Children Of Men Essay

How effectively does the opening sequence from 'Children of Men' (2006) use the forms and conventions of film openings? What is your personal response as a member of the audience?"

In the film Children of Men the director uses key forms and conventions to captivate the audience and grab their attention. This is done by using key methods and techniques that keep the audience attached to the screen. Children of Men is a 2006 American dystopian science fiction film co-written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón. It is set in the United Kingdom of 2027.

We know that the plot of the film is in 2027 and no children have been born anywhere in the world for 18 years. The youngest child in the world is Baby Diageo, and because he is the youngest person alive he has become famous for this. We are informed this by the news report on the television at the start of the opening sequence, but because it is an opening sequence they don’t give too much away. It also informs us that Baby Diageo has been stabbed by one of his fans for not signing an autograph. We see moving billboards and adverts on the side of buses to show the difference in time and how the country has changed.

An opening sequence aims to give a short snippet into what the film is going to be about. From just watching a couple of seconds of the opening sequence we see that London looks very gloomy and grey. Although it is a future film the place looks very similar to what it looks like now. You would think that there would be very advanced technology because of the film being set in the future, but apart from moving billboards we don’t see any of this in the opening sequence of this movie. There are typical conventions that are used in an Opening Sequence for example narrative functions, audience expectations, generic tropes and the characters. I will look into these to see how well they are used.  

Firstly I will begin to look at the narrative functions that are used to captivate the audience’s attention. Were the scene is set and the colour normally catches the audience’s attention first, and in this case the film is set in London which we know very well. We see double decker red buses driving up and down the streets. This is how we recognise that it is set in London. Also the colours are very grey and gloomy because of all the smoke from the buses, that it almost looks like the opening is in black and white but really it is all in colour. This could show connotations of how London is becoming untidy and dirty as all this drama is happening. The colour of the buses are also very dull and not bright, even though they are red and red is a bright colour. This makes it clear to the audience that the film is set in 2027 because you would expect things to get more congested in a place like London.

The characters in the coffee shop all very different to each other. They were props to help us understand who they are and their different interests. For example at the beginning we see a fairly old lady hold her dog in her arms. This helps us understand that there are still animals living even though a child hasn't been born in 18 years. Another character is a policeman but he is not recongnised as he is standing at the back of the shop, but we can establish his hat, and it also helps us establish that the film is set in London. When the camera then goes outside when we follow the man, we see bikes that we get in London now days with engines on the back; his is also giving of smokey which contrast with the dull colours of the roads. Finally we then see the main character. We can tell that he is the main character because throughout the opening the camera is following him through the coffee shop and the outside again. He just looks like a normal London Office worker because he is in a suit and just coming into the shop to get a coffee when he spots the news on the television. We then see him putting some of extra liquid into his coffee, which we think is alcohol. This then makes s ask questions about why he is doing that? Are there reasons for him drinking? It also helps us to establish what the main character is like, and also what we expect in the rest of the film. All of this gives us a good impression of how the film is going to be like, because if the opening is not very good the audience will expect the film to be the same.

Generic conventions establish the audience's expectation about the film. It also helps the audience discover the genre of the film. We know that the film will be action because of the explosion at the end of the opening sequence when we see the lady that we have previously seen drinking her coffee in the shop walking out with her arm in her hand, and it is also very clear that the move is going to be futuristic because of the difference in time. At the very start of the opening were we here important news but only see the credits on screen. This makes the audience pay more attention to what is being said rather than what is on screen. There is non-diegetic when the explosion is going off and this is another way of how the audience will establish this film as an action film. 

Throughout the opening sequence props and costumes and other mise-on-scene play an important part of establishing the different characters and the expectations of them. As we can tell because of the main character poor alcohol into his drink we immediately think that he is an alcoholic.

Textual analysis for example framing and camera movement play a big part in understanding the film. In this opening the camera is mostly hand-held. This is very effective because it looks like someone is following him from behind. Also is can signify that the world has become unsteady that's why the camera is unsteady. Another angle we see is a high angle shot in the coffee shop, which gets everyone in the frame and makes the characters look small like they're not important.

I think the opening sequence of 'Children of Men' works well as it catches the attention of the audience and has drawn them in, making them want to watch the rest of the film to find out what has happened; that is the whole purpose of a film opening. It sets the scene very well and introduces the audience to the main character and the setting - London 2027. This allows the viewer to get familiar with the surroundings before giving them too much information about the plot because they may then confuse them causing them to turn the film off and give negative reviews.