I had been putting off writing a review for the film Children of Men because I had no idea what I’d write about. I know that I did not enjoy watching the film, yet I couldn’t pinpoint specifics as to why exactly I feel this way.
The 2006 film, based off of P.D. James’ novel The Children of Men, and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, has a very intriguing and original plot line and is very well made. It is a dystopian film, and portrays a future world where people can longer produce children and immigrant are harshly treated when they try to take banned refuge in England. It stars actors Clive Owen and Julianne Moore, who both did a great job portraying their characters Theo Faron and Julian Taylor. I especially enjoyed the character Michael Caine played, Theo’s father Jasper Palmer. I thought he had refreshing depth and character and added occasional and necessary comic relief.
However, Children of Men did not appeal to me as a whole and I think the reason why me is because it featured a lot of violence and upsetting footage. It’s not that I’m extremely squeamish and cannot take seeing this kind of material; it’s that I felt it was in excess. The gore overshadowed the plot and acting, and took away from the movie as a whole. I also didn’t like the setting – the scenery was comprised of mostly dark colors, which was depressing to watch.
This is not to say that Children of Men is not worth seeing however; I am glad that I had the opportunity to watch it and take in its message. The doomed future world portrayed is frighteningly eye-opening, and as any effective dystopian film should, serves as a warning to modern society.
Therefore, I appreciate the movie and its aims, but did not personally enjoy watching it. I would still encourage others to see it though, as it is interesting, and I know that many of my classmates enjoyed the film.
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