The opening scene to children of men starts with a news report before the audience sees anything. This gives the audience a sense of tension and action already in the movie. Furthermore the whole of the opening scene was shot in one shot without cutting which was used to create a natural effect and atmosphere. The titles to the opening scene are all in black and white which is plain and simple but still effective. In the opening scene diguetic sound of the cars and traffic of the city has been used to emphasis the business of the city and show that it is set in an everyday situation. Also right before the explosion goes off there is a couple kissing this shows the stunt team their queue to set off the explosion. When the character walks outside the shop there is a date that comes up on the screen which lets the audience know that the film is set in the future. Also the title of the film comes up just as soon as the explosion has gone of which would the keep the audience interested and curious to watch more.
In the opening sequence London is represented negatively as a very manic and busy city to be. London is also represented as highly unsafe and full of pollution. The opening of Children of Men also represents London as being an area where there is a lot of crime as a cafe has just exploded; this represents what the future could possibly be like in London. The opening of children of men doesn’t fit the usual conventions of thriller as we know that the man who walked out the cafe is important in the film but it leaves a sense of ambiguity as there is still the question of weather he is a protagonist or antagonist. This leaves the audience to feel a sense of curiosity. Furthermore just before the camera cuts to the name of the movie it zooms into a woman who is badly injured and struggling, this gives of a sense that women are meek and feeble and shows that throughout the film it will be the women who are in great distress and are struggling as we find out later in the film that they become infertile are unable to reproduce. The mise en scene is in a gloomy dark setting with cars driving past releasing at lot of heavy smoke from the engine. This again adds to the representation of an unliveable chaotic London in the future.
