First Take: Children of Men- dystopian ideals meet the mind of Alfonso Cuaron

SYNOPSIS: In 2027, in a chaotic world in which women have become somehow infertile, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea.

As part of the World Cinema module I took on Film, Media and Popular Culture last year, we covered the work of Alfonso Cuaron. Now, this was a film he made just after taking on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but before he made Gravity. And for an adaptation of a 1992 book, especially one of a more brutal topic, it’s pretty damn good.

Cuaron directs this one with his usual style and flair, and it’s not hard to argue that his work here would became a hallmark of his filmmaking signature going forward- he’s bold with his vision, and having just taken on a big franchise film, he wasn’t afraid to experiment at all. Sure, 5 writers had some input on that script, but Cuaron, David Arata, Timothy Sexton, Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby are able to take that P.D James book, and turn it in to a good screenplay that creates a brutal world and feel for 2027 London (where no children are born), something which I would write about for one of my assignments- that tells you a lot about the levels of quality we have here. That brings me on to the cinematography, and Chivo himself is behind the camera. Yes, Emmanuel Lebezski nailed it here. And some of the shots are genuinely worth drooling over- one of the tracking shots in this film is just purely mindboggling in its execution. As for the score, John Tavener’s music just about does the job.

Performance wise, Clive Owen leads this cast incredibly well, and it’s obvious he got to know that character incredibly well (providing uncredited additions to the script)- supporting him is a stacked roster of talents that include Michael Caine (with long hair and a beard, yes, really), Julianne Moore, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Huston and Charlie Hunnam amongst many others. This may be a major Hollywood release, but Cuaron is able to make this feel like an independent film just through the way he tells this story- yes, it is a bleak film, and a very difficult watch at times, but from an academic standpoint, I could write a 2500 word assignment on this film (which I did, comparing this and Roma’s presentation of locations), but from a review standpoint, aside from a few small pacing issues, I can’t find much to fault.

THE VERDICT

Children of Men is one of Cuaron’s stronger English language films, and considering how much knowledge he has attained by shooting his films here in the UK (well, his major Hollywood pictures at least), even though it’s a bleak future he’s shown off here, and one that makes you think very critically, this feels like a very well thought out piece of cinema.

RATING: 4.5/5