Children of Men

This movie was picked for me to review by my good friend, Chris, who did me the favour of selecting a film that I had seen years ago and had been dying to see again.  It is about to vacate from Netflix’s lineup, so the time was now to take in Alfonso Cuaron’s 2006 film Children of Men.  I was wanting to give it a pass today and post a pre-written review thanks to some overwhelming anxiety, but I figured I would give ‘er a shot and see if what comes out of my mind makes sense.

The film is set in the future, 2027 to be exact, and the earth has been plagued with infertility, with a child not having been born in 18 years.  The world seems to have fallen apart in many places, and Britain has become almost a military state that seeks to preserve the human experience by closing its borders.  In the process, it also looks to expel all illegal immigrants to maintain utopia, a utopia that appears to only exist for those on the high end of the social spectrum.

With any good dystopian science fiction, there is a rebellious group who looks to fight for the rights of the immigrants.  We quickly get the sense that under the rule of the government people are watched and possibly tortured, this information is thanks to neat government posters on the walls in public places and other indicators that Cuaron displays in the background for the audience to get a sense of the government’s method of dominance.  Our protagonist, Theo (Clive Owen), is a former activist and protestor turned pencil pusher who is all of a sudden aligning with an immigrant rights group known as Fish who is led by his ex-wife Julian (Julianne Moore) as they need to transport an immigrant girl to the coast to be picked up by the Human Project, a rumoured group of scientists working on the cure for the infertility.

While the story unwinds and plays out, the audience is completely pulled into this world that has been created by Cuaron.  No corners were cut in creating the visual environment of Britain in a police state, as we see a number of different locations varying from the extremely affluent to an immigrant settlement.  There is much attention to the detail of all locations, with clues in the background as to the types of people who live there, their thoughts on the government, and the involvement of the government.  The future state of Britain becomes very believable, a powerful component in creating a dismal futuristic society.  If the issues are so unbelievable and the environment not realistic in context with those issues, the audience does not get that unsettled feeling in their gut that comes from envisioning a future that is void of hope.

Cuaron shows that he is a master of long takes as there are a number of scenes of action and tension that are all done in one long take.  There is one scene in a car when it all hits the fan, with the camera’s perspective seems to be from right in the middle of the car, but it smoothly pans all around the vehicle and takes different vantage points, and eventually exits the car.  It is done with such a fluid motion that you may not even realize that it has the feel of one continuous shot, but the effect that it has on the emotion one feels is noticeable. 

The even longer take happens near the end of the film, and the camera follows Theo through a number of different locations with an overwhelming amount of action and other people involved.  I am at a loss around the logistics between planning and shooting complex scenes like these, which have so many elements and last for well over four minutes each.  When action happens and we get many fast cuts, it is easy to remember that we are watching a film, but when we do not get those comforting reminders of our own separation from the film we can slowly start to feel like we are caught up in the action.

I feel as though I will never be able to do proper justice to this film.  I have not broken into any of the themes of the movie, and I have not discussed any major characters.  Pretty much I have only talked about the atmosphere created by Cuaron, but this is such an important aspect to the emotion of the story.  It is the environment of the future that pushes the motivations of the characters, and shapes them.  If I had another thousand words to spend on this review, I would definitely delve into those other areas.

This is always the sign of a really great movie or an incredibly terrible movie… when you have so much to talk about that you never even scratch the surface.  From all angles, Children of Men is a great movie.  The story is gripping, the characters are real and we gain an understanding for their motivations, and the social struggles are ones that we can care about.  For myself, it was the construction of the world in which it was set that stood out the most.  It was so real and tactile that it elevated all aspects of the story and effectively transported me from my couch into the future, surrounding me in the tension and action thanks to the ambitious work of Cuaron.  It is a film I most definitely recommend, and even more so, I encourage you to pay attention to just how long some of the takes are.  You may find yourself amazed when you realize what they accomplished.

Rating – 4 out of 4 stars