Alfonso Cuaron is a confirmed crazy person. At least, that's the conclusion we have to draw after watching the special features for his underrated dystopian sci-fi movie Children Of Men, a classic of the modern era if we've ever seen one. For the most part Children Of Men shirks Hollywood bluster in favour of a bleak, character-driven film about a world where infertility has struck all men and women, and this hopelessness about the future of the human race has permeated through into a grimy, unhappy society full of political unrest and heavy-handed parallels to Guantanamo Bay and the war in Iraq. Still, Cuaron finds room for a couple of boss action sequences amidst all the glum faces and tears, as Clive Owen's civil servant Theo Faron is charged with shepherding a surprisingly pregnant young girl to safety. The first bit of resistance Theo comes up against is the radical nutjobs who want to use the girl as a pawn in their fight against the repressive British government. The gang scarper under cover of darkness in a crappy Fiat, and are instantly besieged by said nutjobs on foot and bike, as they try to grab the girl and put Theo out of comission. It's a thrilling scene, the tension ratcheted up by the illusion that it's one long, uninterrupted shot (something that happens a couple of other times throughout Children Of Men), all filmed from within the car. How did they do it? More CGI and green screen? Nope, they built a ridiculous high-tech and complex right that involved camera men hiding in the floor, seats falling back so actors would leave room for other cameras, and a roof that could come off for other shots. Seriously, just look at it. It's crazy. And brilliant.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
