Post by Deleted on May 6, 2012 17:49:59 GMT -5
Each of us wonders what the future will be like: some of us envision it being a techno-wonderland with flying cars and robots being a part of everyday life; others see it as mankind reaching a utopia of enlightenment; then there are some people who predict a deathly wasteland brought about by some horrific global cataclysm. When it comes to such a prediction about the future, most theories point to something that virtually happens overnight; such as an asteroid collision, nuclear war, or a super-volcanic eruption. Yet, there are a few lesser known theories that would suggest that it is something that happens over a long period of time; be it an ice age, mass pollution of the environment, or just simply the decline of the human race. In Alfonso Cuaron’s apocalyptic tale, Children of Men, set in the year 2027, we are shown a world ravaged by a panic-stricken humanity due to an eighteen-year-long pandemic of infertility. With virtually no hope of a new generation being born, humanity is left staring into the very face of extinction. Such a premise is chilling enough alone, but Cuaron proves his talents as a filmmaker by how he crafts such a bleak tale with solid acting, consistent writing, well-developed characters, and an important message. Even if Children of Men is flawed by overused music, some unconvincing visual effects, and few unexplained plot points, the film proves to be quite a memorable experience.
The film’s focal setting is in Britain, where we follow a man named Theo Farin (played by Clive Owen), who is given a proposition by Julian (played by Julian Moore), his former lover and head of an anti-government resistance group known as the Fishers, to assist a young woman (played by Clare-Hope Ashitey) in fleeing the country and its oppressive government. At first, Theo is hesitant to take up on Julian’s offer, being that he does not want to become wanted by the government. Yet, unbeknownst to him, the very mission he is afraid to take may hold the key to humankind’s survival.
Cuaron really went out of his way to paint a bleak, apocalyptic atmosphere that totally rivals other apocalyptic tales such as 28 Days Later and The Road. Dark clouds are ever so present in this film, but are completed by how they are used as a backdrop for dilapidated cities and scorched pastures, effectively adding that apocalyptic vibe. The camera stunningly captures these environments by how it looms overhead, taking in every bit of detail to produce an unsettling feeling for the viewer. The camera is also superbly used by how it just sits while filming, giving a flow of normality and unawareness, right before an action sequence takes place (such as a terrorist bombing or a vicious raider ambush), which in turn makes it even more surprising.
The acting in this film, for the most part, was quite well-done, with the cast impressively delivering their performances with their respective roles. I felt like none of them overacted or underacted, for they seemed to remain natural and convincing throughout the film. Michael Caine was especially amusing with his role as Jasper, a wisecracking free-thinker, and by how he was capable of delivering both words of wisdom and crude humor with an unusual sense of charm; as a result, Jasper became my favorite character in the film. However, I did find the chemistry between Owen and Moore to be underdeveloped, especially since Moore’s character is not given enough screen time. While we are given a background story of the characters’ previous relationship, I strongly felt like the film could have gone deeper in that aspect and shared much more that would have made the onscreen chemistry work much better.
The musical score in the film is quite nice, giving a vibe that matches the apocalyptic world of Children of Men. However, there is this one track of a soprano woman singing that I found to be overused throughout the film. It served has a theme for both moments of despair and hope, which I found to be inconsistent since it should apply to either just one or the other. A film should have wide diversity of musical tracks so that the score has a vibrant and ever changing flow, yet each piece of music matches the situation that is occurring. Regardless, most of the music in Children of Men is spot on and fits with the situations perfectly.
Regarding Cuaron’s use of special effects for the film, they were quite stunning when it came to crafting an explosion, an action-packed warzone, and critical injuries & deaths. Yet, I was really unimpressed when it came to crafting an entire character with computer generated imagery. Because I do not want to give away any spoilers, I will not mention if this is before or after the epidemic, so I will just leave it at this: in the third act of the film, we are shown a baby entirely comprised of CGI. Upon seeing this, I just rolled my eyes and could tell that the baby was computer generated. I could understand them using some visual effects for the baby’s birth, but afterwards they could have just used a real baby for the remainder of the film instead of bad CGI. Especially since Stuart Little the mouse was a much more believable CG character than the baby in this film. While this did not ruin the film for me, it served as a painful reminder of how CGI is increasingly being overused in films.
While the film’s pacing had a really nice fluid flow to it, but there were several moments that broke the consistent pace. One is in the beginning, in which Theo seems to accept the mission too quickly without being given enough time to think it through properly. Another is when our protagonists go from being in Jasper’s neck of the woods, to being at an abandon elementary school, without their being enough content in-between this transition. Finally, the ending of the film just seemed to be totally rushed and flat-out abrupt. With that in mind, and I will not spoil the ending, but I will add that I wish they would have added a bit more of content to the ending to give a better sense of closure to the story.
In terms of the plot, and while it does hold up very well, there were a few story elements that were left unexplained. We know that it is an epidemic in infertility, and terrified reaction to it, which has brought about the apocalypse, yet the film never reveals what exactly causes infertility to become a global pandemic. As for the Human Project, a secret global organization that wishes to preserve humanity, we are never given a full background as to what exactly do they do, who they are, how the Fishers had gotten knowledge of them, or what kind of treatment they will provide for Kee. That is something that the movie could have gotten a lot more detail upon, and yet it only gives the basics, which leaves to only assume that Kee will be in goods rather than knowing for sure. Finally, what was it that kept Britain together while the rest of the world was falling victim to madness and hysteria? It is stated in the film that “only Britain soldiers on”, but for what reasons is never fully explained. If I were to take a guess, I would say that it was through having a strict, totalitarian, and xenophobic (anti-immigrant) government that kept the nation from falling into complete ruin. Even so, we could apparently see that the British were still succumbing to ruination like every else.
Finally, I must evaluate Children of Men’s theme of a dark, bleak world that has seeming ran out of hope. It is through the telling of this apocalyptic tale that it gives a message about how we assume things like resources, abundance, fertility, and civilization, are always going to be there. We keep on thinking that the world as it is now will always remain as such, that humans will never be threatened with extinction, and that are basic human rights and civil liberties will never be taken away from us. The content and overall story of Children of Men serves as a reminder that such assumptions are foolish and gravely incorrect, for we choose to blissfully ignore the fragility of our species like we do with life itself. While the film depicts a pandemic of infertility, I can guarantee that depletion of global resources or even economic collapse would yield much of the same chaotic and terrifying results. So not only does the film teach us that there may be hope in the most hopeless of times, it also teaches that we need to value the vital things we have in life and not be careless with our resources. We carelessly overuse our resources, and that is an outlook we need to change if we are to have a much brighter future.
Overall, I am very satisfied with this movie, and I consider it a must see for those who are either film buffs and/or have an interest in the apocalypse. Even if it is not the best apocalyptic film out there, I would definitely deem it as being among the best. The story will leave a lasting impact on all who view it, making one ponder on life, the future, and what they can do to make a difference.
Rating: 8 out of 10
The film’s focal setting is in Britain, where we follow a man named Theo Farin (played by Clive Owen), who is given a proposition by Julian (played by Julian Moore), his former lover and head of an anti-government resistance group known as the Fishers, to assist a young woman (played by Clare-Hope Ashitey) in fleeing the country and its oppressive government. At first, Theo is hesitant to take up on Julian’s offer, being that he does not want to become wanted by the government. Yet, unbeknownst to him, the very mission he is afraid to take may hold the key to humankind’s survival.
Cuaron really went out of his way to paint a bleak, apocalyptic atmosphere that totally rivals other apocalyptic tales such as 28 Days Later and The Road. Dark clouds are ever so present in this film, but are completed by how they are used as a backdrop for dilapidated cities and scorched pastures, effectively adding that apocalyptic vibe. The camera stunningly captures these environments by how it looms overhead, taking in every bit of detail to produce an unsettling feeling for the viewer. The camera is also superbly used by how it just sits while filming, giving a flow of normality and unawareness, right before an action sequence takes place (such as a terrorist bombing or a vicious raider ambush), which in turn makes it even more surprising.
The acting in this film, for the most part, was quite well-done, with the cast impressively delivering their performances with their respective roles. I felt like none of them overacted or underacted, for they seemed to remain natural and convincing throughout the film. Michael Caine was especially amusing with his role as Jasper, a wisecracking free-thinker, and by how he was capable of delivering both words of wisdom and crude humor with an unusual sense of charm; as a result, Jasper became my favorite character in the film. However, I did find the chemistry between Owen and Moore to be underdeveloped, especially since Moore’s character is not given enough screen time. While we are given a background story of the characters’ previous relationship, I strongly felt like the film could have gone deeper in that aspect and shared much more that would have made the onscreen chemistry work much better.
The musical score in the film is quite nice, giving a vibe that matches the apocalyptic world of Children of Men. However, there is this one track of a soprano woman singing that I found to be overused throughout the film. It served has a theme for both moments of despair and hope, which I found to be inconsistent since it should apply to either just one or the other. A film should have wide diversity of musical tracks so that the score has a vibrant and ever changing flow, yet each piece of music matches the situation that is occurring. Regardless, most of the music in Children of Men is spot on and fits with the situations perfectly.
Regarding Cuaron’s use of special effects for the film, they were quite stunning when it came to crafting an explosion, an action-packed warzone, and critical injuries & deaths. Yet, I was really unimpressed when it came to crafting an entire character with computer generated imagery. Because I do not want to give away any spoilers, I will not mention if this is before or after the epidemic, so I will just leave it at this: in the third act of the film, we are shown a baby entirely comprised of CGI. Upon seeing this, I just rolled my eyes and could tell that the baby was computer generated. I could understand them using some visual effects for the baby’s birth, but afterwards they could have just used a real baby for the remainder of the film instead of bad CGI. Especially since Stuart Little the mouse was a much more believable CG character than the baby in this film. While this did not ruin the film for me, it served as a painful reminder of how CGI is increasingly being overused in films.
While the film’s pacing had a really nice fluid flow to it, but there were several moments that broke the consistent pace. One is in the beginning, in which Theo seems to accept the mission too quickly without being given enough time to think it through properly. Another is when our protagonists go from being in Jasper’s neck of the woods, to being at an abandon elementary school, without their being enough content in-between this transition. Finally, the ending of the film just seemed to be totally rushed and flat-out abrupt. With that in mind, and I will not spoil the ending, but I will add that I wish they would have added a bit more of content to the ending to give a better sense of closure to the story.
In terms of the plot, and while it does hold up very well, there were a few story elements that were left unexplained. We know that it is an epidemic in infertility, and terrified reaction to it, which has brought about the apocalypse, yet the film never reveals what exactly causes infertility to become a global pandemic. As for the Human Project, a secret global organization that wishes to preserve humanity, we are never given a full background as to what exactly do they do, who they are, how the Fishers had gotten knowledge of them, or what kind of treatment they will provide for Kee. That is something that the movie could have gotten a lot more detail upon, and yet it only gives the basics, which leaves to only assume that Kee will be in goods rather than knowing for sure. Finally, what was it that kept Britain together while the rest of the world was falling victim to madness and hysteria? It is stated in the film that “only Britain soldiers on”, but for what reasons is never fully explained. If I were to take a guess, I would say that it was through having a strict, totalitarian, and xenophobic (anti-immigrant) government that kept the nation from falling into complete ruin. Even so, we could apparently see that the British were still succumbing to ruination like every else.
Finally, I must evaluate Children of Men’s theme of a dark, bleak world that has seeming ran out of hope. It is through the telling of this apocalyptic tale that it gives a message about how we assume things like resources, abundance, fertility, and civilization, are always going to be there. We keep on thinking that the world as it is now will always remain as such, that humans will never be threatened with extinction, and that are basic human rights and civil liberties will never be taken away from us. The content and overall story of Children of Men serves as a reminder that such assumptions are foolish and gravely incorrect, for we choose to blissfully ignore the fragility of our species like we do with life itself. While the film depicts a pandemic of infertility, I can guarantee that depletion of global resources or even economic collapse would yield much of the same chaotic and terrifying results. So not only does the film teach us that there may be hope in the most hopeless of times, it also teaches that we need to value the vital things we have in life and not be careless with our resources. We carelessly overuse our resources, and that is an outlook we need to change if we are to have a much brighter future.
Overall, I am very satisfied with this movie, and I consider it a must see for those who are either film buffs and/or have an interest in the apocalypse. Even if it is not the best apocalyptic film out there, I would definitely deem it as being among the best. The story will leave a lasting impact on all who view it, making one ponder on life, the future, and what they can do to make a difference.
Rating: 8 out of 10