'Children' of hope

Imagine that over the span of the next 20 years, our world decays. Governments fall, wars ravage the earth, pollution and famine run rampant, and somehow in the mix of all this, men and women can no longer procreate. A child hasn't been born in almost two decades, and when the youngest person on the planet dies at 18 years young, the world gives a reaction akin to the passing of Princess Diana. \nIn "Children of Men" (based on the novel by P.D. James) this world exists and within it lives Theo Faron (Clive Owen), a man who has given up on the world; at a time when the death of this 18-year-old hits the news programs, all Theo can care about is his morning cup of coffee. There is little enjoyment in his life, save the jokes and friendship that Jasper Palmer (Michael Caine) provides him with. All of this will change though as Theo is abducted by activists lead by his ex-wife (Julianne Moore) and shown the impossible: A pregnant woman -- a woman Theo must protect and guide out of the living hell that is London in the year 2027.\nTake Terry Gilliam's "Brazil" (which is itself a take on George Orwell's 1984) but strip out the comedic element; take "V for Vendetta" and amplify its police state London tenfold and you can grasp the kind of dystopian vision "Children of Men" presents. It's a world where people are placed in concentration camps before they're booted into the wilderness; the world so overcrowded that the government encourages suicide to control population.\nClive Owen gives a career-best performance as a man so broken down and tired of life that when presented with a woman who could bring new life into the world, his early hesitation dissipates as he finds the courage and drive to save her. The supporting cast only helps to bring out the best elements of Owen. Julianne Moore constantly pushes him while Michael Caine helps him relax. Of course it is newcomer Claire-Hope Ashitey as the pregnant Kee that makes Owen the most human.\nFor director Alfonso Cuarón, this is the best film he's done yet. A fair warning to those who are familiar with "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" or "Y tu mamá también": "Children of Men" is one of the most frightening and terrifying films in quite some time. The horrors of war and humanity's end bleed in every gray frame; it is a film that will shock you and make you gasp. Yet amidst all these nightmarish moments, you will be in awe of what Cuarón is accomplishing within the medium, especially during the roughly 8-minute one take sequence that finds Owen fighting to save the abducted Kee. \nSome of the ambiguity leaves the audience to interpret what has happened to the human race in the future, and considering "Children of Men" is released on Christmas Day, the last thing people want to do after opening their presents is see a film as alarming as this. But you should indeed see it and experience the bold vision of its filmmaker. It is sure to be one of the most critically lauded films of the year.