Children of Men

What’s the Story?

Set in Great Britain in 2027, CHILDREN OF MEN is an intensely violent, dystopian vision of a future in which women are infertile and the world is in the midst of complete social collapse. When one of the last children born on Earth is murdered, his death sets off massive protests and violent conflicts between sectarian groups. Bureaucrat Theo (Clive Owen) is reluctantly drawn in to the fray when his ex-wife, Julian (Julianne Moore) -- head of an underground opposition group -- asks him for help transporting a special passenger out of London. In a chaotic Big-Brother atmosphere, Theo joins the group to help transport a pregnant West African woman named Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey) to The Human Project, an organization operating from a ship offshore. After marauders attack Theo's caravan, the team regroups in a remote farmhouse. Theo soon has to escape again, this time with Kee and a midwife in tow. They relocate to the house of Theo's good friend, Jasper (Michael Caine), who offers them shelter and encouragement in making it to their destination.

Is It Any Good?

Working from a screenplay he co-wrote (based on P.D. James' novel), director Alfonso Cuarón paints a gritty, paranoid, and occasionally hopeful picture, drawing on modern anxieties about war, terrorism, immigration, race, class, pollution, and technology. The group's struggle to reach the Human Project includes some of the most graphic, gripping, and engrossing filmmaking in recent memory. Cuarón's documentary-style camera work brings the viewer right into the violent action.

Caine's character is a bright spot -- though caring for his catatonic wife in isolation, he remains cheerful and passionate, enjoying food, music, and occasional company with heartfelt glee (helped along, perhaps, by the large quantities of marijuana that he smokes). The movie's abrupt ending, while disorienting at first, offers relief from the film's intensity. Dark, intense and violent, Children of Men is most certainly not for kids -- and even most teens. Pregnant women and new parents also might want to avoid it, due to the focus on threats to children and the intense birth scene.