Based on the novel of the same name (but with a 'the' infront of it) Children of Men is set in a not so distant dystopian future where everyone's been infertile for almost two decades causing civilization to collapse globally. When civil servant and former activist Theo Faron, played by Clive Owen, is approached by his ex-girlfriend and current activist Julian Taylor, played by Julianne Moore, she asks him to help Kee, played by Clare-Hope Ashitey, a young refugee and the first pregnant woman in 18 years! Theo must protect her from an oppressive government with inhumane immigration laws, violent activists and the general chaos of the world while seeking safe haven for her.
Children of Men is directed by Alfonso Cuarón who also co-wrote the film along with four other guys; his most notable work includes Gravity, which was okay, and one of the Harry Potter films, this is definitely his masterpiece! I absolutely loved it, it's the best film I've seen in a long time, it's fucking brilliant! I saw it years ago and for some reason I remembered it as a zombie film, this wasn't the case at all. It's a beautifully written film, it's masterfully directed and I thought the performances were all great! Some of the camerawork was outstanding, there's two or three set pieces where they capture the whole scene in one shot and it's fucking impressive, I was blown away!
I loved the whole cast as well, Clive Owen was excellent in the lead role, he has that everyman thing about him and it's perfect for the character. Julianne Moore was great, I really liked Clare-Hope Ashitey, Chiwetel Ejiofor was great, Michael Caine was brilliant as usual and Jasper was probably my favourite character! Charlie Hunnam from Sons of Anarchy was also in this, I didn't even realise until I looked it up! Children of Men is gripping, I was on the edge of my seat and my heart was in my fucking throat for a couple of scenes, it's a perfectly executed film all round and they did a wonderful job at effectively building tension and establishing this world without having to resort to heavy exposition.
I was invested in the narrative from start to finish, it's fast paced but also takes time to develop these characters appropriately and get us invested in them and it's an interesting and original premise where the stakes feel extremely high. It's a relevant commentary on society as we know it as well, an oppressive government with horrific immigration laws, the religious reaction to the idea, the conflict between activists, it's poignant stuff. The only thing I didn't like about the film that stood out to me was the sound of children's laughter over the end credits, it was a little corny, I wasn't a fan of the song choice for the end credits either, that's pretty much my only complaint though, it's near perfect otherwise.
If you haven't seen Children of Men, or if like me you saw it years ago and only have a fairly hazy memory of it, I would 100% recommend it to both hardcore and casual film fans! I'd go as far as calling it a masterpiece, I'm even considering putting it in my Top 10 list, it's that good! I was entertained, I was emotionally invested and there's a moment towards the end that had me in tears, I'm not exactly mentally stable though and I often tear up in strange moments during films so that might just be me, but still, it was extremely impactful and the planning that went into some of these scenes was impressive. I'm gonna give Children of Men a 9.3/10, if you haven't seen it, watch it!
What did you think of Children of Men?