Children of Men

I'm just gonna say it. This is one of the best films of 2006.
It's 2027 and there hasn't been a child born in 18 years. No one really knows why, and on this particular morning the world is awaking to the news that the youngest person on the planet, "Baby Diego" has died. Theo Faron (Clive Owen) is a British reporter and former activist, who narrowly avoids being killed in a terrorist attack on a London coffee shop. These attacks are common place, as is the sense of despair. These are just things that people have come to live with. Soon after, Theo is kidnapped only to discover that his ex-wife Julian (Julianne Moore) is responsible for snatching him. She needs his help, and so does Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey), the young woman who is inexplicably pregnant.
Explaining the state of all of the warring factions within the world of "Children of Men" would take quite awhile. Suffice it to say, Kee needs to get somewhere safe to have her child. It is going to be an incredible task with danger at every turn, one that Theo reluctantly takes on.
Director Alfonso Cuaron provides "Children" with a sense of urgency like I've never seen before on film, with no small contribution from cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki ("The New World"). It is a relentlessly intense, gripping, and thoroughly mind-blowing experience. It is a very rare thing to see an action sequence that truly feels real. This film is loaded with them, and they only serve to heighten its emotional impact. Five screenwriters have adapted the novel by P.D. James, and the result amazingly never feels diluted. I've heard the argument that "Children of Men" raises many questions that it never answers, but the real story isn't about why women can't have babies, but about giving Kee the chance to have hers.
Despite its subject matter, "Children of Men" is ultimately brimming with hope and actually has a great sense of humor, thanks in large part to the performance of Michael Caine as an aging hippie who's an old friend of Theo's. If Oscar voters had any taste, "Children of Men" and "United 93" would be the two most serious contenders for Best Picture and Best Director. As it stands, I don't expect either to even get nominated, but what do you expect?
Go see this movie now. 10/10

Still to come...
Reviews of "Pefume: The Story of a Murderer" and "Notes on a Scandal."