It’s hard to believe that 2006 was ten years ago. Let that sink in for a minute as you think back to watching High School Musical or when Taylor Hicks won American Idol. Besides making you feel old, I bring this up because it means that movies released in 2006 are now celebrating their 10 year anniversary. In honor of this, I’d like to highlight one of my favorite movies from a decade ago that despite its critical acclaim never received the attention it deserved.
Children of Men sets its story in 2027, 18 years after the last child was born. Humans have become infertile and despite scientist’s best efforts for a cure, humanity faces extinction. Clive Owen stars as “Theo,” a former activist who spends his days drinking and mourning. That changes when he becomes tasked with looking after humanity’s last hope, “Kee,” a young and pregnant refugee.
Children of Men is directed by Alfonso Cuaron, whose great work includes Gravity and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban which was arguably the best directed film of the “Harry Potter” series. Using a gritty, realistic approach and some of the most amazing one-shot sequences ever, Cuaron teleports you into this world of hardship and pain. Like the characters, led by an amazing cast of Owen, Julianne Moore and Michael Caine, you wonder if you’ll be able to make it out in one piece. The camera is stuck in the middle of all the action, and every bullet that whizzes by the characters or any other threat they face feels all the more menacing because the audience is right there beside them.
If nothing else, Children of Men is a study of great directing. Every shot is beautiful despite the ugly setting it inhabits, and those one-shot takes will leave you wondering just how they were able to pull it off. Fortunately for the film, the story is just as good, and still feels relevant today. So after you get over the initial shock that the mid-2000s were a decade ago, do yourself a favor and watch this movie, because unlike your Myspace page, Children of Men’s brilliance will live on.
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