Movie Review: Children of Men

Children of Men

I'm a science fiction nut with a bit of a thing for actor Clive Owen. When I saw the initial trailers for Children of Men some months ago, there was little question I'd see the movie although I worried that not many other people would. In recent days, however, the reviews for Children of Men have been overwhelmingly positive. In fact, they were so stellar that my determination to see the film was set. This weekend, in the company of a friend's two sons, I sat down to see what I now hoped would be science fiction with Clive Owen that was also a really good movie to boot. Unfortunately, it only managed to be two of the three.

Children of Men takes place in London, England in the near future. It's the year 2027, and civilization is rapidly falling thanks primarily to the fact that female infertility rates stand at 100%. No children have been born in more than 18 years, and the knowledge that humanity is doomed to extinction has resulted in extreme violence up to and including acts of war. Although Britain has avoided the worst of the societal upheaval, it's still a bleak place where Theodore Faron (Clive Owen) makes his home.

Theo works for the government's Ministry of Energy, and he drinks. He drinks a lot. But one morning as he makes his way to work on an armored train through slums and unrest, he narrowly misses being killed in the terrorist bombing of a coffee shop. He's so shaken up that even booze offers no respite. He takes the day off work to visit his good friend, Jasper Palmer (Michael Caine).

Jasper lives in the country, but even there the dangers are real. His house is carefully hidden, and he has little interaction with those he can't trust completely. Fortunately for Theo, he's one of Jasper's inner circle and an evening together helps Theo make it through one more day. Not long after that Theo's return to the city, he's roughly grabbed off the street by kidnappers who toss him into a van, put a hood over his head, and take him to parts unknown.

When the hood is finally removed, Theo finds himself face to face with alleged terror leader, Julian Taylor (Julianne Moore) who also happens to be Theo's former paramour. Julian, recalling Theo's connections with a government official, asks him to help secure transport papers for a girl who must reach the seashore at all costs. Theo is disinclined to help, but the offer to pay him and pay him well seals the deal.

Theo has no idea how important the girl and her delivery to people waiting at the shore is until she discovers that she's pregnant. The young Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey) represents hope for humanity for Theo; but she also represents almost unfettered political power to others. The fact that travel is difficult at best and that Kee is a targeted illegal immigrant makes Theo's job nearly impossible. But knowing what's at stake, he vows to see her safely into the hands of those who might protect and nurture Kee and her baby and save the human race. He doesn't realize until he's deeply involved that he's up against far more than even his worst imaginings.

Clive Owen fills the rumpled trench coat of Theodore Faron almost perfectly. In one dramatic scene, the pained way in which he held his body alone spoke volumes. Julianne Moore strikes me as too mild-mannered and frankly pretty to be the ruthless activist that she portrays, but she does an adequate job. Better is Pam Ferris (as Kee's mid-wife companion), Chiwetel Ejiofor (as Luke, a member of Julian's cell), and Claire-Hope Ashitey herself.

The special effects are very good, but even better are the sets. So much is presented as matter-of-fact that it seems perfectly believable to see bits and pieces of futuristic technology lying amidst the dinner dishes or outside a coffee shop. And the mixture of low tech with high tech conveys the setting brilliantly. The dark and dangerous vision of the future is flawlessly filmed, and brilliantly edited. Director Alfonso Cuarón has a reputation for dark stories, and Children of Men is his masterpiece.

Children of Men is based on the book of the same name by P.D. James. I've not read the book so I can't say how good or faithful the film adaptation may be. But there are some apparent remnants of the novel in the movie that appear jarring or confusing to those of us not in the know. For example, there are repeated glimpses of animal corpses smoldering in large heaps of burning flesh and hooves. Why? Illegal immigrants are rudely captured and caged, and then deported to rough internment camps, but again, why? I can think of several reasons, but none were ever given on screen. Though these things and others offered up real impact, it was impossible to assimilate the impact into the storyline since we had no idea what they really meant within the context we were watching.

There are those critics who have called Children of Men an unrelenting chase scene. I found myself disagreeing with that assessment rather wholeheartedly when, for long stretches of time, people would chat, hide, smoke marijuana, or wander about. I thought perhaps I was expecting too much, but that was the main comment offered up by my two companions as well, one of whom said immediately upon the movie's end, "Well, that was slow wasn't it?" Yes, it was. (For the record, their considered assessment in the end was, "It was okay...")

Children of Men is an extraordinarily well-crafted film in a visual sense. But what should have been a compelling story is rendered lackluster by some confusing elements, too many breaks in the suspense for the suspense ever to build, and characters who seem utterly despondent (granted, with good reason) rather than determined to do something — anything! — while they still lived to do anything at all. My movie experience wasn't a waste of time, but neither was it an afternoon I'd consider well spent. Too bad.

POLITICAL NOTES: One of the more striking topics touched on by Children of Men was Britain's handling of illegal immigrants. Signs are everywhere noting that hiding or aiding illegal immigrants is a crime. Sturdy wire cages abound at train stations and outside internment camps where pathetic immigrants of all ages are locked prior to dispersion. Though I didn't know it at the time I saw the film, some additional research taught me that (according to the storyline), Britain cracked down on illegals after it was overrun with those from countries in far worse shape. What order remained in that part of the world was apparently to be found in Britain, and the British government determined to hold onto that order whatever the cost rather than to descend into the primitive violence and utter collapse of so many other places.

It was obvious in the film that the point was that we were supposed to have sympathy for these illegals who were being rounded up and pushed away by government goons. One look inside an internment camp is enough to convince anybody that no one should be treated in such an uncivilized fashion! And yet I personally saw the other side of the point made just as strongly: If there's no border control, or insufficient border control, any hope of sovereignty or security will be overrun by those who will destroy those things merely by seeking it en masse.

FAMILY SUITABILITY: Children of Men is rated R for "strong violence, language, some drug use, and brief nudity." Additionally, the storyline itself is too dark and complex for youngsters to grasp or enjoy. I'd say that Children of Men is fine for those relatively mature kids of about 14 or 15 and up. I can't recommend the film wholesale, though. Instead, if you're interested in seeing some truly wonderful film making, or if you've read the book and want to see some startling scenes on screen, Children of Men won't disappoint. The rest of you, though, may find yourself wondering just what it is that some critics are seeing that the rest of us so patently obviously are not.