Children of Men.

we went to see Children of Men last friday. for those who don't know, it's a dystopian vision of britian in 2027 after 18 years of unexplained human infertility and the effective collapse of civilization as we know it. clive owen plays the main character, a rumpled cynic who ends up trying to save a young woman who is "miracuously" pregnant from anyone and everyone who wants to use her pregnancy for their own personal gain.

i thought it was a really great movie. i'm really disappointed neither of the two lead actors has gotten any recognition this awards season, because they both definitely deserve it. do, however, ignore any other reviews of this movie that talk about clive owen's character's "transformation." he never really transforms. he basically has pretty strong principles, and he doesn't have any time for bullshit. that's not to say there's no character development, but you ust get the feeling that he goes about his life doing what he has to do. in the beginning, that's working a shit job, trying to avoid terrorist bombings, and getting stoned. when he meets the pregnant claire-hope ashitey (who really deserves at least a nomination), that means keeping her and her unborn baby safe. basically, the whole movie is him doing what he feels he has to do and not putting up with bullshit, no matter how crazy and disgusting and violent it gets.

and it does get violent. as we were walking out of the theatre, he commented to me, "this is the type of movie you'd study in film class." and he's right. alfonso cuarón has done an excellent job with this movie. except for two really glaring continuity errors, you get the feeling like this is a movie where nothing is onscreen by accident. even when blood gets splashed on the camera lense and stays there for the whole take, it doesn't look like a mistake. neither does it look like a self-concious breaking of the fourth wall; it's more, in my mind at least, almost like a sign of intimacy.

some parts of the movie are funny, and ultimately it ends on a note of hope, but it's not a happy movie. and it's never going to be a mainstream smash hit. it reminds me a little bit of Gattaca, in a way. like gattaca, it's a dystopic vision of the not-too-far-awayfuture. in 5 years, it'll be mentioned in cautionary postings by slashdotters. but i would definitely recommend seeing it. am i still using carrots? 3 1/2 carrots.