Children of Men: It's Really Good

There's something so universal about the idea of post-apocalyptic films and how they relate to the experience of being human. At their best, the idea of these films is to take the very worst and, conversely, the very best of humanity and distill it down into an easier-to-understand story relative to a month-long sociological internet rabbit hole that would admittedly capture the nature of this idea in a more thorough fashion. We see ourselves in the people in these scenarios and wonder what we would do differently than them, and if we might sink to the level that some of these more depraved individuals do. What's more, these types of films are good at portraying the inherent strength of the human spirit and the inherent human will to survive against all odds, and I think this is a type of story that's just naturally attractive to people. Both great filmmakers and less-than-great filmmakers have been drawn to the genre, and while some might see it as an easy option when trying to make a movie, I like to think of the post-apocalyptic genre as one of the best ways to portray the fundamentals of humanity, and I think that makes me a little bit partial to it. Alfonso Cuaron's 2006 post-apocalyptic thriller Children of Men is no exception to this generality. The strength of the human spirit is, once again, displayed for all to see in this movie, and yet, I noticed something new about this film. This is the first time in a long time that I've watched a post-apocalyptic movie has felt so urgent and, yes, so believable. It feels that way because the people who brought it to life intimately understood the kind of world they wanted to create and the challenges the people inhabiting this world are facing. Yes, the problems the characters in Children of Men face weren't just a coat of paint slapped on it to add some action so that butts would slide into theater seats. These problems are intelligently used to show us how precious the human race, who I believe to be created in the image of God, really is. In a lot of ways, this film feels familiar. The Last of Us took a lot of cues from this movie, and the two occasionally feel very similar, though Children of Men did come first. Also, the film's cinematography style occasionally looks more like news footage than it does traditional cinematography, so in a way, it looks like every news story I've ever seen, and yet quite unlike anything I've ever seen before. Just trust me on this one.

Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón and based on P.D. James's 1992 novel The Children of Men, tells the story of Theo Ferron, a man in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic Britain who's been tasked with protecting Kee, a pregnant woman in a world where women have been unable to conceive children for eighteen years.

Right from the very first frame, this movie grabs you with the weight of the situation and really makes you understand what mass infertility would mean for our world. The problem is crafted to be immediate and attention-grabbing, and this movie gives you a really good sense of the plight its version of Earth is facing. The world-building of Children of Men is also remarkable, genuinely looking and feeling like the world stopped turning in the 2000s, which makes a lot of sense on the surface but plays with your subconscious in ways that'll probably make you go that's pretty cool. It's also emotionally and intellectually affecting as well. For example, one location in this movie is an abandoned elementary school, and this setting makes so much sense when you think about the context of the story being told. It's small things like this that just add so much to Children of Men. Truly, the level of detail on display here comes as close as anything else I've seen this year to breaking my sense of disbelief while watching a movie, and that's high praise if I've ever given it. This level of detail helps a film that's got a small scope, and as far as its characters go, I personally appreciate this movie's decision to zoom in tight on Theo and Kee. Sure, they're no Joel and Ellie, but the acting jobs in Children of Men more than get the job done. The plot of this movie is a solid one, if not necessarily the fanciest or most complex story ever told. It doesn't take any weird or unnecessary detours, and it also contains some intelligent revelations that are played really well. It's just very professional-feeling and visionary filmmaking from Cuarón and his entourage.

The weight of the apocalyptic situation this movie is facing - no babies being born - is also treated with a satisfying amount of weight. Very often, apocalyptic scenarios can feel really weightless in some movies because of the sheer inundation of this archetype. For example, how often does a movie about a giant comet hurtling towards Earth or a massive wave taking out San Fransisco affect you? These types of world-ending situations are treated as pulp entertainment rather than as self-serious scenarios, and I think that robs a lot of disaster and post-apocalyptic movies of a spark of illusion. Conversely, in Children of Men, the problem is treated with the utmost sincerity, weight, and respect, and in some instances, is used to create some of the most affecting moments I've seen in a movie ever. How many asteroids have we seen destroy the world? How many zombie apocalypses have we seen overtake humanity? How effective are these kinds of situations anymore? Children of Men is less about the world it's set in and more about the people who inhabit it, and this grounds the movie in a pretty raw humanity that puts you, the viewer, on its level. This movie doesn't just show you things. By trying to make the movie as relatable and human-centric as possible, Cuarón grabs you with the weight of the situation and makes certain that you understand the humanity of those being affected by it. He presents some raw truths of humanity to us and lets those truths carry us throughout Children of Men.

All in all, I really liked this movie, and I can see its influence on other more well-known areas of pop culture, stories like The Last of Us, and I think this is pretty cool. Children of Men is very personal and contains some really well-staged action sequences. Its surprises are genuinely surprising while also avoiding sending the film off the rails to Lord knows where, and its situation is effectively presented and occasionally used to legitimately touching effect. The attention to the details of the world is smart as well, as the film is set in 2027, but its aesthetic is stuck in 2009, which is when mass infertility first caused the global economic system to collapse in the timeline of Children of Men. It's partially the small things such as these that really sell this story to me in ways that other post-apocalyptic stories can't, and you can call the aesthetic choices production design conveniences if you want, given the year in which this movie was made. I personally prefer the term touch of genius. Now, one issue I have with the movie is that it sets a high standard right from the get-go, but doesn't really do anything to develop it. In other words, the movie doesn't get better as its story progresses, and this was a little frustrating for me, as it's just missing that final high note that would have easily earned it a perfect score in my book. But even if its finality might lack the impact I'd hoped it would have and which the movie had promised to have throughout, it also doesn't really make any major mistakes, and even occasionally touches greatness.

And believe me, as someone who's written stories in the past - what Children of Men did is something that's really hard to do.

Children of Men - 9/10

Psalm 127:3-5