An instant classic

Rating: 10/10 (6 January 2007)

In Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men we see a startling vision of a future society (2027 London) not on the brink of chaos, but already buried knee deep in it. As massive pollution, super-controlled immigration, violent protests, and constant wars have engulfed the world, as a side effect it has rendered women infertile; unable to breed future children. It's as if God's saying, "If you can't play nicely together, you don't deserve the right to live anymore." The world is slowly coming to an end, and anarchy rules the day. At the start of the picture a man named Theo, played with great skill and charm by Clive Owen, is going through his usual routine of picking up his morning coffee. The televisions report the news that the reported "youngest person in the world" has officially died after taking his own life. The world gathers around the TV and mourns his loss. It's only seconds later; after Theo gets his coffee that a large bomb violently obliterates the café. This is the world of Children of Men; one of the most brutally realized visions of a future all too real to be simply dismissed purely as being mere "science fiction".
When Theo is contacted by his ex-wife, Julian (played by Julianne Moore), who has been working with a militant group of vigilantes, she asks for his help in obtaining official government papers that will allow a friend of hers to travel to a safe zone. But when she is suddenly killed by a wild group of rebels, Theo discovers that "her friend" is a young pregnant woman; just days away from giving birth to the first known baby in over eighteen years, and the possible savior of the human race. Theo takes it upon himself to personally transport the girl through the dangerous countryside and war torn cities of a destroyed England. As Theo tries to escort the woman amongst all the chaos we see a frightening vision of a furious world, painted so vividly, and so painfully real, its images will be burned deep into your subconscious; it's unforgettable. And Cuarón, whose last film was 2004's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (my favorite in the series), is just the right film maker to bring this uncompromised vision to the big screen. The future has never seemed so real before in any motion picture I've ever seen, and the effect is absolutely chilling.
Everything about Children of Men is stunning. From Emmanuel Lubezki's gritty cinematography to an Oscar worthy performance from Clive Owen and a wonderful supporting performance from Michael Caine as an aging, pot-smoking hippie. The film oozes with heat-pounding suspense and gut-wrenching drama at every unexpected turn. And for along time I would have put Paul Greengrass's United 93 or Martin Scorsese's Departed at the top of the list for this year's Best Picture, but by and far this stunning achievement now sits atop the throne of great films this year. It works not only as a human drama, but as a science fiction fable and as an action-thriller; whatever it is that you're looking for in a great movie-going experience, look no further than Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men. This is an unforgettable film, and in my opinion an instant classic.