Children of Men

As usual, I've done far less blogging than I intended to, but back to the subject.
Children of Men is (if you haven't guessed) a recently released science fiction film. And one of the very select few films that I actually went to see at the cinema on the day of its release (in the UK). My expectations for the film weren't low, but they weren't particularly high either. But they should have been. Children of Men is a masterpiece, one of the best science fiction films ever made. Every aspect of the film is just as it should be. There' s a very strong cast with Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Caine, who all give better performances than I expected and absolutely become the characters. Again, the characters feel very real - in part because of the acting but also because of the writing. They're all three-dimensional and a far cry from the standard Hollywood heroes. The main character, Theo, is a very reluctant hero and, while he seems barely suited to his monotonous day job in London, is even less suited to adventure. He doesn't solve his problems with bullets - in fact, he barely solves his problems. He does little more than stumble through them, dragged into doing what is right. He is not a leader, not an idealist, and crucially, he doesn't suffer from what Joss Whedon calls "Airforce One syndrome". He's not always strong and he's far from perfect. But despite that, you still are rooting for him. The other characters are equally developed, from Michael Caine's Jasper, Theo's old political columnist friend, who often provides some welcome comic relief in an otherwise very dark, depressing atmosphere to Chiwetel Ejiofor's Luke, a leader of the resistance who is much more complex than what he first seems to Peter Mullan's Syd, a slightly mad policeman.

The dark, gritty setting of dystopian London in 2027 is incredibly believable. This is not a bright, sleek version of the future that has become so common in film- it reminds you incredibly of today, though admittedly it seems as if the country is being run along the lines of tabloid editorial policy, with its asylum camps reminscent of Nazi concentration camps. There are hints that the rest of the world is even worse throughout, but for the most part, it seems to be a relatively ordinary world with one major difference - there are no children.

The plot itself is not particularly original or exciting, or wouldn't have been if it were not for the brilliant writing and directing of Alfonso Cuaron. A pregnant girl, an immigrant, is discovered, and Theo's help is enlisted in delivering her to the Human Project, a mysterious benign organisation that we never learn much about, but we are told is better than letting the government have her. What could have been a very simple plot and could ruin an otherwise excellent film becomes an asset, as it is filled with unexpected twists, Cuaron doing what most directors would never even contemplate. The writing itself expertly switches between humour and poignancy and the pacing is spot on. The big surprise for me though was not the brilliant acting, characters or even the unpredictable plot, but the cinematography. The camerawork is nothing short of virtuoso and the action scenes are some of the most impressive I've seen in any film.

In short, this is one of the best films I've ever seen. Everything comes together perfectly to create a science fiction masterwork which avoids all the traps. If you're in the UK, go and see it now. If you're anywhere else, go and see it as soon as it comes out. 9.5/10