Children of Men (2006)

Children of Men is a futuristic look at society two decades into the future. It stars Clive Owen.

This film takes place in the year 2027. Rather than things being so technologically advanced, the writers chose to have their technology circa 2010, because at that point the world fell apart- literally. The entire planet is in turmoil with anarchy prevalent everywhere except for Great Britian. “Jolly Good!” for the Brits, as theirs is the only country left. As if this wasn’t enough of a problem, on top of that, no one has been able to have a baby in almost twenty years. While the infertility specialists must be busy working on the problem, the other issue of the day is that England has been overrun with illegal aliens, called “fugees,” short for fugitives in the film.

While this is a cautionary, and apocalyptic look at mankind’s future, there is much unexplained here. Why is the world in anarchy, and the fugitives in England? What is the reason for worldwide infertility? And why is one women appearing to carry her pregnancy to term? Even at the end, I’m unsettled and wondering why raise so many questions without answers (kind of like a Senator Chucky Schumer Sunday press conference...).

While Children of Men has some intriguing visual imagery, including the futuristic cars designed to look beat up and old, the story is clearly lacking here. I feel like this movie was very half baked and too far from the mainstream to appeal to a mass audience.

Overall Grade: C

Derailed

Derailed is a character driven thriller starring Jennifer Aniston and Clive Owen. A chance meeting on a train throws the two of them together. They both seem to be the middle aged parents, executives in the business world, who have boring, daily existences. They end up falling for each other, and are on the fast track to an affair. At this point I was thinking that Derailed was quite similar to plenty of other films, and just another cookie cutter film. Boy, was I wrong. Things were not really what they seemed, and Owen ends up getting seriously blackmailed to hide the secret of what really went on. As he tries to hide the truth, it’s amazing to see how he keeps getting himself deeper and deeper into a world of lies, deceit and crime. At one point, he is in trouble with the police, his family and his employer all simultaneously; there appears no way out. Derailed is one dark movie, but mostly plausible. If you want to be a little disturbed and unsettled, with a thriller that’s a little different, than Derailed may just be for you.

Overall Grade: B+

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Inside Man (Universal Pictures, 2006)

Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) is having a rough day. Four hooded, masked criminals have taken control of a major New York City bank and are holding hostages. Yet somehow, this does not appear to be a typical bank robbery. The head robber (Clive Owen) appears to be motivated by something more than just money, and deftly manipulates Frazier, the police, and the hostages so that nobody can figure out what he's up to. Elderly bank owner Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer), considered a pillar of the community, acts as though he has something to hide. Complicating things even further is the presence of smug, smarmy Madeline White (Jodie Foster), who does "favors" for the rich and powerful and is hired by Case to make sure his interests are protected.

This is the backdrop of Spike Lee's thriller Inside Man, an excellent new take on the concept of the "perfect crime." Every breakthrough Frazier makes in the case poses more questions than it answers, and only at the very end do most (but not all) of the pieces fit together in a tidy fashion. Lee keeps the film very well paced from start to finish, inserting a handful of moments of levity (the best of which involves a young child explaining the point of a rather violent video game to an appalled Owen) to lighten the otherwise constant tension. All of the blue ribbon cast of actors perform to their reputations as well. The payoff comes as the details of the crime and the true motivation of the perpetrators are uncovered, revealing a brillianty thought out plan that's plausible enough to satisfy any sticklers for detail.

Inside Man is well conceived, well executed, and thought provoking, with a carefully designed plot that holds strong throughout the two-hour length of the film. It's been a while since I've seen as good a movie in the suspense genre.

Overall Grade: A-
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