Absolutely phenomenal, I am stunned

Rating: 10/10 (5 June 2007)

I had seen this movie before but I had to memorize things from it for reviewing so I watched it again 4 days ago. It still is as excellent as a movie can pretty much get. I actually had to shorten this review as it passed the 1000 word -limit, so I apologize as some things are obviously and sadly left out. For example comments on Julianne Moore, the plot and a more detailed commenting on the story's depth. So don't get frustrated, as you may find some parts of this review simply missing something.
The best thing about this film is how incredibly well it's made. The way the futuristic world is made is probably the best I've ever seen in a motion picture. It is so detailed and so believable. All the visible corruption, trash all over the street, ruins of buildings and this darkness and sadness is just so top notch it makes you wonder how the hell did they make it. I mean, it's just so realistic that it makes the movie one of those movies that leave you with your mouth open. The visual side of the movie is just so effective.
I am very happy to say that Clive Owen finally has the perfect role for him. To be honest I've never liked Clive Owen before as he has always been sort of tense and annoyingly stiff, and that deep voice he has hasn't really helped him in his past roles either. Owen does an astonishing role performance as Theo Faron and he is just perfect in the role, he in fact is the character itself. I especially liked the verbal work he did, it sort of boosted up the character and really gave it a true soul. Then there was the great Michael Caine, who is by the way one of my favourite actors of all time. To me the role of Jasper Palmer, an aging hippie selling his own self grown weed, was so ideal yet so surreal for Caine and he did a truly amazing role performance. Caine surely was at his best and if you ask me, the role performance was so good that it should have been at least worth an Academy Award nomination for best actor in a supporting role, but sadly he never wasn't nominated for it.
The brilliance of this movie doesn't end here, as it also includes surely one of the best cinematography I've ever seen in a motion picture. Probably even the best one. Most of it is hand-held, but there are still shots as well, which kinda balances the whole overall cinematography a bit so it won't be a "shaking ride" throughout. Usually hand-held cinematography these days is used for symbolizing depressing moments and it gives the actors more room for improvising, which we've seen over and over again, and happily that isn't the case of the cinematography in "Children of Men". Hand-held is also a very effective way of shooting when it comes to war movies and the action scenes in them, it gives that true edge of a real battle and the viewer feels like he is in fact in a middle of a massive fight. Not only using hand-held to figure the action scenes, "Children of Men" does more than that with it. It kind of makes it feel like a real future, so it makes the whole sci-fi thing something that could actually take place some day, so it makes the movie even more believable and it also high-lights the whole theme of sorrow and sadness. It makes it reality. A truly superior achievement indeed.
The story in its wholeness is simply stunning. The screenplay written by Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby is very well written and I could presume that Alfonso Cuarón as also the director of "Children of Men" has been the head writer of the movie. Of course I can't be sure, so I can't really praise it as Cuarón's work, but I can harmlessly praise it as the work of the writer of the original novel written by P.D. James. She has invented a dramatic, a true and a real story with a depth that can not be measured. It is just so deep and so detailed. There's so much tension and intensity in it as well, which also makes the movie a very thrilling thriller, backed up by the totally terrific directing by Alfonso Cuarón. This is complimented by the fantastic music the movie has to offer. It mainly consists of these songs that are just so fitting for the main theme of the movie, but there is also this relaxing and absolutely beautiful opera/new age -song which is repeated several times throughout the movie, making the film overall a soothing, peaceful experience despite its actual focus on the action and the thrill.
"Children of Men" shines with excellence and to me it is all in all just so perfect. It has a very original, unique story which I can't honestly imagine being a disappointment to anyone, though some viewers may find it slightly disturbing. In my opinion, the overall attention the movie got wasn't nearly what it deserved and it should have been at least nominated for an Academy Award for the best motion picture of the year. You don't see me giving 10's so often, but this movie deserves the highest score without a doubt. It is one of the best visions of the future ever translated on the big screen being that provoking and effective itself and it will most certainly climb up to my personal Top 5 Movies of All Time -list. I just love this movie, it is simply superb and I feel ashamed that I can not compliment it enough. There were many great movies last year, but if you ask me, this was the best one.