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The
Children of Men Review...
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Children
of Men (15)
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Based on the Novel by P.D. James
Starring Clive Owen, Julianne Moore,
Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Claire
Hope Ashitey
It’s 2027 and for eighteen years
the female population of earth has been
infertile. Due to the increasing paranoia
and growing violence, the UK is now
a police state, with concentration camps
for illegal immigrants and suicide kits
available to buy over the counter. As
news that the world’s youngest
man, ‘Baby Diego’, has been
killed, Theo (Clive Owen) is hired by
his ex wife and member of terrorist
group ‘The Fishes’, Julian
(Julianne Moore), to accompany Kee (Claire
Hope Ashitey), a young pregnant girl
(and therefore a symbol of hope for
the future) to the coast, where she
will be taken care of by a group of
benevolent scientists known as ‘the
Human Project’.
Imagine a future that has no future.
Imagine a world held in stasis between
the desperate reality of the present
and (in this case) the ever-decreasing
hope for the future. In Children of
Men, we’re presented with just
such a world. Think less of robots,
aliens and shining silver (as many are
wont to do in sci-fi), and instead get
ready for emotionless authorities, persecuted
illegal immigrants and dirty, graffitti’d
concrete. Of course, this all means
that Alfonso Cuarón paints his
dystopian future with a brush firmly
daubed in our present. Many of the themes
displayed here reflect (albeit through
a slightly convex mirror) the growing
mood of our times and, as such, give
us an interesting window into our own
world.
As well as this illuminated picture
of our own society, there is also a
deeper resonance with a more famous
miracle baby story (hint – It’s
about Jesus). Let’s take a look:
the main character, Theo (that’s
Greek for God, kids) guides a lone pregnant
teenager through a war torn land held
in stasis to deliver her (and her baby)
to the human project. Yeah, we’re
dealing with the nativity. Even P.D.
James calls her novel a ‘Christian
fable’ and derived the title from
the King James Translation of Psalm
90 v 3 (“Thou turnest man to destruction;
and sayest, Return, ye children of men”).
However, when stated like this the theme
appears heavier than it ever does in
the movie, and rightly so, as Cuarón
decided that he wanted to leave out
any ‘dogma’ opting instead
to focus on ‘spiritual themes’.
Still, what we’re left with is
a thought provoking, strangely emotional
simple story. It’s true when you
think back, you may find it over simple,
but I think that is possibly the films
greatest strength.
The film has a great cast who all give
satisfying performances, but perhaps
Michael Caine steals the show as Jasper
(yes, that’s reminiscent of the
name of one of the wise men) a friend
of Theo and a former political cartoonist
(just don’t pull his finger!).
The film contains some excellent action
scenes, especially a hotel escape and
motorbike chase, but should note that
often the violence might prove too much
for some and, as we would expect from
the theme, the film can seem rather
bleak at times. Having said that, it
is run through with a streak of comedy
that adds to the feeling of reality
and the movie doesn’t outstay
it’s welcome, coming in at just
under 2 hours. A pleasant surprise and
highly recommended.
By Simon Parkin |
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