Ryan Chartrand“Children of Men” is a film in which its premise alone is enough to keep you talking for hours. When it comes to actually executing that premise, however, is it enough to deliver it solely through a restless visual experience?
Director Alfonso Cuaron (“Y Tu Mama Tambien”) believes it is, and his latest visually enthralling sci-fi film doused in delightful pessimism could prove it. Loosely based on the novel “The Children of Men,” by British writer P.D. James, and sadly not the sequel to “Junior” (aka Arnold Schwarzenegger’s experimentation with pregnancy), “Children of Men” takes a grim look into the future where the world isn’t filled with merciless robots, but something far more devastating.
It’s a world where women are infertile and the youngest child is 18 years old. It’s a world where every country has become a dystopia and civil wars erupt daily. It’s a world where merely the sound of a baby crying can halt an army of men in its tracks. It’s the premise directors with a love for imagery would die to have.
The year is 2027 and the only country barely holding itself together is England (what do you expect from a British writer?). Clive Owen (“Inside Man,” “Closer”) plays a former activist looking for hope, for a life where chance doesn’t rule and having the power of choice is actually significant.
Ironically by chance, however, he finds his reawakening; a miraculously pregnant woman who he agrees to help transport to a group looking for an infertility cure. The woman is an illegal immigrant, however, which in 2027 is apparently much like being Jewish in 1942. Fearing what England would do to the woman and her child, Owen tries to keep her hidden until their journey becomes filled with as much thrilling action as “Saving Private Ryan” but about as much point as “Just My Luck.”
Although Cuaron had plenty of time in the film’s nearly two-hour runtime to further develop the premise, he used most of it for relentlessly intense cinematic sequences and long, continuous shots intended to place you in England’s dystopia.
Through the use of his uncomfortably moving handheld camera technique, every scene is brought to life with over-the-shoulder angles much like a video game, but with more realism and in-your-face flare.
Cuaron amazingly piles heaps of action into a single shot that ultimately buries the audience in their chairs and keeps each environment so dynamic. He couldn’t have done it, however, without the right cast leading the tense audience through it all.
Owen, the legendary Michael Caine and an array of lesser-known yet talented additions to the cast make each moment frighteningly believable. The acting makes it hard not to notice every minute, subtle detail about each character, but you might be left wondering why you even cared to notice.
Experiencing Cuaron’s discomforting world and masterfully crafted thrill rides might sell the movie alone, but those looking for something more evocative might be disappointed. Arguably the biggest weakness of “Children of Men” is its abrupt ending and forgetting to revisit points subtly made earlier in the film.
For example, the pregnant woman, fittingly named Kee, doesn’t even know the name of the father of the first child born in 18 years. Is this a criticism on our culture and perhaps how sex has returned to being nothing more than an act of reproduction, deeming a child’s life meaningless?
What about the excessive placement of the camera on the pitiable illegal immigrants, exaggerated Nazi-like England soldiers or the words “Homeland Security” written everywhere? Is this Cuaron’s pessimistic look at America’s future?
Thoughts like these are raised, but ultimately never given much meaning or substance. Making statements in nice little packages isn’t necessary, but ignoring the lack of depth or point to “Children of Men” isn’t as easy as I’d hoped.
The film does make enough points to merit it worthy of seeing, but taking a few extra steps would have been much appreciated. When the director, who also co-wrote the screenplay, didn’t even bother to read the book the film is based on, it becomes rather apparent why this might be the case.
While “Children of Men” might only be a brilliant example of visual mastery for Alfonso Cuaron to add to his portfolio, it only shows that a film with a great premise can sometimes be just that.