Children of Men

It's part Omega Man, part Brazil, part six o'clock news, part 28 Days Later, part Casablanca, part City of Lost Children and not implausible enough. Much seems to have been made of the long takes and I certainly agree that the direction is artful and clever but I think the editing has been given short shrift. As cool as the long takes are, their effect is given relevance by the editing's implacable pace. There is one scene which was about as tired as any in cinema. The hero overhears a critical conversation by listening at a window. This is how plots are advanced in the Sherlock Holmes movies. SPOILER: When Clive first sees the goon in the courtyard, he didn't need to know anything else. He would have skedaddled out of there lickety-split.