'Children of Men' is a text set in 2027 and is about how the chaotic world manages when women and men have become infertile so the population is decreasing and Britain is the only nation which is still living.
The city of London is being represented in the future however despite the futuristic 'floating' televisions and the animated signage on the shop fronts it seems more like the film it set back in time rather than forwards. This is principally due to the way that the 'mise en scene' is used, the characters and the location are shown in dull colours which not only portrays the sadness of everyone because of the death of Baby Diego, but also provides the extract with a depressing feel, it makes the audience feel sad and upset too. London is also presented as dirty, as soon as the camera comes out of the coffee shop the audience gets a clear view of how dusty and filthy the city has become. As the audience, we can see a huge pile of rubbish bags which show how polluted the earth is becoming as well as how people seem to not care about how looking after the earth and the 'green' aspects that so many people care about today. This representation is finally concluded by an explosion in the coffee shop which once more, provides the extract with a negative feel. Similarly the lighting is dull, dark and dreary which shows how depressing the time is and it also makes the audience feel this way too and that North East London in 2027 is not a particularly nice place to be.
In the short extract, because it is the opening of the film, the audience do not know whether the character with the main focus is a hero or not. This is because he is not shown as a stereotypical hero but not so much in peak condition and slightly older than the average hero. He is dressed in ordinary clothes as a normal businessman and just going around doing normal pre-work things like getting his coffee and watching the news. However due to the fact that he is usually in the centre of the camera shot and he seems to be the main focus of attention, the audience tend to see him as the main protagonist of the text.
The women in the text are represented as very emotional and affected by Baby Diego's death. Women are stereotypically depicted as sentimental people who care about children and other emotional issues. The director may have wanted to show how the people have not changed emotionally, but have become more careless and have changed in the way that they treat nature. There is one woman who is shown at 3:06 who may be seen as completely insane as she has small toy ornaments around her desk in the office and is sobbing extensively. Therefore the director may be trying to exaggerate the emotions of woman at such dark times in the future. The women who watch the film may feel this way too about similar (but not quite so extreme) stories in the news to they can relate to how the women act in the film.
The future is represented as having a contrast between the technological animations on the city buildings and the simplistic lifestyle of the rickshaw 'cars' and the coffee shop. It is presented as polluted and the whole city is covered in dust and black smoke from the rickshaws. It almost seems as if people do not care anymore about how the earth. Technology could have taken over, as some people say it will, to the extent where there is no more new ideas, hence the simple rickshaws.
The police are also being represented in the short clip, they are shown as rather the same as they are nowadays in the same uniform and with the same smart manner. The BBC are also represented however as the 'BCC' and the logo is in circles rather than squares. This could have been used to show how times have changed however the things that still exist are changing too, until all things are unable to differentiate anymore.
The camera work in this short extract is rather shaky and therefore must be a handheld camera which provides the clip with a human like perspective on things, almost as if we see what the main actor is seeing, but also seeing him in the shot, like he has a follower. The clip could be considered as 'documentary style' due to the following, human aspect. This may scare the viewers as they believe that everything is really happening and not imaginary, it worries them and makes them think about how they would cope in such situations.
There are lots of different types of editing in this short text extract, the first noticeable edit that the we can recognise is a very long shot of the coffee shop at the beginning of the clip, this shot lasts for 22 seconds which is a lengthy clip and makes the audience worried about what has happened, it may also make them tedious due to the lack of knowledge about what is happening. Continuity editing is also used to maintain a continuous and clear narrative action. Shot reverse shot is also used where the camera switches from one character to another, it is first used when in the office at 3:06 and changes from the main male protagonist to the sobbing female office worker, it is used to show both their reactions to each other and the death of Baby Diego. These editing techniques make the film seem more like real life and again like a documentary. The editing changes pace when the explosion occurs as the camera seems to run away from it, just like a natural human and on the television screen the pace changes due to the clips of Baby Diego growing up.
Before the text begins there is a black screen shown with a newscast voiceover, this helps the audience to understand the circumstances that the people are suffering. There is also a high-pitched ringing sound bridge which helps to move the scene on to the next clip. It also makes the audience suffer along with the characters as they may think that it is coming from inside their heads. There is not much music in the short extract of film, it acts as a bridge as it plays, stops, then plays again in the part where Baby Diego is being shown on the television the computer screens. This music could be heard as a slightly cheesy news broadcast however it is the kind of thing that we would see on television today. The music mainly provides a sad atmosphere and makes the audience feel emotional as well as the characters.
The locations have been created by two different means, by real life locations such as Regents Street and an office but also by CGI (Computer Generated Image). CGI is especially used on the building such as the one that says 'Niagara' the signage seems to be animated and must be added on by CGI as this is not possible to do in the real shop windows.
This first clip may cause the audience to think that the film is a thriller or action however it is in fact a mixture of these two genres as well as science fiction and adventure. The explosion, death, murder and armless woman all suggest these genres. These genres are created by the dark colours used and the way that the sound and cinematography work together to create a somehow mysterious atmosphere.
The way that the narrative is structured in the film is that it begins slowly with a black screen and voice over of a newscast. We are then shown a normal situation and are introduced to the main character quickly and receive the impression that he is on a journey and will do something good later in the text. We then witness and explosion which makes the audience jump as they are not expecting something so drastic to happen in such a normal, everyday situation. We then are taken to the office of the protagonist where we see lots of people crying about Baby Diego. This could be considered as a rather normal film opening except for the long shot right at the beginning which is not normally seen in films.
'Children of Men' would mostly appeal to adults and teenagers, especially if they like almost realistic, quite scary films. It seems a rather male orientated film due to the violence and scary feel. It could be considered a political film so people who are interested in politics might like it as the whole world has gone into anarchy due to one major crisis. It is quite a serious film therefore more lighthearted people would not enjoy it as much. People who enjoy fights and major occurrences like bomb explosions may enjoy this film, mainly because of the large amount of dramatic events such as the bomb explosion in the short extract that we watched.
The messages that are being transferred to the audiences are that the audience are seeing how people would behave at the end of the world and how savage the world would become. The directors are trying to show current issues such as political and social issues along with murders. Another message that they are trying to put across are that people need to look after the world or else it will become into disarray.
Finally this film was made by Universal Pictures which is an enormous film distribution company who have to make films for a very large audience. This film appeals to a small amount of people who like the certain genre, actors or director. Therefore this film may cause less people to view it, only because of the niche market of people that it appeals to.
