REVIEW: Children of Men

Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men is a very different kettle of fish from Curse of the Golden Flower. Based on British best-selling author P.D. James' dystopian future novel The Children of Men, the movie features a killer premise, a very talented director (he directed the 3rd and widely regarded as best Harry Potter film as well as Y Tu Mama Tambien) and a decent cast (Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine and Chiwetel Ejiofor).

The movie was hailed by some as directorial tour de force, but in the recently announced Oscar's nominations Children of Men only earned nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography and Film Editing.

The killer premise of the book and the film is that it is 2027 and there are no children in the world. Women have become infertile; there have been no viable pregnancies for nearly 18 years. The future hopes of humanity have been dashed and widespread chaos, violence and unrest have been the result. Into this milieu the story follows Theo (played by Owen) who is asked by his ex-wife Julian (played by Moore) to use his connections to obtain two transit visas in exchange for a substantial amountof cash. Julian and Theo had had a son named Dylan together who died in a worldwide influenza epidemic over a decade ago and she had since become a "terrorist" according to the militaristic, authoritarian British government. Britain, through extreme measures of deportation of all immigrants or foreign nationals, is apparently one of the last stable countries on earth. The depiction of the future is well-done, with clever touches such as the faded "London 2012" sweatshirt Theo wears throughout the film, the television ads for government-approved suicide drug "Quietus" and the depressing, decayed state of the environment.

There is an important plot development which radically alters the dynamic of the film (I try to make my reviews spoiler free but this Oscar-nominated screenplay makes that diificult) however even with the increased sense of urgency this plot development gives to the audience there is still something lacking from the film which blunts its overall emotional impact.

Although the premise and the depiction of the sad state of the future makes for a relentlessly depressing film experience, it's not clear that the filmmakers have much more to say than "Look how much life could suck in the future if this were to happen." In the end, while it's compelling to watch at the time, it is easy to dissect the flaws of the film in the warm Southern California sunshine outside the theater.

GRADE: B+