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CHILDREN OF MEN Send This Review to a Friend
The countries of the world have collapsed, as has Britain. All is a dangerous shambles of ruin and violence in the futuristic (2027) “Children of Men,” directed by Alfonso Cuarón, who co-wrote the film with Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark F. Fergus and Hawk Ostby, based on the P. D. James novel. But there is a key plot element apart from the destruction and the brutal herding of refugees into immigrant camps. Fertility has disappeared and children are not being born.
When it turns out that one lone woman, Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey), is pregnant, she becomes a precious commodity who might be the basis of beginning re-fertilization of the human race. On the one hand she must be defended and shielded. On the other, she is ripe for capture by those aware of her importance. Much of the film turns on action built around saving Kee.
The vital man of action is played by Clive Owen as Theo, and given Owen’s solid looks and gifts as an actor, he is someone who can carry the film in the midst of chaos, cruelty and fighting that puts everyone in imminent danger. He becomes the hero who battles to guide Kee through a perilous escape route. Michael Caine is another key player as Jasper, who has a hideaway where he takes refuge from the madness and gives what help he can at great personal risk. The cast also includes Julianne Moore, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Charlie Hunnam, Danny Huston, Peter Mullan and Pam Ferris.
How effective is all of this? It is certainly harrowing, and director Cuarón creates a vivid landscape of desperation. The look is that of a terrible war zone, and the idea of an infertile world raises the specter of what might happen to us. Yet as the action progresses, the situation becomes more and more unbelievable even in terms of this hypothetical situation in which we are supposed to be able to go along with anything. Audiences will look at it in different ways, I am sure, but I began to tire of it all even while commending those who made the film and the skill of the cast. A Universal Pictures release.
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