Universal PicturesNow on DVD, “Children of Men” is a movie best viewed on DVD rather than in the theater because of the needless unanswered questions and a somewhat disappointing ending.
The film is one of great detail and work, but the plot leaves many hanging on for more. It leads into a journey that has no essence of the ultimate fate of the world, yes, the world.
“Children of Men” is a possible scenario of what life will be like 20 years from today. In 20 years, or in 2027, the world is in total chaos as some people continue working with no motivation and others are in desperate war over nothing. Because, after all, there is no future.
Woman can no longer conceive, and like other disasters in the past, society is in shambles and people are fighting just because. To top it all off, the youngest person on earth, who was 18, died. That means that man hasn’t been able to procreate for the past 18 years. It is quite an odd predicament that human beings are in, and the reasoning for the halt of fertility is unknown. But, it isn’t something that could never happen, which makes the movie even more desperate.
The main idea is that there may be hope. There is one woman, someone who is hidden from the public, and who is phenomenally pregnant. The journey is to get her to the Human Project, which some believe to be a safe haven, and which others believe doesn’t exist. The story takes place in a torn-down, anarchist-plagued and graffitied London.
Julianne Moore, who plays Julian, is a revolutionary member of rebels trying to help the young woman. She turns to her ex-husband and now-run-down alcoholic, ex-activist Clive Owen, or Theo, for immigration papers for the transfer. Unknowingly, Theo joins in the struggle to transport this woman, which he later finds is pregnant.
With a long list of misfortunes and plot twists, Theo becomes the main hero and safety provider for the woman, played by Claire-Hope Ashitey.
The special features of the DVD show the incredible time it took to produce such a complicated atmosphere. For instance, one scene was only about two minutes long, but took days to create. Theo is being interrogated in a small room with newspapers surrounding it. The catch was the producers had to create each newspaper layout, with headlines, captions and photos that all correlated with the news that would happen in the film. Furthermore, proof is in the high-tech cars and music that were created just for the film. It should be expected from a film that had a budget of $72 million.
The obstacles the main characters face makes this one a nail-biter. Some would say that the open-ended ending shows good craftsmanship. However, this one needs some closure for viewing pleasure and reassurance.
