The Film
Near-doomsday films are a fascination among moviegoers. We know that everything has a beginning, and thus everything should also have an ending, this is the circle of life. What intrigues me about Children of Men is how they fictionally postulate that end may come.
Instead of aliens or robots or some evil force wiping man out, it is something more devious and uncontrollable at work: infertility. It started with a wave of stillbirths, and before long there weren’t even pregnancies. Playgrounds and schools grew quiet as the last born generation grew to adulthood.
Riots broke out, and governments lost control. Civilizations crumbled under the psychological weight of this phenomenon. The government started mandatory fertilization tests. Refugees from fallen countries tried to relocate to find a better life. People’s dreams for the future, their hope for a legacy was suddenly stillborn as the children that stopped being born. All that was left was Great Britain.
In 2027, eighteen years after the last child was born, we are introduced to Theo. Theo was once an idealist out to change the world. Now, he wonders why he’s still a part of it at all. Theo’s past connections come back to haunt him, and before long he asked by a former lover to escort something important out of the country. What is it? The first pregnant woman in 18 years.
In a story that is slightly chilling, set in a future that seems just real enough to be possible, Children of Men is a fantastic and original story that is sure to appeal to a large mature audience. It was refreshing to see a doomsday type movie that didn’t subscribe to the same cliches that these types of films have been adhering to for years.
Clive Owen gives a stellar performance in this film as Theo. We see his character grow from a worn out and depressed man into someone with purpose and motivation, presumably abating to the idealism of his youth. The supporting cast does a fine job as well, one of my favorite characters is an old hippie played by Michael Caine.
You aren’t beaten over the head with fake future technology, there are small advancements which are often very subtle. At times, you lost track of the fact that this movie is set in the future… until Caine’s character turns on some tunes and you see a hippie jamming out to some of the worst techno sounding screamo noise I’ve ever heard.
The Features
The following features are included on this Blu-Ray disc:
- Deleted Scenes
- Visual Effects: Creating The Baby
- Futuristic Design
- Theo & Julian
- Under Attack
- The Possibility of Hope
- Children of Men Comments By Slavoj Zizek
You also get Blu-Ray only exclusives including Info & Commercials from the year 2027, U-Control (with Picture in Picture), an access to the BD Live Community for even more exclusive content.