Children
of Men (2007)
Universal
Cast:
Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine
Rating:
R.
Run
time: 109 mins
Genre:
Science fiction/fantasy
Verdict:
Beautiful
(see rating
system)
If
you can swallow the basic premise - all women on Earth suddenly
become infertile - this is a pretty good sci-fi thriller.
It’s
2027, 18 years after the last child was born. All nations
are torn by violence and despair as the end of the human race
approaches. Many desperate refugees head for Britain, where
an authoritarian regime in Britain keeps a shaky grip on a
crumbling society. Illegal immigrants are rounded up and thrown
in detention camps.
Julian
(Julianne Moore) is an underground opposition leader wanted
by the state. She contacts her old lover Theo (Clive Owen),
a former activist with government contacts to see if he’ll
help spirit a young woman to the coast and a ship to a safe
haven.
Julian
and Theo have unfinished romantic business that must wait
as he reluctantly undertakes a treacherous mission through
a war-torn land as police and army battle anti-government
forces..The movie generates a lot of tension and there are
good performances all round.
Michael
Caine contributes an amusing cameo as a burned out hippy who
provides Theo with a country hideout.I don’t buy the
mass infertility idea and we’re never told what causes
it. That said, this is an entertaining yarn.
