Scenester: Children Of Men

When done right, long takes are one of my favorite things to see up on the big screen. So, it should be no secret then that I was pretty blown away by the cinematography in Children of Men. Most filmmakers that have an affinity for long takes might have one, possibly two scenes where they really take advantage of the technique in a given film. When I first saw Children of Men, I remember feeling like I was watching live news feed at times. It had that many sequences with long takes, and many of them really left you simply in awe of what they were able to accomplish.

Of course, these intricate, uninterrupted shots aren’t in themselves enough to make a quality film. There has to be motivation behind them… they have to add to the story and picture as a whole or else they’re nothing more than pieces of empty eye candy. Using Alfonso Cuarón’s words, the decision was made in pre-production to use long takes to “take advantage of the element of real time.” What he means is that long takes allow the audience to watch a scene unfold second by second as if they were really there. There are no cuts to shift time, point out some detail, or change points of view. It’s a very immersive technique that often times can give a film a sort of documentary-style feel and look to it, which was definitely the case in Children of Men.

Before I get into a deeper analysis of a couple of the scenes in the film that use long takes, I want you to check out this behind-the-scenes video that focuses on how some of these shots were accomplished. It’ll really give you a new found appreciation of the complexity, innovation and effort that went into crafting these takes:

I just want to reiterate how amazing it was that Alfonso Cuarón and his team were actually able to pull all of this off. As many people said in the video, there are so many elements that have to come together to make takes like this work. The amount of time it takes to reset complex shots like these makes nailing every take that much more important. Increasing the pressure just as much is the fact that with a moving camera so much more of the scene is in play at any given time. Lighting has to be set on every corner of the location. Makeup has to be touched up on all the actors. Camera operators and focus pullers have to hit numerous marks. Every single person in the cast and crew has to bring their “A” game. If not, a huge chunk of time is lost, and when you’re losing sunlight or fighting against the tight schedule constraints of shooting a feature every second counts. Here's a fun quote from Clive Owen about the process:

Right in the thick of it are me and the camera operator because we're doing this very complicated, very specific dance which, when we come to shoot, we have to make feel completely random.

Most people would have told Cuarón he was crazy for trying to shoot his film in this manner. In fact, many actually did. You have to give credit to the man for sticking to his guns and producing moments like this:

The first thing that comes to mind with this scene is how effectively the long take puts you in the moment. You basically become the sixth passenger in that car. You’re also lulled into a false sense of security in the playfulness of the opening. What this does is give you the same perspective as the actual characters themselves until that burning car rolls right into the middle of the road. Heightening this same emotion is the fact that the camera takes a second to spin around and spot the incoming roadblock. It’s subtle, but it further communicates the idea that the audience is just as lost in the light heartedness of the moment as the characters. The incoming danger doesn’t register immediately, just like it would play out in real life.

Alfonso operating.

The long take here also confines us inside this compact car. That’s fine when everything’s going well, but as soon as the ambush starts a real sense of claustrophobia kicks into high gear. People are closing in from every direction as they desperately try to break in. Normally a cut to a camera position outside the car would free the audience from this prison, but you’re not going to get that here. You’re trapped inside the tight confines and have to experience every agonizing second alongside the characters. Again, the direction is giving you their perspective quite literally. What this also does is place the confusion and complete chaos of the moment front and center. The ambush, Julian’s gunshot wound, cops arriving on the scene. It’s all happening so fast that you’re never given a second to breathe. It’s a suffocating environment, making you truly empathize with the characters on screen. You feel their fear, panic, and desperation. And that emotional connection to the people and the moment is what makes this scene truly special.

Children of Men is know for numerous long takes, so I wouldn’t be doing the film any justice if I only looked at one. Take a look at this clip:

Now, before we go any further, it should be noted that some of the long takes in the film (both of the above scenes included) are not true continuous shots. Digital transitions using a few different takes were used to make seamless cuts, creating the illusion of one continuous shot. (Note the blood disappearing from the camera around 4:10.) That being said, many of the takes that comprised the final “single-shots” would still be considered stand alone long takes. Knowing this shouldn’t take away from what this film was able to accomplish in terms of its visuals. The filmmakers had a vision in mind and found a way to stay true to their visual style even when some of their ideas weren't possible to pull off in a more traditional fashion.

Getting back to the clip, you can obviously tell that great care went into taking color out of the film. What you see on screen is mostly muted tones. At times it looks like a colorized black-and-white film. This is a bleak future and the filmmakers wanted what the audience saw on screen to reflect that. Again, accomplishing something like this is a total team effort. Everyone from the production designer to the post-production team is deeply involved in making this happen. You probably also noticed the blood on the lens toward the middle of the shot. This was actually a happy accident that occurred during one of the takes. Emmanuel Lubezki, the film's cinematographer, convinced Alfonso to leave it in. The blood-smeared lens was yet another small touch that really added to the visual motif. Again, it feels like you're running around with a handicam with Clive Owen in the middle of all of this madness.

Another one for good measure!

The last thing I want to touch on in this clip involves the story. Often times coincidental moments in films can completely take you out of story... x character just happens to be passing by and saves our hero from certain death. Things like that. This sequence has one of those moments when the military rolls in and saves Clive Owen right before he's about to be executed. But, because we're in the middle of a long take, it feels a lot less contrived. We're right in that moment, experiencing it as an onlooker, so when those bullets fly it feels completely random and, as a result, more believable. The long take also stays focused on our main character, as opposed to cutting away to the incoming military forces. Not drawing attention to them also makes us as an audience think less about the lucky timing of it all and more about what's going on in the moment. And, since we're thrown right back into the chaos immediately after, we never have a chance to go back and think about that fortunate change of events. This is a clear sign of filmmakers who are in complete control of their storytelling.

Children of Men is one of those films that for whatever reason usually gets overlooked. It's sad, because it's a visually stunning and often times poignant piece of cinema. It certainly merits multiple viewings. Your appreciation for this one only grows with time and I think that in a few years more people are going to look back on this one and realize what a gem it truly was.