Movie Review: Children of Men

Children of Men (2006) 

Directed by Alfonso Cuaron

Written by Alfonso Cuaron

Starring Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Charlie Hunnam

Release Date December 25th, 2006

Published December 24th, 2006

Alfonso Cuaron has said that his latest film, the futuristic thriller Children Of Men, is an allegory to our times. A warning of problems to come if we continue on our current path. The film alludes to ideas about immigration policy, war in the middle east, terrorism and death with dignity. These ideas are introduced but none are given great weight. It's as if just mentioning these hot button issues is enough to bring importance to a movie that is otherwise a chase thriller with an interesting premise.

The fact is,Children Of Men is not about its story or characters. Children Of Men is about director Alfonso Cuaron and his ability as a director. Using long, unbroken takes and some dazzling cinematography, Cuaron impresses with style and technique but does so at the expense of his story.

In 2027 woman haven't given birth in nearly 20 years. The world's youngest person, an 18 year old, has been killed and chaos reigns throughout the world. England is the last hold out of civil order, though the chaos is banging at the door. Immigrants from around the world have attempted to immigrate causing the government to round up foreigners and place them in camps. Those who fight are killed, those who don't are sent back to the chaos and famine of their home countries.

In the midst of the tumultuous times a former activist named Theo (Clive Owen) is slowly drinking himself to death. Having lost his own baby son more than a decade and a half ago, as well as his wife, Theo has given up. His ex-wife Julian (Julianne Moore) has not. Now the leader of an insurgency, Julian has come to the aid of an immigrant teenager, Kee (Claire Hope Ashitay) who holds the future of humanity.

Kee is; by some miracle, pregnant and Julian knows she can't protect her. Turning to Theo for help, she leaves it to him to take Kee to a utopian group of scientists and thinkers called the human project where it's hoped her pregnancy can reveal the key to saving humanity.

That is what I could make of the plot of Children of Men, a movie that is more style than substance. Director Alfonso Cuaron claims the film is an allegory to modern times however, his metaphors are shallow and underserved. This alarmist tale of government oppression and societal crumbling has a dark vision of the future that is supposed to be a warning of things to come and a comment on how things currently are but it fails to be convincing in either metaphoric conceit.

Children of Men is not an allegory, it is rather a movie about how the action is filmed and not why the action is taking place. Working with super long takes, Cuaron uses his camera in unbroken scenes that traverse big action movie chases and war scenes without a single edit. It's an impressive technical achievement. It's also an extraordinarily showy exercise. Like a dog begging for attention, the filmmaking tricks of Children of Men sit up, beg and roll over.

The worst thing about Children of Men is how cheap and manipulative the plot is. Of course, all movies are manipulative. However, the best movies allow you to suspend disbelief and forget you are being manipulated. Children of Men uses a cheap screenwriting trick, the child in danger plot, to manipulate audiences into feeling tension that the adult characters and the plot they are trapped in cannot.

I will grant you that much of the technological trickery employed by Alfonso Cuaron is so good that you can forgive much of the very shallow plot. The extended, unedited takes are compelling visuals that you can't help but marvel at. Also, I was surprised how visually impressive the film is without Cuaron's usual flourishes of color. In his Great Expectations, Y Tu Mama Tambien and Harry Potter, Cuaron's visuals overflowed with color. Children of Men goes in the opposite direction, desaturating the screen leaving a gray, light green hue that is as effective as his use of bright colors in previous films.

The color palette matches the mood of the film. Gloomy and oppressive and while that doesn't sound appealing, in execution and as part of this story, the color palette is visually engaging.

Another appealing element of Children of Men is the star performance of Clive Owen. No actor embodies weariness the way Owen does. Look at his roles in I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, Closer and Sin City, no actor looks more tired or beaten up by the world as Owen. His gloom ridden role in Children of Men was made just for him.

The character of Theo has lost everything when we meet him. He can barely muster the energy to not give a damn. Watching him come back to life as he helps Kee escape is appealing for the way Owen plays it, even if the rest of the movie is not interested in character development. Owen and the rest of the cast of Children of Men were on their own trying to bring their characters some life while Alfonso Cuaron focused on unique ways to shoot them.

Children of Men is a technical marvel. Alfonso Cuaron and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki dazzle us with camera work, lighting, settings and chases and the films centerpiece, long unbroken takes. Dazzled we are but the technical brilliance can't disguise a shallow thriller plot clothed in faux importance. Saying your movie is important in metaphor is one thing, actually being important is another.