The look of the entire opening scene (and, consequently, the entire film itself), is very rough and raw. This is to keep the tension high and the mood dark, it also links the film with dark ideas such a murder and serial killers. The opening cuts from the distributor's logo straight to Somerset in his apartment, getting ready for work. It shows he is very meticulous and exact- his things are all lined up parallel on his desk in the order in which he picks them up. Continuity editing is used for this scene so all of the audience's attention is focused solely on Somerset- although the edits are fairly fast, to keep both the pace and tension as high as possible. It also keeps the speed of the scene up- he gets ready very quickly, in the very next shot we see him at work straight away. This shows that Somerset

lives a basic life, and his work takes up most of it.

Mills is introduced to the audience when he runs up the stairs. Him climbing the stairs to the same level signifies Mills' sudden increase in power- he has been reassigned to take over from the now-retiring Detective Somerset. Mills is dressed very differently from Somerset- he's wearing a black leather jacket and he looks a lot more stylish and up-to-date. As a big star has been used in the role of David Mills, and the fact that Somerset has already been established as the central protagonist early on, we now know that the story will revolve around the relationship between these two characters. However, if it was Mills who was introduced first, the audience may have a false idea that the film would focus solely on this one character. As Morgan Freeman is possibly a less well-known actor as Brad Pitt is (especially to the more younger generation)- his introduction later on would have had less impact on the audience. Brad Pitt's star status ensures that the audience will follow him as a second central protagonist. From here on in until the end of this scene, both of the stars are at the same eye level- placing them at a similar place within society, with a similar level of power.

At one point the scene shifts outside the building- as the camera follows Mills and Somerset as they walk. In this shot, the rai

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Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)