Based on the novel by P.D. James, Children Of Men is a dystopian
thriller that takes place in England in the near future--about twenty years from
now, to be exact. The human race is ravaged by infertility, with the last baby,
a boy named Diego Ricardo, having been born 18 years ago. When the film opens we
see Theo Faron (a superb Clive Owen) going about a normal workday morning where
he’s getting coffee at the local shop before heading to work as a bureaucrat in
a government office. The London of this dark future is gritty, with its clogged
streets filled with armed police and soldiers. Another reflection of the world’s
slow decline is the news that Diego Ricardo had been killed in a fight, and his
death is mourned by everyone as if he were a rock star.
Theo’s own world gets rocked when, just as he leaves the coffee shop, a bomb
explodes on the street. It appears as if the Fishes, an extremist terrorist
organization, has struck again. The Fishes are protesting the cruel treatment of
refugees--or fugees, as they are known--in England. As one of the few remaining
stable countries in this blighted world, England has become swarmed with
refugees from all over, who seek refuge, but are treated like criminals by a
British regime that appears to be more fascist than anything else. Theo gets
sucked into the battle between the Fishes and the government when he’s abducted
by the terrorists and brought to their leader, who turns out to be his ex-wife
Julian (the marvelous Julianne Moore).
Julian needs Theo to get her transit papers for a young woman who needs to get
to the coast--which is a hard feat, and one that Theo is reluctant to attempt.
Yet when he realizes that the young woman whom Julian is trying to help is
pregnant--the only one of her kind known in the world--things change for Theo,
who undertakes a radical journey to aid her. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron, who
also directed the outstanding Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban, Children
Of Men is an impressive film that’s so dark it makes Blade Runner look like
Sesame Street by comparison. But Cuaron makes you care about what happens to
Theo, and the fascinating characters around him. Clive Owen is great at
displaying the burnt-out quality of Theo, who reflects the overall hopelessness
felt by the entire world, which is slowly collapsing into chaos because everyone
knows that that the human race shall soon become extinct.
Michael Caine gives another wonderful performance here as Jasper, Theo’s friend
and mentor, who’s sort of a fun-loving hippie who lives in a secluded rural
house that’s filled with specially grown marijuana. And Claire-Hope Ashitey is
superb as Kee, the mother whose child has a profound effect on the people who
encounter it. Children Of Men’s unrelentingly grim tone may turn off a lot of
people who’re looking for some fun at the movies--especially since it cuts very
close to the bone with a lot of hot-button issues that are prevalent today. And
it glosses over the details of why the human race has become infertile (wouldn't
science resort to test tube babies?). But give it a
chance, and you’ll be rewarded with a magnificent film that ultimately
dares to express hope amidst it’s bleak landscape.
--SF
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