Children of Men (2006) Film Review

Alfonso Cuaron, director of “Children of Men,” is found of long takes. If you watch from a perspective of editing and camerawork alone, this movie is dynamic. It’s different from the fast cutting, montage driven films of today that seem to illustrate visceral over story. And not to say that “Children of Men” isn’t an enjoyable visual experience, it certainly is, but it has deep roots in unraveling a thick story. The film, adapted from the 1992 novel by P.D. James, drifts a little bit from the premise of the book, but Cuaron is famous for not reading the books of films he does (He never did read the Harry Potter : Prisoner of Azkaban). And I think there is always something lost when you move from medium to medium. It is hard to illustrate fluid thoughts in film, except by simple narration, and many filmmaker probably believe that they have to stay very close to the book, or else they will anger a dedicated fanbase.


The setting is England, 2027, and it is one of the last remaining citadels of relative calm as we are informed in a television ad that almost all other cities have fallen into tyranny and disarray. Some 18 years ago, the human world became infertile, and the story starts out with the youngest person alive (18 year old “Baby Diego) has been killed and the city mourns the loss. Inevitably, we are centered in on the story of Theo, a former activist whose wife (Julian) left him some years ago. Theo is a hard drinking, apathetic, gruff sort of man. He has the rough face of a man that has seen it all, and he has a sharp sense of humor that makes him an amiable protagonist. Along the way, we meet Theo’s friend Jasper Palmer (an excellent performance by Michael Caine), a photojournalist who spends his days smoking marijuana and caring for his reticent wife (she was tortured by the government and put in a catatonic state).
The film drifts from there as we meet up with Julian, who has joined a rebel group committed to overthrowing the government by nonviolent means (although carrying guns and killing government officials isn’t against their code of conduct). We travel with Theo as things get better and worse, and as his journey gets complicated by the surprise of a lifetime in a world slowly dying.
This movie isn’t perfect, though. It does have its flaws, and the narrative suffers from that. But, overall it is very good. The mise-en-scene is extraordinary, and we can see a parable of social commentary that most definitely will resonate with a post-9/11 audience. If you have a chance, you should definitely check out Cuaron’s other work (Y tu Mama Tambien) for he is a fine director. The extraordinary abilities of his crew to create such long-length shots is extraordinary. Although, it has been reported that CGI was used to stitch several shots together to look like a single take, but the effect is extraordinary. The One sequence is about 4 minutes long, and involves a trailing of Theo as he is traveling through the city, avoiding soldiers, bombs, and exploding buildings. Blood splutters onto the camera, and the film has the real look of a raw documentary, and it is fascinating to watch.

My score: 9.2/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 92%