Stark and Sterile: Children of Men

In the process of watching Children of Men for a third time and then going about the business of making up this review, I came to a few conclusions...

1. It is almost impossible for me to write a review of this film that isn't preachy or over the top because I think it's incredibly well-done and I want whoever stumbled across our site while looking for the wikipedia entry on Confessions of a Dangerous Mind to feel the same way even if I don't make one astute point in this entire review. 
   
2.  My only "talent" as a reviewer comes from taking sarcastic cheap shots at bad films.  These somewhat amusing asides are in short supply here.  You have my apologies in advance. 
3.  Rosemary, any personal biases towards Clive Owen due to his performance as a general scumbag in 2004's Closer are no grounds for dismissing this film outright.  You've got to do better than that.

So then, with all that established, what makes Children of Men worth your time?  The storyline certainly isn't anything particularly ground-breaking, with a suddenly sterile humanity decaying into totalitarianism and anarchy.  A similar storyline played out quite entertainingly the year before in V for Vendetta, even down to the British setting.  What makes Children of Men so worthwhile is that director Alfonso Cuaron is able to  create a diegesis in which what transpires is an entirely believable representation of what could happen in a world stricken by infertility.

Let's turn to the acting for a second. Julianne Moore always plays sort of the same character, but she's fine here.  Michael Caine seems like he has a lot of fun taking a sharp departure from his normal roles by playing the aging hippie.  But the star here IS the star.  Clive Owen is brilliant as everyman Theo, the ex-activist who lives a life without any real meaning.  I've got a theory about Owen. Hollywood seems to think he's an action hero a la Bruce Willis and even threw him into a Oceans' Eleven-type spy thriller last year with Julia Roberts (Duplicity).  The man is terrible in these roles.  He always comes off as kind of a schmuck, but he's damn good at playing a schmuck. More Closer and Children of Men, less of The International and Duplicity.  Who knows, I might even be able to convince Rosemary that the the man's at least good at portraying a facsimile of himself. 

If the acting in Children of Men makes the film, setting the film in Britain certainly helps too.  If you want to set your film in a depressing, post-industrial hellhole, just go to Britain and turn the camera on.  Trust me, it won't disappoint. 

Since the two of you that read this website besides Rosemary and I probably stopped reading this review three paragraphs ago, I'll be quick here with my last points.  Firstly, there is a single shot in a car that goes on for minutes without a cut.  If you appreciate adventurous technical filmmaking, Children of Men will not disappoint. Lastly, this is the only film whose soundtrack I've actively sought out. Franco Battiato's cover of "Ruby Tuesday" fits perfectly, and any film that uses a song with the line "c*nts are running the world" is aces in my book...Because really, have truer words ever been spoken?

-The Cat

Next Up: Let's continue torturing Rosemary by continuing this look at contemporary Spanish film makers with my absolute favorite movie of all time, Pan's Labyrinth.

Image courtesy of moviesbuzz.com