Visually astounding, but the storyline lacks depth

Rating: 8/10 (6 January 2007)

I am not sure why, but Children of Men never stuck with me as one of the must-see movies of the latter half of 2006. It looked interesting yes, but never seemed to be anything more. But curiosity got the better of me, and despite being disappointed by the film, I can still honestly say I was visually astounded.
The film takes place in Britain in late 2027. War has plagued and destroyed many of the world's nations, and Britain, albeit in ruins, is the only real nation left standing. Activists are continually trying to undermine the government. At some point, women became infertile, and thus, no children have been reproduced for almost twenty years. The film opens on a television broadcast announcing that the youngest person alive had been murdered, and thus, has left many people in tears.
Theo (Clive Owen), a public servant and former activist, seems very numb to this depraved act, and just tries to continue living his borderline alcoholic lifestyle. Soon after, he is picked up by a group called The Fishes, who just happen to be lead by his ex-girlfriend Julian (Julianne Moore). She wants him to get the necessary papers to allow a woman in their care to get to an unseen group called "The Human Project", who are championing the human cause and trying to discover a cure for infertility. He gets the papers, and has to escort the woman, Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey) to this sanctuary, only to find out later that she has somehow become pregnant.
What follows is a slow-moving, thrilling spectacle that just has one key problem inherent within it: it is far too straightforward. The movie sets itself up within its first thirty minutes, and then does not waver at all afterwards. It just becomes a race to see if Kee can be saved after all, and very little by way of surprises or subplots occur. The characters are all transfixed on that one goal, and thus, never develop completely. Theo develops within the first act when he decides to take on the mission, and then just stays the same throughout the rest of the film. And this becomes really disheartening because it was all shown in the trailer. Despite being well written and darkly humorous, the film just becomes a tad too predictable, and really falters as a result. This could potentially be blamed on the source material (a novel written in the early 1990's by P.D. James), but you would think the filmmakers would have changed it up a bit to make it more of an appealing storyline to follow, and not just get exhausted with.
Although there is little to no development of the characters, the acting is all very well done. Owen is wonderful as the protagonist, and brings a great emotion to his character that would undeniably be missing had another actor taken on the role. Relative newcomer Ashitey also does a great job as Kee. She has just the right amount of believability and pain to full this character off. She breathes life into Kee, and we get to reap the benefits as the audience. Supporting turns from Moore, Michael Caine, and Pam Ferris are all well done. I was a little disappointed with Chiwetel Ejiofor, only for the fact that he is such a great actor, and his role had less than enough scenery for him to chew through.
But while the story and characters are plagued by a few problems, the visuals are where this movie really shines and is reason enough to see the film. Writer/director Alfonso Cuarón and his crew have created a disgustingly vibrant dystopia that ranks as one of the best depictions I have ever seen in the film medium. Settings and backgrounds are dark and dirty. It stinks of having been defiled by all the citizens who once lived and loved the land, but have now destroyed it. This is a place no one wants to live, and is the stuff of people's worst nightmares. A totalitarian and fascist Britain was already shown this year quite excellently in V for Vendetta, and Children of Men succeeds in trumping that film (by visual means only). It is so simplistic yet so complicated. Just the sheer idea of trying to bring some of these visuals to screen really boggles my mind, and shows just how much enthusiasm these people had for the work.
The cinematography and editing are just outstanding. Everything is stark, and to the point (much like the film to my dismay). It really becomes a blessing and a curse with much of how the various shots were filmed. At some points, they are clever and well framed. And at others, they are done through the use of a handy-cam, and the audience feels as if they are a character alongside Theo and everyone else. The screen shakes frequently, and it gives it a hint of authenticity. This dystopia is all the more real and frightening. It dazzles with how much detail is put into some of this work, and really becomes outstanding during some of the unedited long shots that take place over many minutes of screen time. One battle sequence goes on for at least five minutes, and it is just the cameraman running behind Owen as he dodges certain death. It amazes and it terrifies all at once. Unfortunately, the effect of these hand-held shots is lost in the fact that it becomes annoying after so many straight intervals and just becomes dizzying.
Overall, the film is a bit of a mixture of good and bad. On one hand, the story is interesting, but just stays too straight and narrow to make it anything more. On the other, the visuals are absolutely stunning and have obliviously had a lot of time spent on them. This film is a terrifyingly real experience as a result, and really stands out as a result.
8/10.