The Bottom Line
- Film's dark vision of the near future is a thought-provoking cautionary tale
- Strong performances by entire cast
- Movie is not relentlessly downbeat, offering touches of humor and some rays of hope
- Movie is too bleak for viewers seeking nothing more than entertainment
- Film sets up high level of dramatic tension at first, but doesn't sustain it throughout
- Raises many questions that are left unanswered (could be a pro)
Description
- DVD containing near-future drama Children of Men (2006) directed by Alfonso Cuarón
- Movie nominated for 3 Oscars (Cinematography, Film Editing, Adapted Screenplay)
- Film stars Clive Owen supported by Julianne Moore and Michael Caine
- DVD contains a total of about one hour of bonus materials
- DVD provides 33 minutes of bonus materials that relate movie's fictional future world to real world
- DVD contains short featurettes on production design, action sequences and visual effects
- MPAA rating: R for strong violence, language, some drug use and brief nudity
- Feature film run time: 1 hour 49 minutes
- DVD release date: March 27, 2007
Guide Review - Children of Men DVD Review
Children of Men creates an unforgettable vision of things as they might be in 2027. The film is disturbing because its fictional world is all too recognizable as a possible projection of the real world we're living in today.
Evocative cinematography and direction add credibility to the film's depiction of a dystopian near future. The story takes place in Britain, where the government must deal with terrorists, rebels and refugees. In trying to cope with the situation, the nation has turned into a police state. As bad as conditions are in Britain, they are worse in most of the rest of the world. And the despair of people all over the globe is deepened by the fact that no human baby has been born for 18 years.
Clive Owen gives a fine performance as the central character, an alcoholic bureaucrat named Theo Faron. Through an old flame (Julianne Moore), he gets involved with the Fishes, an underground organization that fights for immigrants' rights. They have found a woman who is pregnant, and the ramifications that flow from her bearing the world's first child in many years are mind-boggling. Faron takes on the dangerous mission of delivering her to something known as the Human Project, but there are complications. Along the way, he gets some help from an aging, marijuana-growing hippie (Michael Caine at his best).
The feature film alone makes the DVD worth renting, but this is a movie that many will want to watch repeatedly and explore in greater depth. Based on the artistic quality of the film and worthwhile special features, I recommend this DVD as a purchase.
