It's 2027 and no baby has been born since 2009, and that lad, at the age of 18, has just been murdered.
Children of Men paints a bleak future. Not least of all because we're in London which, apart from showing
the signs of the future with some videoscreens up on most of the business buildings, is still a grimy shithole, and one
where illegal immigrants get locked up at local train stations. Oh, and the cafe in which Theo (Clive Owen)
has just bought a drink has been blown up. Quite a neat one-take tracking shot involved here, particularly where the
woman comes out carrying her own left arm. In fact, he's left with a permanent ringing in his ears from the bomb
blast and sometimes the soundtrack reflects that.
Theo is good friends with Jasper (Michael Caine), a former newspaper cartoonist, who has a
catatonic wife, Janice (Philippa Urquhart). He also comes across Julian (Julianne Moore) and her crew,
The Fishes, when they capture him and take him to a secret location. The Fishes are a freedom fighter group for the
illegal immigrants.
Julian needs his help, 20 years after they last met - since they were once a couple with some major difficulties
of their own which split them up and which still prey on Theo's mind today, to take a young girl, Kee, across the
border to a community called The Human Project. She has a something special about her... she is pregnant. Give this
news up to the authorities and they'll be all over her, so she needs to get out of the country.
Overall, Children of Men has some great twists and turns that I never saw coming, but which I obviously can't
reveal here. Julianne Moore, Michael Caine and Chiwetel Ejiofor, as Fishes member Luke, are all fine in their
roles here but for me, Clive Owen comes up trumps amongst them all. Yes, he plays it very similar to the everyday man
role he plays in so many things, but it really works for him.
If there's one person I would replace, it's Pam Ferris. I just can't take her seriously as Miriam, a spiritual
voodoo follower, or something.
If I had any issues with this film, it does feel a little light on the actual story as there's not a great deal other
than the basics, although it is still a must-see.
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