The Man-child Goes to the Movies

Children of Men was much better than I was led to believe, but just as good as I originally thought.

Sound confusing?

For some reason I went in with the idea that the movie was not incredibly well-received by the critics. I know I had read people praising Alfonso Cuaron, the director, but not the movie. So there was a slight apprehension in shelling out $7.50 (can you believe that’s how much a matinee costs! I just don’t get out to the movies enough, and maybe I know why) for something that might not be that good. But then I realized, of course, that this is true regardless of what critics say, and that my individual tastes would be the final arbiter, at least for me.

An interesting side-note about me (okay, maybe it’s only interesting to me, but whatever): I try very hard to not read criticisms or watch trailers of movies I want to see, because I don’t want to go in with too many preconceived notions about the movie. Does this make it hard for me to decide which movies to watch? Of course. But I find that if I haven’t watched a trailer, I won’t be disappointed that after watching the movie, I had already seen all the good scenes and/or heard all the funny jokes.

So back to this movie. It is very, very good. It’s a dark, grim look at the future where there is universal, unexplained infertility for the past 18 years. It’s a movie about rebellion and redemption (always great themes), and it is carried off well by a cast that carries name recognition, but not necessarily star-power, at least in the U.S. Clive Owen has made a career of being excellent in more independent-feeling movies (Gosford Park, Closer, Sin City, and Derailed), and failing slightly short in his bigger movie,the awful King Arthur (yes, awful). He’s great in this, in that he his perfectly believable in the role he’s in. Michael Caine, who of course is well-known, gives us something you wouldn’t expect in a very familiar role. And Julianne Moore, an actress I personally can’t abide (and not so much for her acting abilities, but for the fact that people think she’s so beautiful, but I don’t see it), also doesn’t stray beyond the role of her character. I feel casting an American in a movie about Britain (and a Britain that is completely xenophobic) might be a bit of stretch, but I can live with it.

The two stars in my mind are Claire-Hope Ashitey as Kee, and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Luke. Ashitey is a newcomer, but having the pivotal role in this movie, she does it well. She is affable and scared, and puts in a wonderful performance. Ejiofor, an actor I first encountered in the movie Serenity, is great. He has the suave sophistication one would associate with his British accent, and he uses that to great advantage when playing cold yet philosophical bad guys. It’s quite compelling to watch him on the screen, and I will not be surprised that he becomes a major star in the near future.

The last thing about this movie that is so amazing is that it is science fiction. Science fiction does not often do well on the big screen, even a movie that is more about dystopia rather than “the deep future.” It is problematic because trying to get a large audience to disconnect and reconnect so quickly is usually quite jarring. I think this movie does it well, though, by creating a setting where the facts of the world around them are integrated seamlessly. There is no opening narration, because that would be trite. You get what you need to know throughout the course of the movie, no more, and often much less than you would want. For example, no one will ever explain why there are no more babies. They don’t know. Maybe someone, somewhere knows, but not these people. And therefore, neither do you. I think this enhances the movie, because it adds a layer of mystery and the sinister to the story. Also, what explanation would be plausible enough to an audience that they would accept it immediately? Probably none. So instead of wasting time trying to do the impossible, they just allow for it to be, which is good, because it’s rather central to the plot.

I don’t think this movie is for everyone. It’s dark and harsh and requires some leaps of faith that you might not be ready for. The ending might be disappointing to some. The direction is very good, although I think the scene where there is blood on the camera is poor – we are not in this movie, Cuaron, so please maintain the fourth wall. I think it’s worth seeing, and worth the $7.50 I paid to do so.