"Ain't Life Unkind?"

Rating: 7/10 (24 August 2013)

I better start with that the premise of this particular work of fiction held no promise but it was recommended to me by a supposed optimist. To live in a country with no hope and no future is something we hope to correct in the present, and to know we are simply sheep to our Betters is to live in hope they get a shearing instead. This portrayal of a violent flatland is good science fiction because it's thought provoking but ultimately the grim relentless pointlessness of it all ensures once I've chewed it over it'll be filed away and forgotten.
In 2027 infertility rules mankind until Clive Owen stumbles upon heavily guarded heavily pregnant woman – guarded by a terrorist clique who seem to want unfettered immigration into this grey and unpleasant land. It's a bloody and chaotic journey to get her to safety abroad. Everyone has guns and is trigger happy in support of various useless pointless causes except Michael Caine, who I thought turned in his best performance for years in here. Maybe because it was brief though. The mystical condition of pregnancy is shown as having been completely forgotten about by everybody in the 18 years since the last birth – which only shows to me how young and immature the writers and makers of this film were. Like Owen I didn't see the birth scene coming, but then again, didn't really want to! It seems the idea is that in the future our beloved government will spend endless amounts of money to maintain a violent ultra-strict anti-immigrant policy while endless amounts of foreigners don't realise this and continue to flood into paradise. Even in the midst of the chaos in Beirut in the 1970's people still bought Coca Cola and Esso ensuring capitalism's smooth running and their Betters healthy bank balances. In this film's vision all people seem to want are guns and weed. There is an emotionally upbeat climax with religious overtones which is quickly quashed with the final depressing scenes on the boat with the ship coming. It left me thinking: do the world a favour and have the ship sink the boat.
It's very well made, well acted, well thought out and well out of order. We are indeed all doomed one way or another – religion and capitalism can only speed us on our way. Pax Vobiscum.