Children Of Men "A+"

What’s Left To Hope For?

I have a very good friend that insists that every child born is a miracle. I always respond that the very definition of a miracle is something that happens once and not repeatedly. “Children of Men” directed by Alfonso Cuaron not only makes both of those opinions eerily true but really puts them into perspective.

This film is a stunning insight into a society that has lost all hope. The year is 2027 and mysteriously, women the world over are no longer able to have children and as a result society has spiraled down into a chaotic, totalitarian and very depressing so-called existence. Everyone on Earth knows that there are no legacies to leave and nothing whatsoever to look forward to. Can you imagine what that must be like? The film starts off with the death of the youngest person in the world, which is the major news story on the planet. Everyone is glued to the TV and as they watch in almost a coma-like stare, the reporters says; “The world was stunned today by the death of Diego Ricardo, the youngest person on the planet, the youngest person on earth was 18 years, 4 months, 20 days, 16 hours, and 8 minutes old.” I got chills down my spine as I heard that.

Clive Owen plays Theo Faron, a one-time activist who has totally lost his will to fight for any cause after the death of his son many years ago. Owen delivers another in a long line of stand-out performances. He already looks disheveled at the start of the film but he then gets beat up, attacked, shot at, and chased. And you think you have bad days? My body hurt just watching him! Julianne Moore basically has a cameo playing his ex-wife who continued to fight for the causes they both believed in. She contacts him to ask for his help in smuggling the only pregnant person in the world to a neutral scientific program whose only goal is to find out why women cannot become pregnant. Aha! This is where the miracle occurs. A "low class" woman has miraculously become pregnant. But how? One of the best lines in the film comes at this time, but you will just have to hear it for yourself. Anyway,the pregnant woman is played with surprising humor by newcomer Claire-Hope Ashitey. She not only imbibes her character with just the right amount of gravitas (by knowing she is man-kinds only hope) she also makes room to display tenderness, and fear. The rest of the cast led by Michael Caine (who plays a character that you think is much like himself) and Chiwetal Ejiofor (who has quickly become an acting tour-de-force) fully inhabit their roles. Wow, what a remarkable, phenomenal film.
Not only did this film put a new twist on futuristic societies it accomplished this with a totally believable and virtually flawless realism. This film had me totally mesmerized from start to finish. I mean, at times I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, it was such a revelation. Simply put this is an absolute epic piece of filmmaking. The decay of modern society was so well done that all I could think of was that this can really be happening, I was so sucked into the story. This is a film that will need numerous viewings to pick out all of it’s subtleties. Production designers, Jim Clay and Geoffrey Kirkland did such an incredible job with attention to detail that it borders on obsessive compulsive. They better be nominated for an Oscar for their efforts.
Technically, this film was one of the most hyper-realistic films I have ever seen. Let me explain. I know there were CGI shots in this but I gotta say that I couldn’t tell what or even where they were. Everything and I mean everything looked so real that is was supremely frightening. I bought all the events hook, line, and sinker. Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki captures a look that is cold and dangerous and he does it without resorting to gimmicks or shaky cameras. He will get an Oscar nom for this or it would be a crime. To me this an absolute flawless, virtuoso piece of filmmaking. And even though we have seen violence and shoot outs many times before, to me it was a refreshing take on what could have quickly disintegrated into ultra-violence for it’s own sake. My only caveat if you could call it that, would be that Cuaron does borrow a bit from Spielberg’s serious films, but only as far as the shooting style, which of course is a compliment.

So, my final thoughts? Do I have to say that this is one of the best films of the year or any year? Do I have to say that it should be nominated for an Oscar for best pic? Isn’t it obvious? The fact that this film was overlooked for Golden Globe nominations was to say the least surprising.

I would recommend this film to anyone, any day of the week. Everyone should experience this film in the theater.

So is childbirth a miracle? In the world of “Children of Men” it absolutely is, in our world? No, it isn’t.