For this performance task I have chosen to analyse Brad Pitt’s performance in the famous heart pounding last scene from the 1995 crime film Seven by David Fincher. The reason I have chosen to study Brad Pitt is as he is one of my favourite actors, as I feel he has gave countless great performances in many great films, which proves he is a great actor with outstanding versatility. In the film Brad Pitt’s character Detective David Mills is a short tempered cop who is strong minded and determined to impress his colleagues. In the scene I have chosen to study, Mills finds out his wife has been murdered, and to make it even worse he also finds out she was carrying his child. Throughout this scene Brad Pitt gives an exceptional performance conveying lots of emotions such as; denial; anger; guilt; sadness; relief; and regret.
I am starting the analysis at the point in the scene where John Doe (Kevin Spacey) first mentions Mills wife Tracey, (Gwyneth Paltrow) at this point in the scene Brad Pitt conveys a great sense of confusion through his facial expressions, and dialogue. Pitt repeats questions during this section and it is the first time we have seen him acknowledge and listen to Spacey, and it is this which convinces the audience he is confused, as his face becomes scrunched as he concentrates on Spacey and what he is saying. This confusion soon turns to denial when he begins to realise reluctantly that his wife has in fact been murdered, the audience can see this change in emotion through Pitts performance. He shows this denial through his facial expressions; body language; dialogue; and his interaction with the cast, during this section his facial expressions and body language become very aggressive as he swings his arms and paces around, and his face radiates with anger through his sinister looks towards Spacey. This along with his aggressive tone and delivery helps the audience understand how angry and upset Pitt is, this combined with his speech in which he repeatedly shouts “no”, and “liar” conveys the denial in which his character is undergoing.
Pitt never loses the anger that has already been built up throughout the rest of the scene until the very end, the next emotions we see conveyed from Pitt’s performance are sadness and guilt, he becomes very sad when he is informed not only has his wife been murdered but she was also pregnant with his child. The audience can instantly see the sadness within Pitt’s character as his eyes become very teary and his facial expressions become filled with disgust, also his body language becomes very slow which contrasts with his fast snappy actions when he is angry, this again helps the audience understand the changes in emotions going on, and this sadness only further fuels the anger we can see building up within his character.
We then see Pitt walk towards Spacey and shoot him, he continues to shoot him until his clip is empty, during this section we can see Pitt is completely submerged in anger. The audience can understand this as Pitt’s previous signs of anger are all repeated in this section, his body language is very aggressive again as he leans over Spacey’s body as he continues to shoot him, while his facial expressions are again filled with anger as his sinister eyes seem set on killing Spacey, also is nostrils flare which emphasises how angry and upset he is. Although in this section we see all his anger unleashed, it seems with every bullet comes a sleight hint of relief, and his performance suggests he is relieved after he has killed Spacey as he starts to breathe a lot calmer, and his body language becomes very calm and slow as his anger fizzles out, this conveys to the audience the relief he has felt in killing Spacey, as they see the contrast in his performance of when he is angry and when he is relieved. I think the final emotion conveyed to the audience in this scene is some regret, the final shot of this scene shows Pitt still upset, but again confused and unable to focus as he cannot keep his eyes in one spot. I think this is done to show the audience he has only just realised the consequences he will be facing, and also the feeling of emptiness he must be feeling, as he has just lost everything in his life in a matter of minutes.
I think it is Pitt’s interaction with the cast and props which make this scene so convincing to the audience, and allows the audience to see the changes in emotions so easily and effectively, throughout the scene Pitt’s interaction with the rest of the cast is so fluid and natural, and they also act as an outlet for his emotions, as he conveys his emotions by communicating with them. I also think his interactions with his gun are important in this performance, as they also offer an outlet for his emotions, for example when he feels sad he doesn’t raise his gun, but when the anger takes back over he grips it firmly and points it towards Spacey.
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