Children Of Men, is set in the year 2027; the near future. The story is that everyone is infertile, and the youngest person on Earth, an 18 year old, has just been murdered. The opening starts, with commuters, all crammed in a coffee shop, watching the news of the 18 year old's devastating death.
The screen is blank, but we can hear the news presenters already announcing the news. This is off screen, but still digetic, as the characters can hear it. The presenters are loud, and sound like a voice over, to give a radio like effect. We can identify that the two presenters are male and female, which is a standard on UK news channels such as the BBC and Channel 4. so we can tell this is set in the UK, and the news channel is the BCC, a play on words of the BBC.
We gather that 2027 is a dystopic world, as UK borders have been closed for 8 years, and still are, and everyone is infertile.
In the opening coffee shop scene, all the people are old; at least 40. All clothing are dull, dark, with no distinctive colours, or people. This shows that this is set so close to the present, as audiences can relate themselves to the characters' appearances. Every commuter is looking at the TV screen, as they are blown away by the news. The cafe's colour scheme is a muted blue, to emphasize the bleak surrealistic environment of the world, and the devastation caused by the news. There is a TV in the background of the cafe, showing that the news is really shocking and important, that it has to be broadcast anywhere and everywhere. As Clive Owen walks in, he pushes through all the people, without a care in the world. However all the people are frozen in shock and awe from the news, that they don’t realize that they are being pushed. Clive Owen doesn't even acknowledge the news, as he is the only person that breaks the silence, by asking for a black coffee.
As he leaves the cafe, the camera follows him, and pans around to the London streets. We can tell this is London as the iconic buses are everywhere. The whole point of the pan of the city is to show the audience that this is surreal and realistic, even though it's set in the near future. We see Clive Owen, pouring alcohol into his coffee, suggesting he is a somewhat troubled character. Also, as the camera is mainly focused on him, we understand that he is one of the main characters of the film already. As he spikes his own coffee, there is an explosion from the cafe. The explosion is really sudden and quick. There are no added effects or giant plumes of smoke, highlighting the reality of the environment. The suddenness also, creates a realistic tone, and creates a visceral response from the audience, as it makes us jump as it is unsuspected.
