Movie Review: Children of Men

Rating: Null/10 (19 September 2008)

With cinema's seemingly unwritten rule that any movie set sometime in the future must be filled with both anarchy and desolation, it's hard to imagine what an optimistic view of our world's fate might look like.
But with great films like director Alfonso Cuarón's "Children of Men" presenting a brilliantly harrowing portrait of humankind on the brink of extinction, is there any rush for optimism right now? Set in a dingy, chaotic England in 2027, "Children of Men" chronicles a world in which humansfor reasons unknownhave lost the ability to reproduce. Filled with hopelessness and futility due to the bleak prospect that everyone will be dead within the next 85 years, society's infrastructure has completely collapsed. In London, terrorist bombings rip through buildings, mass protests fill the streets, and cages are jammed with illegal immigrants awaiting their deportation. A commercial aired by England's totalitarian government shows that the rest of the world is in ruinsNew York, for example, appears to have been the victim of a nuclear explosionwith the simple reminder that "Britain soldiers on." Theo Faron (Clive Owen) lives each moment with a whiskey bottle in his hand. A former activist, Theo now drones for the government, with the only bright spots in his life occurring when he visits the secluded home of his old friend Jasper (Michael Caine), a retired once-successful political cartoonist who now tends to his invalid wife along with fields of his own private crop of marijuana.
The film begins as the shocking and devastating news of the death of Baby Diego, the world's youngest person at age 18, spreads through London. Soon, Theo finds himself at the center of an ongoing struggle between the government and an extremist group known as the Fishes, led by his estranged lover Julian (Julianne Moore). The group needs his help in transporting the teenage Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey) a Fiji, out of the country. He soon learns that somehow Kee is pregnant, and as a result of a number of intense plot twists, her safety is solely in his hands.
"Children of Men" does an exceptional job of showing how humankind has handled the prospect of their imminent extinction, rather than focusing instead on the reasons why they have been ravaged by infertility. With this film, Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón ("Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban") has easily solidified himself as one of the best storytellers working today, creating an imposing atmosphere of mayhem, grime, and uncertainty, all the while keeping the film's tension ratcheted up to white-knuckler status in its second half. Not only has Cuarón fashioned an excellent chase film, but the movie's underlying commentary on our present society as a cautionary tale will be hard for many viewers to forget.
The film's action sequences are jaw-dropping. Two, in particular, are shot as if the audience is smack dab in the middle of the chaos, a great testament to the camera-work of cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. A battle scene near the end of the film in a war torn city was shot with a single hand-held camera lasting for at least five minutes without using a cut. The sequence is remarkable in its realism, intensity, and mayhem, only to be capped by a rare moment of silence which itself possesses more gravity than any other scene in the entire film.
The acting across the board is incredibly solid. Owen proves yet again after his great villainous turn in last spring's "Inside Man" that he is an amazing actor, with a rather low-key but heartfelt and heroic performance. Caine provides some great comic relief in a small role, while Moore and Chiwetel Ejiofor are also very good in supporting roles.
Ashitey, in her first big performance, portrays the young pregnant woman with a great sense of expression and humor despite the increasingly dangerous situations she must overcome. The rest of the cast is extremely effective in characterizing a civilization teetering on the verge of self-destruction.
Despite the film's weighty themes and dark tone, in addition to a great deal of unexpected and bloody violence, the script allows for a great deal of humor and an ending that suggests a much needed glimmer of hope. It's a powerful, thought provoking film that is easily one of the three best releases of 2006. Those in the mood for a film with great action and tension set in an uncompromising near-future that in many ways mirrors our own society should look no further.
**** out of ****