Movie: Children of Men

My friend Gary Astleford at Neuro Suction has just been lamenting his current situation - being unable to run a game session, and not having had the chance for almost a year now. Welcome to my world, Gary. I think it's been a good couple of years since I actually GM'd a game, probably at GenCon. It hasn't stopped me writing though, and inspiration these days seems to be quite thick in the air.

Case in point. Last night I watched Children of Men. I must say that it was nice to see an English/European dystopian film, like one of my all-time favourites - Nineteen Eighty-Four directed by Michael Radford and starring John Hurt. Children of Men is an excellent look at a dark future society that would fit right into the Cyberpunk: Aftershock world. The violence is real, without the need for hollywood pyrotechnics, the cinematography uses the single-shot sequence liberally and to great effect as it makes you feel you are a part of the action, and the world that director Alfonso Cuaron has created doesn't give that CGI feel that so many American made films these days do.

The film also puts the characters in the action and they are subjected to its events, like balls in a pinball machine bouncing of the bumpers they react to the scene as it unfolds around them, rather than the traditional action film of the characters directing the events themselves. This all adds to the hopelessness of the situation and the despair that each character feels - the inability to actually decide an outcome for themselves - they always seem to be taking the first available opportunity to present itself.

The characters are believable and Clive Owen's acting is excellent. His character knows he's out of his depth from the moment the first bullets begin to fly, and there is no time for painting a romantic hue over any of the film - it's brutally honest, full of swearing, blood, gore and liberal doses of political finger-pointing. For those who want to look deeper there is plenty of imagery, from the strong religious theme that underpins the film to the constant reference and allusion to modern events and problems such as terrorism and immigration. This is one of those rare films I would give 10/10 to and suggest to anyone interested in the Dark Future to watch, more than once.