Interesting action shots and memorable characters

Rating: 8/10 (25 November 2018)

Children of Men finds greatness in two distinct ways; characterization and cinematography. The latter of the two I am historically a sucker for. My being drawn to the excellent character building in this film was a surprise to me, however, because it did not accompany an interesting and developing plot. I view character building as secondary to plot building. I cannot think of a film off the top of my head that I applaud without an interesting story. Children of Men is truly lacking in narrative, but it gains back a fair bit of ground by making the audience feel like they are with the characters. I believe this feeling is partly because the characters are so well crafted and acted, and partly because the wildly drawn out action shots make us feel like we are following the group. One action shot is held for 5+ minutes without any camera break. This style of cinematography really works in war movies or gunfights, and I hope to see more of it in the future.