ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

SCIENCE FICTION films have become a hostage to lavish special-effects and elaborate action sequences. We’ve almost forgotten that they can be about ideas as much as spectacle.

‘Children Of Men’ attempts to redress the balance with a convincing vision of the near future that serves as the background for an exciting and thought-provoking thriller.

Based on a novel by P. D. James, ‘Children Of Men’ is set in the Britain of 2027. It is almost twenty years since the women of the world became infertile. Humanity is facing extinction, anarchy reigns across most of the planet, and all hope has died.

Britain has retained a semblance of order, fiercely guarding its island status and using the full force of a tyrannical state to protect the rights of the rich and powerful.

Clive Owen plays Theo, a once influential activist now lost in drink and disillusion. Julianne Moore is Julian, a former love who begs for his help in arranging safe passage for Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey), a young woman whose pregnancy may be a random miracle or humankind’s best chance for a future.

Well known for the acclaimed Mexican drama ‘Y Tu Mama Tambien’ (2001) and the dark, beguiling ‘Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban’ (2004), director Alfonso Cuaron invests the film with intelligence and urgency.

He makes expert use of handheld camerawork and brings a sense of credibility to the events. This is a film in which we really care about the characters and become caught up in their fate.

Clive Owen also deserves praise for creating a believable portrait of a man reluctantly drawn to the actions of a hero. Co-stars Julianne Moore, Michael Caine and Peter Mullan are given too little to do, but Owen is equal to the task of carrying this absorbing dystopian drama on his shoulders.

Nationwide release

Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Star: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine,Clare-Hope Ashitey, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Peter Mullan
Screenwriter: Alfonso Cuaron, Timothy J Sexton, David Arata based on the
novel by PD James
Certificate: 15
Running time: 108 mins
Country: UK
Year: 2006

© Allan Hunter, 2006