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I finally caught Children of Men last night, at a late screening at the Phoenix, accompanied by KT and fellow BBW-redaktorin IM. I read P.D. James's novel soon after its publication, and remember little of it other than what I read as quiet nobility in its hero, Oxford don Theo Faron, and James's vision of a future Britain where, in an age of human sterility, parliament has wrapped up and placed government in the hands of one man, Theo's cousin, who becomes the Lord Warden.
Alfonso Cuaron's film adaptation keeps the basic story, concepts - such as the state-backed suicide programme, the Quietus - and character names from James's novel but his future world is more aggressively dystopic, with more swearing than Baroness James of Holland Park would commit to paper; and where the forces pursuing Theo in the book are those of the government, here they are insurgents, leading to a bloody battle scene set in a Bexhill converted into a huge and chaotic camp for (re-)'fugees'. The Oxford connection is gone too, save for Pam Ferris's Miriam once having been a midwife at the John Radcliffe. I suspect that I didn't appreciate all of James's Christian allusions when I read the book, but they are attenuated or absent here. The fate of Britain turns out differently in the book, and the much-hoped for child is instead taken away to other fortunate isles. Nonetheless there are some very strong performances, particularly those from Michael Caine, Julianne Moore, and particularly Claire-Hope Ashitey.
Alfonso Cuaron's film adaptation keeps the basic story, concepts - such as the state-backed suicide programme, the Quietus - and character names from James's novel but his future world is more aggressively dystopic, with more swearing than Baroness James of Holland Park would commit to paper; and where the forces pursuing Theo in the book are those of the government, here they are insurgents, leading to a bloody battle scene set in a Bexhill converted into a huge and chaotic camp for (re-)'fugees'. The Oxford connection is gone too, save for Pam Ferris's Miriam once having been a midwife at the John Radcliffe. I suspect that I didn't appreciate all of James's Christian allusions when I read the book, but they are attenuated or absent here. The fate of Britain turns out differently in the book, and the much-hoped for child is instead taken away to other fortunate isles. Nonetheless there are some very strong performances, particularly those from Michael Caine, Julianne Moore, and particularly Claire-Hope Ashitey.
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