Stunning, artsy, moving, well done, and disturbing are the words that come to mind when I think back on this film. Director Alfonso Cuaron - "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"- has created a dark, dreary, and bleak vision of the future, that brings to mind Ridley Scott's classic sci-fi, "Blade Runner". It is 2027, and women have become infertile, there are wars everywhere, and immigrants are rounded up and killed. The future looks bad until Theo (Clive Owen) agrees to help the last pregnant women get to a sanctuary named The Human Project. With the baby, the scientists might be able to save the future of mankind.
I'll start my praise with the actors: Clive Owen is absolutely phenomenal. He definitely deserves an Best Actor nomination, if not win it. He draws you into his character, Theo is the hero, but at the same time, a regular joe. Newcomer Claire-Hope Ashitey as Kee, the last pregnant women, is amazing as well. I can already tell her future in film will be very bright indeed. Michael Caine as hippie/mentor Jasper is great as always. He is the kind of actor that the audience will never tire of, and will always welcome his warm, grandfatherly face. The cinematography is another huge factor. The tone, lighting, and coloring of the film is marvelously done. The grainy and dark look makes an already intense film all that more intense. You feel as if you are right there with Kee and Theo as they try and survive, because of that, I believe a Best Cinematography award is already in the bag.
As good as it it though, this movie is not for everyone. It is very violent, and depressing in its' portrayal of the future. The government goes through cities blowing everything, and anything away for no apparent reason at all. It is quite disturbing, because many of the themes portrayed in "Children of Men" are not far off from real life. One thing that bothered me was that many things were not explained, like why women where infertile, or why the government had turned on everyone. I'm assuming, in the case of an artsy film like this, that the director wants to leave it up to the viewer to decide some things for himself. One thing that really stood out in this film is that it shows what the world would be like without children, and it wouldn't be good.
"Children of Men" is an amazing achievement in film-making, that is thought-provoking, and even has pro-life themes. If I had made my top ten movie list after seeing this, "Children of Men" would most defiantly be in the top five. Superb on every level. I give it 10 out of 10. Rated R for strong violence, language, some drug use, and brief nudity.
I'll start my praise with the actors: Clive Owen is absolutely phenomenal. He definitely deserves an Best Actor nomination, if not win it. He draws you into his character, Theo is the hero, but at the same time, a regular joe. Newcomer Claire-Hope Ashitey as Kee, the last pregnant women, is amazing as well. I can already tell her future in film will be very bright indeed. Michael Caine as hippie/mentor Jasper is great as always. He is the kind of actor that the audience will never tire of, and will always welcome his warm, grandfatherly face. The cinematography is another huge factor. The tone, lighting, and coloring of the film is marvelously done. The grainy and dark look makes an already intense film all that more intense. You feel as if you are right there with Kee and Theo as they try and survive, because of that, I believe a Best Cinematography award is already in the bag.
As good as it it though, this movie is not for everyone. It is very violent, and depressing in its' portrayal of the future. The government goes through cities blowing everything, and anything away for no apparent reason at all. It is quite disturbing, because many of the themes portrayed in "Children of Men" are not far off from real life. One thing that bothered me was that many things were not explained, like why women where infertile, or why the government had turned on everyone. I'm assuming, in the case of an artsy film like this, that the director wants to leave it up to the viewer to decide some things for himself. One thing that really stood out in this film is that it shows what the world would be like without children, and it wouldn't be good.
"Children of Men" is an amazing achievement in film-making, that is thought-provoking, and even has pro-life themes. If I had made my top ten movie list after seeing this, "Children of Men" would most defiantly be in the top five. Superb on every level. I give it 10 out of 10. Rated R for strong violence, language, some drug use, and brief nudity.