Children of Men aka the best movie of 2006 I didn’t see until 2007

As you know I try to keep my ear to the ground about upcoming movie releases but sometimes even the great Elliot let’s one slip by. Such was the case with Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men. This summer I read something about it at a festival but for whatever reason it didn’t stick with me perhaps because Cuaron’s breakthrough film Y Tu Mama Tambien did not do much for me (although I did think his Potter movie was the best in the series at the time). He was not a director that I would stand at attention for or mark my calendar for his release dates. Flash forward to December, when during the season finale of Doctor Who an extended trailer for the film premiered. Two things caught my eye right off the top; Clive Owen and the grainy washed out vision of the future Cuaron was sharing with us. Owen is an actor who I have yet to see give a bad performance. From his debut in Croupier, to his supporting role in Gosford Park , to his Oscar worthy performance in Closer, the man exudes a charm and wit that’s so natural you can’t help but like him even when he’s playing an asshole. Anyway, it stuck with me and when Newsweek named it to it’s top movies of 2006 my interest was piqued. Now in January the movie finally opens in wide release and after a glowing review from my buddy James, I finally got to see the picture on Tuesday.

Wow Bob Wow! As I briefly mentioned earlier in the week in an aside, this is the kind of movie experience where you leave the theater feeling both emotionally and physically affected. What largely appears to be a depressing dark film is actually a statement on the potential of the human race. Clive Owen is fantastic and once again manages to shine through a layer of dirt and grime. His ability to turn from a cynical ex-activist who believes in nothing to a vulnerable man who’s full of regrets and then back again, all in the matter of 30 seconds is amazing to behold. The supporting cast is quite good as well. Michael Cain shines as a drug dealing hippie leftover from the 80’s (yes I said 80’s). Also, Chike Owkafor who co-starred in the Whedon’s Serenity does another amazing job of playing a character who has many layers.

In fact, the word layers applies to every aspect of the film. It’s not like an onion layer that you peel off and throw away. These layers are more like the Russian stacking dolls where you can reveal a layer and then quickly cover it up with the outer shell. The movie is at once a drama, then a commentary on our society, then an action film, all wrapped in the outer casing of a sci-fi film. Conceptually the movie is brilliant and all too real for a sci-fi pic. The art direction manages to give the future just enough modern touch ups that they feel plausible if not inevitable. Last but not least, there is the cinematography which was the second thing that grabbed me during the extended preview. Cuaron and his cinematographer give you a depth of action in every shot that is fascinating to behold. Their verite approach to action scenes has been done before but never better. While I feel like I’m not the only one who let this pic sneak up on them, I’m secure in my belief that the cinematography will at least get recognized by the Academy. Of course I’ve already released my best of 2006 list (such are the risks you take when you adhere to a calendar date cutoff) but that won’t stop me from retro naming this the best film of last year (after all it’s my site and I make the rules) and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the best film I end up seeing in 2007 either.