If you’re looking for some action, mystery and great cinematography in your next watch, this Sky TV release is for you.
Released in 2006 and directed and co-written by Alfonso Cuaron (Y tu mamá también, Gravity, Roma), Children of Men is a dystopian thriller set in the year 2027, when 18 years of human infertility have led the Earth into a complete crisis.
In this landscape, and in a totalitarian, concentration camp-infested United Kingdom, former activist and bureaucrat Theo Faron is thrust into a situation where he must help a pregnant woman, Kee, escape the chaos and find a safe haven.
As Theo and Kee journey through the dangerous streets, they face various dangers, including government forces, gangs, and the despair of a world facing extinction.
Children of Men features Clive Owen as the main character and reluctant saviour, Clare-Hope Ashitey as the world’s first pregnant woman of her generation, Julianne Moore as the leader of a refugee liberation group, Chiwetel Ejiofor as her second-in-command, and Michael Caine as Theo’s revolutionary political cartoonist friend.
About the latter’s participation in the film, director Cuaron said to Cinematical: “Once he had the clothes and so on and stepped in front of the mirror to look at himself, his body language started changing. Michael loved it. He believed he was this guy”.
He also explained Caine took inspiration from his friend John Lennon when preparing for the character: “He wanted Jasper to be like an older John Lennon – he was friends with Lennon – and he wanted the body language and the nasal voice and the cadence of how he portrayed this character to reflect the way he said Lennon used to talk. And then after we shot some scenes, I saw some old footage of Lennon and it was identical”.
The film is an adaptation of P.D. James’ 1992 novel of the same name, and explores themes of hope, despair, loss, and the fragility of civilization in the face of existential threats.
Upon release, it received a warm box office welcome and critical acclaim – especially for its experimental single-shot sequences in long scenes, which are considered to be of high production difficulty.
Children of Men has a score of 92% on film reviewing aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, and is ranked 11th on Metacritic’s list of the greatest films of the 2000s, picked by critics.
Children of Men is now available for streaming on Sky TV.