Children Of Men DVD > Reviews > What is the world coming to?

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Outstanding
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	Engrossing plot, great acting, thought - provoking, just superb
Disadvantages:	Script can be weak

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Before and during its cinematic release, this film was highly advertised on the television. Every advert I saw for it made me more keen to watch it, but due to having a young son, I annoyingly never made it to the cinema to watch this one. I since forgot about it, but when I went to the Play.com sale and saw this for a cheap price, I had to buy it. And boy, am I glad I did.

"Children of Men" is going to be one of those films where you either love it or you hate it. Normally, I am not that big a Sci-Fi fan, so I was a bit unsure about how this would appeal to me. But I was intrigued by the whole idea of the film, and I think this is the part which will attract an audience who would not normally turn to a film like this. I'll be honest; the idea of humans being completely infertile intrigued me, and I wanted to see how they were going to base a film around this.

The film is set in 2027 and follows one man, Theo Faron, who leads a quite dull life working for the British Government in the Ministry of Energy. His life is spun into overdrive when an ex-girlfriend Julian turns up, and asks Theo to get a hold of some transit papers for a young girl she wants moving to the coast. You are probably thinking what are transit papers?? Well, the British Government are now incredibly strict on immigration and control the borders of the country so heavily you actually need papers to move around. Theo turns to his cousin to get the papers, and it begins from there.

The girl they are to transport (and I don't think I am giving the entire film away by saying this as it was all over the adverts) is Kee, a young pregnant woman. In fact, the first pregnant woman in the world for 18 years. This is even more miraculous because the world's youngest person, "Baby" Diego, has just died aged 18. Julian's group, The Fishes, want to protect Kee and her baby and take her to safety at the Human Project where her baby cannot be taken from her. This is because Kee is what the British Government called a "fugee", an immigrant. And the Government is getting rid of all illegal immigrants, by shoving them into concentration camp-type prisons, such as Bexhill, where we are taken with Theo and Kee later in the movie.

The whole plotline is just incredible. The idea that humans across the world can become infertile is of course not 100% impossible, and therefore this film offers us an intriguing insight into how life would become if we were to lose the ability to repopulate our planet. Obviously, not all of the factors in the film, such as the racial hatred and the anti-immigration would apply in these scenarios, but one has to wonder just how mass infertility would affect us as a race. Would it drive us to views and feelings we would not normally expect to feel? Would we act differently towards those not of the same background as us? We are not to know until something like this happens to us (which God forbid it will not), but the director Alfonso Cuaron clearly has a strong vision of this.

Now the film is actually based on a book by P.D. James, entitled "The Children of Men" so we cannot credit Cuaron with all the insight and thoughts about this particular scenario. But obviously he was the one who gave it cinematic screens, and brought the whole scenario to life, so to speak. His movie, and vision, are quite dark, with a world full of hatred, imploding on itself, and falling apart. He grasps the subject very well, and brings together all the strings of the movie in such a way the idea of mass infertility is entirely believable and you are just taken to 2027 where this is happening, and with such an "out-there" movie, that is no mean feat.

Of course, the other people who really do bring the films, and its characters, to life are the actors who star in it. As I said previously, the film follows Theo who is played the marvellous Clive Owen. I have seen Clive in a few films, and he has had to put on an American accent, which just doesn't suit him. So to see him a role where he can show us his true Britishness is great. He creates a gritty, powerful leading man who is determined to get his job done no matter what the personal cost for himself. He has had a tragedy in his life, and you can see this is the driving force behind him, and Owen does a great job in the emotive acting which is required for some of these scenes. He can transform the character from shady and quiet, to powerful and a leader.

For me, the other star of the film was the young actress who played Kee, the first pregnant woman in 18 years. She was played superbly by Clare-Hope Ashitey, in her first real leading role in a movie. She embraces the role fully, transforming herself into a scared young mother-to-be who does not know what her country and the world has in store for her and her child. Clare brings a real realism to the role, she was only 19 herself when she filmed the role, and her innocence and youth totally comes through, especially next to Owen's maturity and experience. She lit up her scenes, especially that of the birth of her child, which is one of the most AMAZING birth scenes I have ever seen on film or television. Simply astonishing!

And credit must go to the other supporting lead actors who were Michael Caine and the wonderful Pam Ferris, as a drugged up hippy Jasper, and a spiritual midwife called Pam, who is looking after Kee. The role of Jasper is very unlike other roles Caine has played, and it is nice to see him in a comedic role, of which he can let himself go a bit! The stark difference between him and Owen adds a real something to the film, especially considering the two are close friends. And Ferris, as usual, does a great job as the slightly eccentric Miriam, a caring woman who clearly has a dear belief in Spiritualism, religion and all sorts. Julianne Moore must also be mentioned for her great acting in her short but sweet role as Julian, ex-girlfriend of Theo and a freedom fighter.

The film is just incredibly thought-provoking. It was incredibly gritty in parts, almost uncomfortable to watch in some of the scenes within Bexhill, the prison camp where Theo and Kee are led to in the end, and the way in which this is shot adds to this. It is done by a camera used by a cameraman directly following Owen, so you are right in the middle of the action, even at one point having blood on the lens in the midst of a violent gun battle. Some of the scenic shots in Canterbury are gorgeous, and offer a real haven in the midst of the dark and dank London we are treated to at the start of the film.

The actors do a great job with it, especially as the script is not the most outstanding in the world. They really clearly believe in what they are doing, and totally add a special something to their roles, in particular Owen and Hope-Ashitey. The story carries the film on its own, you are engrossed with this future which you are unsure of whether this world will ever face, and you just want to find out what is to come of Kee and her baby. It is wonderful to see how at one point in the film, just the cry of a baby is enough to stop all the fighting going on around it, people are marvelled by this incredible being, and it makes you think perhaps how much we take for granted the easy conception and birth of a baby these days. I would recommend this film to absolutely anybody who enjoys a totally engrossing film, which will leave you thinking for days about. And thes best thing about this film? It's British!!

Now for the not so fun parts! The film runs for 109 minutes (just right in my opinion) and carried a certificate of 15, due to the violence and themes in the film. You can get the DVD on Play.com for £6.99, a bargain for this film I tell you!

Extras on the DVD include are following;
"The Possibility Of Hope:" A Documentary by Alfonso Cuarón
"Men Under Attack" featurette
Commentary by Slavoj Zizek
"Visual Effects: Creating The Baby" featurette
"Theo and Julian:" Commentary from Clive Owen and Julianne Moore
Deleted Scenes
Futuristic Design featurette
PLEASE NOTE: I have not yet watched these so I cannot comment on them!

Main Cast:
Clive Owen as Theo Faron
Pam Ferris as Miriam
Michael Caine as Jasper
Clare Hope Ashitey as Kee
Julianna Moore as Julian
Chiwetel Ejiofor as Luke
Danny Huston as Nigel

Thank you for reading, and I really hope that you enjoy it as much as I did!