One of the Most Beautifully Made Films of Our Time

Rating: 10/10 (7 January 2007)

The lush yet bleak ambiance of the film is created by the absolutely astonishing cinematography. Every setting is given such character by the attachment the camera has to the film's people. There is a profound quality in the scenes of hand-held camera-work, and also a beauty in perspective during its long shots. There is even a scene, a spectacularly different and uniquely suspenseful chase, that is filmed during the process of night to dawn to daylight, something that I have surely not seen before in a movie. The cinematography of Emmanuelle Lubezki, which is also what walks away with most films to his credit, such as The New World and Sleepy Hollow, is a reestablishment of true visual artistry in the movies. Cuaron's masterful and unHollywoodlike pacing magnifies the effect of the lens in the wonderfully different futuristic world of England he creates.
The violence in Children of Men is very disturbing, only because of the realism given it by the cinematography. Throughout the film, violence is always portrayed as something seen from afar or seen through one long moving take, like the perspective of someone there. For instance, there is a scene shot from inside the car occupied by many of the film's characters, and a frightening omen of the impending violence is seen far ahead, and all that happens is seen from within the car, the camera panning, the outside perfectly choreographed and fantastically stylized.
Cuaron is one of cinema's finest recent directors, and a lot of that is evident not just in the visual style of his films, but also the many subtleties. In Children of Men, many characters use guns, but the hero, Clive Owen, never touches one. He's always in more danger than anyone else, making his entire journey all the more thrilling and powerful. Also, he eavesdrops in several intermittent yet extensive scenes, revealing a secretive side that only the audience can know about him.
Clive Owen, whose range expands and whose presence grows with each surpassing performance, Michael Caine, who in his fortysomething years on screen has never failed to steal every scene he's ever shot, Chiwetel Ejiofor, whose presence is very strong, Claire-Hope Ashitey, who makes a breakthrough here, Pam Ferris, who give all to the melodrama her character particularly experiences, Peter Mullan, who gives another fun little bit part, and Julianne Moore, with her limited amount of screen time, all pack a punch.
Children of Men also has one of the greatest soundtracks in recent years. It is filled with great older rock music, surprising alternative stuff, and a hauntingly subtle score. The film is also, perhaps aggressively, a celebration of love and affinity for animals, every character seeming to have dogs or cats or farm animals that they are attached to, all of which freely roam through every scene. This is a magnificent break from the increasingly infuriating bad omen of the death of the family dog that has been plaguing cinema for years along with a few other animal-based clichés. There is literally nothing wrong with this movie. It is first- rate cinema.