One of the best quotes that I saw from Ray Bradbury commenting on his writing was “I don’t try to predict the future, I try to prevent it.” In watching Children of Men (adapted from P.D. James’ novel) I thought about the present and the near future a lot. It’s a bleak vision of the future that is shot in a hand-held, immediate way with virtuoso shots that go on and on, enhancing the experience and lending a documentary feel to the entire experience.
Within the film are some of the most incredible extended sequences that I’ve ever seen in a film.
It immerses you in a world and tells a story in an immediate and fragmented nature that gradually allows you to piece the bigger picture together. While some darker films may wallow in the muck of the world that is created, there is a dignity and respect that Alfonso Cuaron has for the characters that kept me going through the darker stretches of the film. The darkness is also balanced with some humorous moments and harrowing action sequences that make for one of the best films that I’ve seen in a very long time.
