Dan Owen reviews
Children of Men
Viewed at Odeon, Lincoln Wharf
- Cert:
- Running time: 109 minutes
- Year: 2006
- Released: 22nd September 2006
- Widescreen Ratio: 1.85:1
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Director:
(Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Y Tu Mamá También, TV: Fallen Angels)
Producers:
Marc Abraham, Eric Newman, Hilary Shor, Iain Smith and Tony Smith
Screenplay:
Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton and Hawk Ostby
(based on the novel by P.D. James)
Music:
Cast:
Theodore Faron: Clive Owen
Julian Taylor: Julianne Moore
Jasper: Michael Caine
Luke: Chiwetel Ejiofor
Patric: Charlie Hunnam
Kee: Claire-Hope Ashitey
Miriam: Pam Ferris
Nigel: Danny Huston
Syd: Peter Mullan
Britain has a close relationship with dystopian futurism.
Since George Orwell's classic 1984, the UK has been the setting for a
variety of downbeat futures; from Terry Gilliam's fanciful Brazil to
the recent V For Vendetta. Now it's director Alfonso Curaron's
turn to shine a murky light on our potential future, in an adaptation of P.D.
James' novel Children Of Men.
Britain, 2027 A.D. The green and pleasant land is now a grey, polluted shell,
home to the last remnants of humanity following a global meltdown born out of
an infertility epidemic (no pun intended). For 18 years, no babies have been
born; a sad fact that means mankind is on the verge of extinction and the
living face a childless world without hope or a sustainable future.
Clive Owen stars as Theo Faron, a former political activist who now
works at the Ministry Of Energy. On the day when the youngest human is killed
by a disgruntled fan, a world-weary Theo is kidnapped by a terrorist group
(the "Fishes") under command of his ex-wife Julian Taylor (Julianne Moore),
and given a mission that could mean the salvation of the human race... to
transport a pregnant girl to off-shore authorities...
Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón, who came to prominence in the West with
Y Tu Mamá También, before creating arguably the best Harry Potter movie,
The Prisoner Of Azkaban, stays with Britain for another literary
adaptation. However, as screenwriter, Cuarón's story contains many alterations
to P.D. James' source book. In fact, only the concept remains fully intact.
Children Of Men is a bold and intelligent piece of speculative science
fiction. There is no shortage of dystopian movies around, but what sets
Cuarón's film apart is the attention to detail and determination to craft a
compellingly realistic experience.
The calibre of the cast is exemplative of Cuarón's growing stature; Clive
Owen is enjoying a resurgence in his career, and here he tackles a character
with more humanity and emotional range than we usual see in him. He's a solid
actor, although he remains emotionally difficult to form a connection to at
times.
The next actor of note is Michael Caine, a screen legend now enjoying
the supporting roles that afford him to take some risks, or have some fun.
In Children Of Men, Caine plays Jasper; a long-haired recluse living in
the middle of a wood with his mute wife. Jasper is a roguish charmer who has
seemingly resolved to remain young at heart given the crisis around them.
It's a great performance, full of eccentricity and poignancy, with Caine on
dazzling form.
Julianne Moore is one of modern cinemas best actresses, and she rarely
delivers a bad performance. She's good here as the opinionated activist,
although the role isn't big enough to really leave its mark.
The supporting cast are all very good, with nobody giving a bad performance.
Young actress Claire-Hope Ashitey is fantatsic as pregnant Kee,
Pam Ferris is good as a former mid-wife, even afforded a heart-tugging
scene to sink her teeth into. The main antagonist is Chiwetel Ejiofor
as rebel terrorist Luke, who once again makes a compelling villain. On the
sidelines, Peter Mullan makes an impression in a small role as a
prison warden called Syd.
But, this is Alfonso Cuarón's movie every step of the way. No actor can
upstage Cuarón's direction, with Children Of Men most notable for its
stunning camerawork, cinematography and art direction. The future Britain is
perfect; always recognisable despite occassional technical flourishes (the
animated advert billboards on buses, etc.). There are also some brilliant
scenes of warring citizens and bombed streets.
The suburban dystopia is created with such care and attention that the movie
has plausability to spare. Throughout the movie you are fully immersed in
this world and, thanks to some "on the shoulder" camerawork, some sequences
are particularly immersive.
Two scenes should stick in your memory; firstly, a frightening ambush by
terrorists, shot (apparently) in one continuous take. Secondly, another
action set-piece choreographed to perfection and filmed in one take with a
single camera, as Theo races through the ravaged streets of a refugee
internment camp. Both are exemplory cinematic moments that, for my money,
cement Cuarón's growing reputation as a filmmaker bordering on genius. The
only film that compares to these moments in recent memory was Spielberg's
D-Day opening from
Saving Private Ryan.
However, for all its technical and artistic achievements, beyond its concept,
Children Of Men isn't particularly special. The storyline is quite
simplistic, and expectation for a killer twist never materializes. The story
pretty much plays out as you'd expect, beyond a few bumps in the track, and
the finale is slightly disappointing in its abruptness.
You get the feeling that Cuarón was so enamoured with the concept behind P.D.
James' book, and its artistic possibilities on-screen, that he forgot to
write a story with more turns in its beaten track. There are plenty of
political parallels that are enjoyable to pick out, and Children Of Men
will certainly spark huge post-movie debate... but, as a story, it's not
much more than a generic dystopian road movie, really.
However, despite its storytelling fault, the pros far outweight the cons.
This is high-concept political sci-fi from a visualist on fine form, acted
with conviction by a talented cast. For the first hour, you suspect this
might be the best film of the year, it's just that the last hour doesn't
really go anywhere interesting once the set-up is over.
Review copyright © Dan Owen, 2006.
E-mail Dan Owen
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DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
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