Do you find the ending of Children of Men to be hopeful or bleak? Give three very specific pieces of evidence, with time codes, from the film that lead you to find either hopefulness or hopelessness in the ending.
I found Children of Men to be more hopeful than not. One of the more salient and final examples, at 1:39:50, Kee is able to see the boat that has also seen the rowboat. This seems more hopeful than not because she and the child managed to escape the conflict behind them, and the Uprising members are dead so they cannot pursue the two. Although Theo is dead here, the real goal was to get the child to safety. Additionally, the scene at 1:31:33 that spans until 1:34:13 also seems hopeful because the soldiers decided to cease firing because of the child. At this point, it seems like in spite of the violence, the hope that the baby represents is able to overpower the soldier’s animosity towards the refugees, especially when contrasted with them murdering unarmed civilians at 1:27:35. Later, at 1:35:58, the trio is escaping by rowboat. At this time, it feels like a lot of biblical imagery is coming through, with Faron pushing to secure the safety of the child and Kee. Throughout the beginning of the film, he’s a disillusioned and detached character, but he becomes motivated to save the child and Kee while having little to no relationship to either. Additionally, as the camera is cutting away from the last scene, the audience can hear children laughing. This is hopeful in representing a repopulated humanity, as a result of Kee and her child getting to the boat.
Another ‘hopeful’ part of Children of Men was Theo’s advice to Kee before he died at 1:38:01. Again, like the first scene, Theo has died here. However, it does seem like his passing was intentionally cast in one of the most peaceful settings that the movie featured. This is an effect produced by elements such as the fog and boat as ‘shelter’ and the rhythmic wave-rocking effect on the camera. The soothing effect that the ocean has here is actually comparable to a human parent rocking a child, for several reasons. Peace is initially broken in this scene when the jets fly overhead at 1:37:21. The planes immediately interfere by breaking the quiet environment, then ‘pull’ the perspective along with them towards the destruction of Bexhill. Immediately after, Kee thinks that she notices that she is bleeding. It is then revealed that Theo was wounded instead of Kee, and she thought the blood was hers. At this point, 1:37:38, the camera to a side-profile of both characters sitting opposite each other. Theo claims that he is ‘fine’ and seems more concerned with Kee keeping Dylan close. As Faron grows visibly weaker, Dylan also starts crying and Kee is unsure what to do as the inexperienced parent. Although Kee’s motions are mechanical for parenting, the moment she looks at the baby and names her Dylan is approximately when Theo dies at 1:39:09. He dies too early to know that the ship has returned. In spite of this, his face is still calm and he seems to be smiling. This culminates in his death being a ‘rocking to sleep’ but also hopeful in the sense that he was at peace without the certainty that the Human Project would return. In his actions, Theo secured the only way that could possibly protect Kee, Dylan, and result in peace.
Calling back to a very prior event in the movie, at 54:12, Jasper is explaining what caused Theo to transform into the cynical and jaded character he was in the beginning. Jasper claims that faith held together Theo and Julian. He recounted how their son Dylan’s unfortunate death led Theo to become a cynic regarding action and change, because “life’s going to make its own choices”. This reflects both Miriam and Jasper’s sacrifices in order to preserve Kee. Before Jasper died, each of Theo’s actions were in some way self-preservational, such as escaping the Fishes originally because he heard of his planned execution, or his selfish motivations in helping Julian before her death. Following Julian, Jasper, and Miriam’s sacrifices, Theo is alone with Kee. He now carries more pressure and must intervene when the dog is barking at Kee, as well as deliver her child and negotiate with Marichka. Following Faron killing Syd, rescuing Kee, and helping them to escape Bexhill, Kee names her child after Dylan. This is a callback to Jasper’s explanation of Faron’s cynical outlook, that the fact that the amount of events out one’s hands make it pointless to act. Theo ended up following the opposite in Bexhill, where in scenes like the one from 1:29:43 to 1:31:18. Analysing this shift in the end makes the ending seem more hopeful because it offers rationale against using Theo’s uncertainty about the Tomorrow’s arrival as bleak.
