Opening Analysis: 'Children of men'

Opening film analysis of Children of Men

The film ‘Children of Men’ opens with diegetic, off-screen sound of what sounds like a news report. The blank screen allows the audience to completely focus on the words being said. The scene then cuts to a medium shot a crowd of members of the public watching the news in a coffee shop. The lighting is dim creating a scene of uncertainty. Additionally, dull colours are used to create a negative mood.  The characters have covered a range of people including couples, people with dogs, police officers and people of many ethnicities to make it more believable and realistic. The lack of camera angle/shot change creates a sense of realism. Furthermore, the content of the shot such as a red bus driving past allows the location of Britain to be known to the audience. A character, who is shown to be oblivious to the news enters the coffee shops and excuses himself through to the front of the shop where he orders a coffee. The character then appears to look up and the shot cuts to the TV where the news is playing. Some people may classify this as a match on action shot to show tension build for the audience. A tracking shot then follows the same character out of the coffee shop as you hear the diegetic sound of sobbing coming from other members of public, some of which is off-screen and some off-screen. The camera angle creates a long and wide angle shot as they leave the restraints of the coffee shop to freedom and the audience get to see the varsity of the actual setting. The camera pans upwards to show the sheer size and ‘power’ of the surroundings. Some audience members may also interpret this as demonstrating how limited our interpretation of the story is by the small amount of information we know. There are enhanced sounds of motorbikes driving past as off-screen, diegetic sounds. The camera continues tracking towards the main character as he discretely removes a hip flask from his jacket pocket and adds it to his coffee. This creates an enigma code as the audience want to see what he is doing and why he may have a drinking problem, as it is portrayed. The camera then pans around whom we are lead to believe is the main character and there is a sudden explosion as you hear diegetic sounds of alarms and screams coming from the coffee shop. The camera then tracks forward, as if it is running, which captures the audience attention as it shows the situation is dramatic. A zombie style figure then emerges from the smoke, limping, but we cannot fully make out who they are. This leaves a cliff hanger and enigma code as the viewers want to find out who this person is. The mise en scene is created by the zombie character and introduces the sci-fi genre.