Children Of Men

[hedwig]

Forgot to post my review from the film's release.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS SUMMARIES


Alfonso Cuaron's "Children of Men" opens with the stunned faces of Britain's citizens in a coffee shop as they watch the horror unfold on a television. The "youngest person in the world" has just been murdered and society's downward fall into anarchy and infertility continues. In walks the film's gritty, depressed hero - Theo (played magnificently by Clive Owen). As he exits the coffee shop, we view a world clearly deteriorating as the date "November 2027" flashes onto the screen. As Theo casually stands on the sidewalk, he is immediately terrified when a bomb hits nearby killing and injuring many. Cuaron's camera hurries into the destruction where we view the horror. It is a perfectly contructed scene for a launching point into this world.

As the film progresses, Theo is sent on a mission to help a (surprise!) pregnant young woman reach a point of safety called "The Human Project". This mission if successful could determine the fate of the world's future for mankind. But Theo is not alone. There are rich supporting performances by Michael Caine, as his friendly aging hippie, and Julianne Moore, as Theo's ex-lover still grieving over the death of their son. Owen and Caine's scenes are the most touching and bring life to an otherwise bleak but thrilling story.

Director Alfonso Cuaron could have made a preachy political thriller without much interest in the human condition. But alas, he never does. There are glimpses and echoes of issues such as Iraq throughout, yet they never draw too much attention to themselves. Cuaron is much more fascinated with the emotions of his characters and their hope for survival. We are absolutely riveted as his camera catches the appropriate essence of each scene (including two gorgeous action sequences occuring in one continuous shot). By the end of the film, we have been shocked, scared, and moved. Yet, the film ends on a note that is appropriate and in it's own way - quietly perfect.

"Children of Men" is a rare kind of film that simply doesn't get made anymore. It will provoke audiences to think and feel with as much a sense of realism as any film I've seen. There is a general rule that audiences today do not want to be challenged or provoked. If this is the case, "Children of Men" will have to find it's fans over time. There is already one here.

fixed.

[MacGuffin]

Eick Adapts Children For TV
Source: SciFi Wire

Bionic Woman executive producer David Eick told SCI FI Wire that he's working on a pilot script for a proposed TV series based on Children of Men, P.D. James' SF novel, which also inspired Alfonso Cuaron's 2006 film of the same name.

"It's really taking root more in the origins of the novels in that it will focus on the cultural movement in which young people become the society's utter focus," Eick (Battlestar Galactica) said in an interview at SCI FI Channel's upfront presentation to advertisers in New York on March 18. "Much like our culture, whenever Lindsay Lohan does something [and] it becomes the headline of every news show, it's about how, when you don't have a responsibility to the next generation and you're free to do whatever you want, where do you draw the line?"

Eick added that Children of Men will question how society defines responsibility, freedom and a sense of values when it doesn't necessarily believe humans will survive as a species. "So it's a very compelling, I think, human question that science fiction has always explored extremely provocatively," he said. "It's not really a war show like the movie was. It's more an exploration of that issue."

Eick is writing Children of Men now, even as he closes out SCI FI Channel's original series Battlestar Galactica and prepares for production on SCI FI's recently green-lighted prequel series Caprica. Eick's Bionic, meanwhile, has been canceled by NBC.

[HeywoodRFloyd]

I just want to say Children Of Men is the most immersive film I have probably ever seen. In light of studio's heavy stance on 3D to create an immersive experience on the viewer, they can never.. ever come close to the sheer brilliance of Children Of Men.

I remember not particularly loving this film in it's release, but re-visiting it on Blu-ray, has made me have a complete 180 on how I view this film. One of the best of the last decade for sure. And probably the best Sci-fi/Post Apocalyptic film in the 21st Century so far.

Can't wait for Cuaron's Gravity.