Saturday, April 14, 2007

Watchlist 2007

Children of Men. What happens to civilization when it can no longer have children? It breaks down. Thus begins Children of Men, a dark, depressing movie set against the backdrop of the grim England of 2027.

Clive Owen does his usual stellar acting job. I've enjoyed his work ever since his turns as the Driver in the BMW shorts. Here he's just your ordinary pencil-pusher, who gets unwillingly thrust in the role of protector. A woman has gotten pregnant, amust get her to a mysterious group called The Human Project, who are trying to figure out why there are no more births.

A couple of people I talked to hated this movie, saying it was hard to follow. Personally, I liked the movie. I didn't really find it that hard to figure out what was going on, although you do have to follow the dialogue somewhat in order to catch some things. Another complaint was that there was "too much talking". Sure, it's no 300, but does every movie have to be? There were a lot of "action sequences", but just enough to fit the movie.

In the final analysis, though, I liked this movie because it made me think. About how it would be like without my kids, without the ability to have kids. About what side I would be on--the government, desperately seeking to keep control of a crumbling society? The rebels, who want to use whatever they can as a symbol, even if it means losing their souls? Everything is in shades of gray--even The Human Project.

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