Children Of Men - Trailer - Click here for more home videos

Children of Men is a grim drama set in 2027. The world is in chaos because humans can no longer create offspring. The basic plot revolves around Theo, a reluctant hero, who transports a pregnant young woman to a sanctuary. it is set in London. Immigrants are kept in cages and trains have gridiron protection as they are vandalised by people on the tracks. There are numerous 'terrorist' organisations, although in the future world of the film, these 'terrorist' cells are merely groups who offer radical changes, but the government sees them as a threat. Alfonso Cuaron uses a lot of extended tracking shots to keep the action free-flowing and realistic. One sequence near the end is a battle scene in a ruined city. It is all shot in one take, with the few minutes its occupying travelling hundreds of metres through various battles and deaths.

London is presented as a grimy, grey landscape, colourless and lifeless. The cinematography creates a grey, almost deadening tinge to each shot, adding a sense of depression. The use of Steadicam in violent, shocking situations creates an ultra-realistic feel, which makes the film all the more shocking.

Posted by Michael McGroarty