Movie Review: Children of Men (2006)

Starring: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore and Chiwetel Ejiofor

Directed by: Alfonso Cuaron

The year is 2027 and the world is riddled with chaos. The entire female population is infertile and the longevity of humankind appears to be at stake. A former activist agrees to help a rebellious group transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a safe haven at sea.

Children of Men comes very critically acclaimed and boasts a rather impressive cast which includes the likes of Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Caine and Pam Ferris. I’m not usually one for enjoying a Clive Owen performance and that’s down to the horrendously abysmal Shoot ‘em Up. I hated everything about that movie and it really turned me off watching anything else with Clive Owen in it but it’s been a a long time since I watched Shoot ‘em Up so I decided to give him another shot. I found him to be very good in his role as he really loses himself within his character and his bond with Michael Caine was terrific to watch. Speaking of Michael Caine I found him to be excellent in his role as Jasper and is one of his better performances in recent years that I’ve seen for sure as he made it easy to emphasise with his character and was very comical too.

The story was very well told and was filled with tense and gritty moments that were really effective at having me on the edge of my seat. The only problem I had with the story was that the ending didn’t really answer all the questions that I had and there were quite a few loose ends that needed to be tied up but were left open which was a little frustrating. I found the use of handheld and shaky cam to be very important during siege towards the very end. Something as simple as leaving a blood splatter across the camera was really effective at highlighting the sheer danger that the people were in and the volatile nature of the world too.

Overall, Children of Men was very enjoyable movie to watch and is deserving of much of the raise it has received. Great ensemble performance with Michael Caine being the standout performer for me, he was a real treat to watch.

7/10