A masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10 (21 December 2006)

This year's best Oscar winner will not deserve its win. A big claim you might say, but after watching Alfonso Caurons masterpiece of film-making Children of Men I have no hesitation in saying it, because when this film finally gets overlooked in the Oscar shakedown mainly due to inept Fox release scheduling and tepid marketing the final five going for the gold statue will know they're in a field bereft of the best movie of 2006.
From the start this film has the deck stacked against it. It lays in the genre of Dystopian Sci-Fi a section of cinema that's the ultimate anaemia to an Oscar voter. And it doesn't feature any blatant Oscar baiting characters to worm into the hearts of the Oscar judges an essential ingredient to convincing the academy for a vote. Instead what you get is a movie built on stunning cinematography, understated but pitch perfect acting, seriously engaging issues and a generally all round aura of every piece fitting perfectly into place.
The world given to us by Alfonso Cauron is a painstakingly constructed vision of near tomorrow where women have become infertile and the world has slowly descended into chaos with only the battered but still standing Island of Britain left to live out the last days of civilization. The detail of this work is at a level that has never been achieved before in film. London is a smog ridden shadow of its former self as people move about in old battered cars and litter lays in large quantities on the streets, while the little glimpses of technology that could be conceivable be in use in the year 2027 (the films setting) are woven into the film seamlessly, never looking like a crude superimposed extra.
But it isn't just the visuals that stand out as we get a number of truly memorable scenes throughout the movie. One of Theo (Clive Owen) visiting his cousin Nigel (Danny Huston) in citadel-like "Ark of Art" is at turns haunting and touching as they stand in the remains of humanity's visual expression. Then there is a scene in a farmhouse which is one of the tensest sequences ever put to screen, but the main set piece is the battle sequence near the end of the movie which is played out in one incredibly constructed single shot which no cuts at any stage. It is a compellingly realistic snapshot of urban warfare which no other film has ever come close to matching and is perfect showcase for the director's visual flair.
Even men like Michael Caine an actor who has of late descended into predictable roles doesn't disappoint, his Pot smoking yet gentle hearted Jasper is a highly enjoyable play against type while elsewhere people like Chiwetel Ejiofor as one of the figureheads of the "Fishes" an anti-government group and Julianne Moore as Julian the Fishes leader give performances at par with the best of their careers.
Mention should also be made of the films interweaving into the plot current hot button issues like terrorism, immigration and racial tolerance all of which fits seamlessly into the film. Even the soundtrack is without fault with each song fitting its scene in an apt manner.
It's a film that in the coming years will be looked on as a true classic if only this reviewer was proved wrong on Oscar night and it became a current classic as well. Here's hoping.
Review by Gulli, written for film site www.boxofficefanatic.com