REEL CRITIC:Bleak artistry in ‘Children of Men’

Talk about a haunting vision of the future. In “Children of Men,” that’s just what we get. Set in 2027, the world has been shattered by terrorism, illegal immigrants are hunted down like dogs, and the last child was born on earth 18 years ago.

Adapted from P.D. James’ novel and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, who also directed “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”), this intense political thriller is beautifully filmed but shockingly violent, frighteningly bleak and yet hopeful.

Great Britain is under martial law, and the country is beset with violent turmoil. No one knows why the birth rate has dropped to zero, and it looks like the end of the world is indeed coming. No wonder the grimy electronic billboards are pitching the benefits of at-home euthanasia kits.

In the midst of all this is a cynical bureaucrat, Theo (Clive Owen). His ex-lover Julian (Julianne Moore) suddenly reappears in his life. After first being abducted and then offered a bribe, he reluctantly agrees to help get transit papers for a young fugitive woman named Kee (Claire-Hope Ashity) so that she can safely leave the country.

Michael Caine is particularly enjoyable as a political cartoonist who has managed to find his own little utopia in all the madness.

To give away more of the story would rob you of its surprises and the effect of the tautly written action sequences. But be on the lookout for images of surreal beauty, such as the battered and somewhat bionic remains of Michelangelo’s “David.”

It could also be said that “Children of Men” is the work of a true artist.