Children of Men

How does mise en scene help understand the character and genre of a film.

Mise en scene is defined as everything the audience sees in a film. In Mise en scene there are different elements that are used in order for the audience to understand the characters and the genre of the film more clearly. In Children of Men, the costume is a key aspect of the film that helps the audience distinguish a character and the role that they play in the film. The main character is a man dressed from head to toe in black, which might suggest depression or possibly be a reflection of their mood, which ultimately allows the audience to know how to feel at this point of the film. Not only this but he is dirty and ungroomed which might suggest a sense of giving up which again allows the audience to make judgments on what they think of a character and how they should be feeling. Lighting plays an important facet. The lighting is imbecilic and dark which might represent failure and misery with a hint of blue, which is stereotypically used to enable the audience to know that the genre is sci- fi or dystopian future. The actor uses facial expressions which confesses to the audience how the actor wants you to perceive him, in this case the actor is emotionless which is a contrast to the rest of the cast who are seen to be uncontroable with their emotions which might indicate to the audience that this character is possibly confident or possibly that this is the norm for where he lives and is therefore used to lack of positive news. In this film, the only piece of makeup that the audience has come across is the prosthetic arm, which is seen during the explosion, which generates an uncertain atmosphere. The props include a coffee with whiskey which could indicate dispiritedness and dejection, due to the circumstances of living and the setting of the film also emphasizes the genre of the film to be the future by the way some of the things had change such as becoming motorbikes and adverts on buildings as oppose to on billboards which creates a contrast from now and then.