Children of Men - A Secular Nativity Tale

Clive Owen is growing on me, and I don't mean in a fungal way. He has that brooding presence that works so well for Gothic romance heroes such as Heathcliffe and Darcy, though I've yet to actually see him in such a film.

Julianne Moore, on the other hand, has frequently blown me away with her performances, though I found The Forgotten a bit too much like its title for lasting satisfaction. Her touted presence in , then, understandably left me ambivalent about the prospect of seeing the film. Sure enough, her performance, or should I say her role, startled me. 'Nuff said.

Now, I have not yet had the pleasure of reading P. D. James' novel, but this film certainly encourages me to do so. What I really want to know is whether the original author, the screenwriter, or the collective film production team initiated all those sly Biblical Nativity parallels, some narrative, some visual, some dialogue, some mere passing quips. I must say, Michael Caine makes a curious Simeon (Luke 2:25ff), if that is who he was supposed to be. I did find the whole gender reversal tweak interesting, whenever it manifested. I also liked the fog and fresh beginnings and being lifted up into the visual clouds that is implied rather than shown.

But maybe it's just me, and all that stuff wasn't really there. So maybe I shouldn't be so offended that the pharisaic parallels were called "Fish". Really, I think I read too much into things and perhaps this movie really is the Bladerunner of its generation, though I think that's a bit of an insult to both vehicles, IMHO.