Children of Men (2006)
It’s 2027, and, for unexplained reasons, mankind has been infertile for almost twenty years. Theo Faron (Clive Owen) is an activist turned bureaucrat whose marriage disintegrated after his son died in a flu pandemic. His ex-wife, Julian Taylor (Julianne Moore), is a leader of The Fishes, a militant group fighting for the rights of immigrants.
Julian convinces Theo to help escort Kee, an immigrant refugee, out of the country to the “Human Project,” a possibly mythical group dedicated to curing infertility.
Along the way, Theo discovers Kee is pregnant, the first pregnancy on earth in almost twenty years. Because her status as a pregnant refugee could be very valuable to those opposed to government treatment of immigrants and dangerous to supporters of the current regime, Kee and Theo are hunted by factions from both sides as they attempt to rendezvous with the Human Project.
Clive Owen gives one of my favorite performances as Theo Faron, I’m not a fan of Julianne Moore, but she’s excellent as Julian, and Michael Caine is delightful as Theo’s hippy mentor / drug dealer, Jasper Palmer. Thankfully, Caine has extended his legendary career by morphing into a character actor with supporting roles in film like this. Long before his work in 12 Years a Slave (2013) brought him greater recognition, Chiwetel Ejiofor’s turn as overzealous activist Luke is riveting.
Alfonso Cuaron is one of the most exciting directors. Y tu Mama Tambien (2001) is an fascinating interpretation of the coming of age narrative, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) is often cited as the best in the series, and Gravity (2013) won him a well deserved Academy Award, but this may be his masterpiece.
Loosely based on the novel by P.D. James, this spellbinding film somehow manages to find hope and beauty in the bleakest vision of a dystopian future.
In America (2002)
Johnny Sullivan (Paddy Considine) and his wife Sarah (Samantha Morton) emigrate to America with their two daughters following the death of their son from a brain tumor.
Settling in Hell’s Kitchen, they slowly welcome neighbor Mateo (Djimon Honsou), an artist with HIV, into their lives.
Honsou was great in Amistad (1997), Gladiator (2000), and Blood Diamond (2006). He’s fine as the intimidating, albeit misunderstood Mateo, but the character is one-dimensional.
Jim Sheridan directed My Left Foot (1989), The Field (1990), and In the Name of the Father (1993), and oddly, the 50 Cent vanity project Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2005). I’m insanely curious to see how an old, white Irishman who specializes in films about the Irish experience adapted the story of a gangsta rapper to the big screen.
The movie has moments of brilliance including a masterfully cruel scene where Johnny’s attempts to win a doll for his child transform into a test of his manhood, but Sheridan’s best work is with frequent collaborator and fellow Irishman Daniel Day-Lewis. This film is just too saccharine and predictable. You know Mateo will die, you know the Sullivans will survive, and with no real tension, it’s too pedestrian to recommend.