Children of Men

Children of Men is my new favorite film of 2006 and perhaps (time will tell) one of the best films I have ever seen. It's an ultra-suspenseful movie that created suspense out of my utter devotion to the characters. The more danger they got in, the more I pleaded with God for them to be alright.

The story takes place twenty years from now in 2027, with the new cause of the world's problems being the fact that women of the world have not been able to carry children to term for the past eighteen years. The world has lost hope. Seeing through the eyes of the characters, my life is trivial if it is only for me, if the world ends with no new generation to inherit the earth. The world in the movie is desperate for hope. They haven't felt it for so long that they've forgotten what it feels like. Then a yougn woman becomes pregnant. And like the main character in the film and the subsequesnt characters the young woman meets, the hope is new. strange, and deeply felt by myself. I know what hope feels like. I've got some right now. But I was sucked into the movie to the point where their renewal of hope was my renewal of hope. And it wasn't just hope that you get a good parking spot or meet the right girl; it was the hope of the world. Yowza!

The film's suspense is not contrived or fake in any sense. Every difficulty that could come between Theo (Clive Owen) and bringing the young woman to safety comes into existance, but the obstacles are organic. People do not behave in the manner they do in most suspense films, doing things they never should or would do. Nobody walks into a dark room saying softly, "Is anyone home? Billy, this isn't funny" before being spooked by the wild man with the meat cleaver hiding behind the door. The films "action" scenes are breath-taking and great studies in audience participation. I put my hand over my mouth to keep from gasping or shouting several times.

Even though I was immersed in the film, I was always aware of the high quality of the production elements. There are some great, memorable shots that should go down in history as some of the best (certainly of the science fiction genre that this film could be classified in) if this film happens to find a devoted audience on DVD.

The direction by Alfonso Cuaron guides the story and actors well. The film gets a great, award-worthy performance from Clive Owen. I have always been aware of his talent, but in some of his past films he has had some sort of impenetratable aura around him. That voice. That face. His sad eyes even when he's happy. But he is fully committed to his character in Children of Men. He is completely engaging, bringing the audience along for both his figurative and literal journey.

Back to the production values: the camera work was at times stunning. There was a "chase" scene involving a car and a mob of people that put you right in the middle of the vehicle our heroes filled, but somehow fit comfortably in a thimble sized space because the car was full with three people in the back and two in the front. How'd the camera get there? How does it move the way it does? It's constantly changing views to give us every angle possible, but never shaking uncontrollably like most thrillers these days (though I'm sure the film did employ that technique at times).

The main reason to stay is the story. It hinges on a simple premise that happens to be endlessly interesting and involving. It works so well. I'm sure repeat viewings will review flaws in dialogue and plotting, but I don't think I'll ever forget my first time seeing Children of Men. It was an amazing experience.

People have been saying "children are our future" for a long time now, but the absence of children is never really considered as the loss of a future, a sentence to be doomed to live out the present hopeless and downtrodden. That's where the movie begins. It's the journey to the ending that will stay with me. I have to see it again. I'm sure I'll look back at this post in later months and my words will seem pompous and pretentious or something of that nature. But these words do accurately represent the excitement I feel today, a few hours after finishing the movie.

*****

Jeffrey Overstreet Review on Christianitytoday.com