Exhilarating, visceral cinema.

Rating: 9/10 (22 February 2007)

It seems many critics are either getting hung up on searching for some kind of political meaning in Children of Men or endlessly theorising about the possible cause of the global sterility that is central to the plot; missing the point on both counts, in this reviewer's opinion, as both the political and science-fiction aspects of the movie are merely means' to an end - the end of crafting a breathtaking, human and incredibly visceral cinematic experience. If you'd like a sketched-out political message (let's face it - when it comes to politics, there's little room in any movie for more than a mere sketch) then, hey, the internet is your big, fat, rusty-coloured pearl vomiting oyster. Likewise, if you would like a dry and quasi-scientific or laughably mystical explanation of a highly improbable scenario that adds absolutely nothing to the story then, well, I believe The Outer Limits is available to purchase on DVD. If, however, you'd prefer a magnificently filmed, brilliantly acted and absurdly thrilling depiction of a society tearing itself to shreds in the face of the ultimate despair, and the fragile glimmer of hope struggling through the darkness at the centre, well, welcome to Children of Men.
The movie plunges us into a society without children - a society, therefore, with no future, no hope. In the effort to keep some kind of order, the British government has resorted to ruthlessly hunting down and detaining all illegal immigrants/refugees. The country is riddled with terrorist factions, the most prominent of which being The Fishes, a radical group ostensibly fighting for immigrant rights. It is a country teetering on the brink of an abyss into which the rest of the world has already fallen. Amongst all of this, we follow Theo (Clive Owen); a man who, along with everyone else, has little left to look forward to. That is, until he gets involved in the increasingly desperate struggle to protect a miraculously pregnant young girl who just might hold the key to mankind's survival...
It's a plot of very grandiose proportions, to be sure, but Cuaron does the sensible thing and keeps it tight on Theo; throughout the movie we never really leave his side. It's a part Owen pulls off with aplomb, a performance of wearied charm with glimpsed moments of emotional turmoil seeping through the cracks. The support cast is uniformly excellent, too, particularly Claire-Hope Ashitey as the rather-too-symbolically-named Kee.
What really makes Children Of Men, though, is the dazzling technical brilliance of the film-making. The two central action pieces, filmed in extended, continuous hand-held takes, mark a triumph of carefully planned, visceral cinema over effects-laden bombast. The near-final sequence, in particular, set inside the explosive battleground of a disintegrating refugee camp, really has to be seen to believed. Reportedly a nightmare to shoot, it's worth any and all effort expended and ranks among the finest achievements in cinematic history.
This is not to say that this is a movie without any flaws - in the first half, certainly, there are a few moments of rather clumsy plot exposition and, as mentioned above, some of the symbolism is a little too on-the-nose. However, these are largely minimal complaints when faced with a film as arresting and exhilarating as this. Children of Men is a brilliant study of humanity on the brink, of a society gripped by fear and despair, turning on itself, and of a man at the centre struggling to salvage some kind of hope. It is an action movie, sure, but one with a deep understanding of human weakness at its centre. Despite what some might say, it doesn't attempt to preach any kind of message, contenting itself with an investigation of our deepest fears. Some might argue that it is undeserving of an Oscar as it presents no significant political or moral message; this reviewer would argue that that is precisely why it should get one.