Film: Children of Men

I've just seen this (as an alternative to sitting around *not* seeing the Paul Kelly cabaret 'Just woke up from a coma' at the Spiegeltent, but that's another story...). The small cinema 8 at the Nova was almost full (it was cheap night Monday), and there was a lovely atmosphere of expectation. The film didn't disappoint.

Gripping from its very start, it propelled us through a grimly recognisable world in the near future, a dirty discordant England in 2028 hanging onto a civilisation after the rest of the world seems to have self-destructed in terrorism, war, pollution and civil unrest. Hang on, those exactly describe the Britain shown, heavily but convincingly based on an updated 1984 (actually from a PD James novel, of all things). The direction, camerwork and mise-en-scene work together superbly, and they together with Clive Owen's central performance take us into the thick of this mysterious chase through a world we don't want to be in but seem to be edging towards. Several amazing set-pieces, some not without a lot of humour, had the audience gasping, but for all the adreneline the serious themes and comments on current events come though clearly.

Very highly recommended.