A merely serviceable sci-fi premise (courtesy a P.D. James novel) is given a frequently exhilarating treatment in “Children of Men,” a dystopian fantasy directed by Alfonso Cuaron.
It’s 2027, and something has made the human population infertile. The race is dying out, nobody’s left under the age of 20, and depression and chaos rule as humanity awaits its eclipse.
Britain maintains a semblance of order – if you consider daily terrorist bombings and armed camps for illegal immigrants “order.” Theo (Clive Owen), who just wants to keep his head down and get through the endgame, is in fact kidnapped by one such terrorist group … led by his ex-wife, Julian (Julianne Moore).
She has a strange request/threat for him: help shepherd a young woman, Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey) out of the country and into the custody of the “Human Project.” That group is working on a way to keep society alive. If they really exist, that is.
Kee’s uniqueness is given away in the film’s trailers, but let’s just say she holds the key to the future. Can Theo, an entirely cynical guardian, rise to the occasion?
The story, like much good sci-fi, spins contemporary concerns into a futuristic fantasy. This one also carries overt allegorical elements (there’s a reason the film is opening on Christmas Day, and one revelatory scene takes place in a manger). This stirs the imagination, but what makes “Children of Men” electrifying is Mexican director Alfonso (“Y Tu Mama Tambien”) Cuaron’s visionary look at the future, the wild production design and thrilling use of long takes.
The camerawork in this movie, executed by Emmanuel Lubezki, employs a method of long takes – that is, the camera moving around and covering action without cutting. A couple of these very long, uninterrupted takes are nothing short of astonishing: the first a car ride that becomes violent, the last a snaking, winding trip through war-torn streets and into the beehive of a bombed-out building.
None of this would mean anything unless something were at stake, and Cuaron and Clive Owen make it count. The other actors are fine; they include Michael Caine, as Owen’s old friend, and Chiwetel Ejiofor as a radical insurgent.
But Clive Owen shoulders the film beautifully, with a performance that confirms him as one of the essential leading men of his day. His non-heroic demeanor and intelligent resignation are just right for this reluctant hero – with the future of mankind at stake, you could do much worse.
Clare-Hope Ashitey (in the background) and Clive Owen in “Children of Men.”
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