CHILDREN OF MEN [2006] review
November 19, 2006 · Print This Article
***Warning — SPOILERS***
I went into CHILDREN OF MEN knowing virtually nothing about the story, and I suggest you do too, so that means stop reading this until you see the movie yourself. One also needs a good ability to suspend belief, as the premise of the movie is that in 2027 humans have been infertile for the past 18+ years. So I guess all the sperm banks dried up or something, and that no one thought of cloning, etc. So if you can put that aside, the movie starts off small and just keeps rolling and getting bigger. Again, having no expectations about the movie really helps, as I totally didn’t expect there to be any twists in the story, at least not as big and constant as there were, but none so grandiose that they seem contrived. And the issue about who to trust is an issue, but not so much that it’s distracting and inconsistent. Clive Owen as the main character soon clearly knows who he can trust, and that is just himself and the instructions of an old acquaintance.
Alfonso Cuaron is the only director I think really faltered with the Harry Potter movie franchise, so I was holding that against him going into the theater, but by the end I was very impressed with his camera work and story telling ability. He could have maybe wrung more out of his actors, as action clearly takes over in the latter half of the movie, but enough backstory is given to flesh out most people’s motivations.
This is a grim movie though, with almost no color at all on screen, the world in 2027 largely laid to waste and scenes of great cruelty fill the background action. So when a child is finally conceived and delivered, it really is a miracle transforming all around the babe. Even soldiers stay their weapons, but not for very long. The birth of the first child in 18 years does not instantly start a chain reaction of hope and peace in this world. The movie leaves us to wonder if that will ever come about.
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