite fit- plot point one, the realisation by Somerset that this is a serial killer comes after just twenty minutes and the second plot point is not too far from the end of the film when the killer hands himself in. This kind of long second act is actually very common in action films as is the idea of a reversal in the problematic which we see when the detectives no longer have to find the killer but instead are left looking for his victims. What does make Seven different is the strength of its emotional story, a story which centres on the character of Somerset.

The plot of the film may deal with two detectives, but the emotional story clearly centres on Somerset- he is the character in the film who changes and who we are more sympathetic with despite Brad Pitt's star persona. This itself makes Seven quite a different film. As the film opens and we see the two policemen getting to know each other, we initially feel we are watching a typical "buddy cop" movie with Mills as the good looking hero and Somerset as his older, wiser sidekick. A key scene which challenges this view of the film is when they go in together to see their boss. For a while the conversation seems to be supporting this interpretation until the boss rubbishes Mills’ suggestions and demonstrates his respect for Somerset. As viewers, searching for a handle on what is going on, the meaning of the encounter is anchored, so we too feel that this grumpy man is some kind of hero. From now on, we see events through his eyes so for example we only see Mills’ home life when Somerset is invited there.

Somerset’s development is one from cynicism to a kind of measured optimism. He starts the film in despair- so disillusioned with the world that he wants to give up and disappear- a sort of emotional, virtual suicide. In these terms in tandem with the problematic of the plot (will they catch the killer before it is too late?) there is a separate problematic for the emotional story- will Somerset find a meaning to his life? Similarly, this emotional story has its own plot points and resolution. A first plot point is when Mills’ wife phones to invite him to dinner- this is a vital moment because she is forcing him out of his grumpy isolation to encounter the world in reality rather than seen through the filter of his normal detachment. The following meal is one of the few really warm moments in the film- the beginning of a sort of innocent pseudo-romance between him and her. The immediate result of this is that he starts to work on her husband's case so the plot is also able to move on, but it is primarily a move in the emotional story.

The next plot point for the emotional story once again involves Mills' wife when they meet up in the diner. Here, in yet another warm conversation, we see Somerset symbolically choosing life when talking with her about her pregnancy. At the same time as it develops his character further, this scene prepares us for the full horror of her murder at which point his emotional development is completed. Paradoxically her death has the opposite effect of all the horror he has encountered before and he chooses to return to struggle on. His last lines voiced over to us the audience are:

The plot is obviously what keeps us glued to our seats throughout the film but it is this emotional story which stops the film being as bleak as it otherwise might be. Somerset's realisation that he should keep going despite the evil of the world anchors our decoding of the end of the film.

The emotional journey of Somerset also helps to make up for the paradox that this is an action film with very little action in it. If you think about the idea that all film narratives are split between actions and events, this is very much a story of events- things happen to Somerset and Mills, the killer leads them along and they can do nothing but follow. Even the killers actions are never clearly visible- we only see their results. As Doe points out towards the end of the film, their own investigations are getting them virtually nowhere and they therefore are constantly left waiting for him to act.

You could go even further and say that the film is consciously mocking their feeble attempts at action- When they actually do manage to do something it rarely results in anything and sometimes the action seems like a joke- are we really meant to get too excited about a search through library records. Similarly, when they actually come upon Doe's room they are unable to act- bound by the rules that they follow.

The two detectives respond very differently to their situation. Throughout the film, Mills suffers from this helplessness- he is frequently shown swaying like a hyperactive child unable to cope with their enforced passivity. His language is that of the action hero -often ridiculously so as when he comments in a cliché of the genre- "Gentlemen we have us here a homicide"

Somerset, on the other hand, seems more at home in inactivity, he is the slow methodical worker and his action is all in the mind- he reads books, ponders clues and through most of the film retreats from the active world of humanity. The metronome that he has at the side of his bed seems to be a symbol of the orderly, thoughtful world that he searches for while at the same time the shots of him throwing a knife at a dart-board seem to symbolise the active nature that he has repressed.

In most films the second half shows the hero become the active participant in the struggle with the enemy but in Seven this does not happen. Until the very end Somerset and Mills are helpless, simply following where Doe leads. Instead of real action from them, all we are given at the end of the film is a kind of symbolic choice of action by both the characters- Mills chooses action over logic by shooting Doe although this is really an event in the sense that it is planned by the killer and Somerset less dramatically chooses action over passive retirement. Many people have found this ending frustrating, wanting the standard confrontation of the typical finale of a Hollywood action film, but it is completely in keeping with the frustrated world of the film where even the elements themselves in the form of rain and darkness seem to stand in the way of the heroes being able to do anything.