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1[[quoteright:344:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e4f9241b_66df_4684_94c5_c1391f88003b.jpeg]]
2 [[caption-width-right:344: ''Humanity is now an '''endangered species'''…'']]
3
4->''"Last one to die, please turn out the light."''
5-->-- '''Graffiti sprayed on a wall'''
6
7''Children of Men'' is a 2006 {{childless dystopia}}n apocalyptic {{science fiction}} film co-written and directed by Creator/AlfonsoCuaron, starring Creator/CliveOwen, Creator/JulianneMoore and Creator/MichaelCaine. It is [[PragmaticAdaptation loosely]] [[TheFilmOfTheBook based on the novel]] ''The Children of Men'' by P. D. James.
8
9It's 2027, and no child has been born for nearly two decades. It appears that the United Kingdom has one of the only functional governments left in the world, albeit barely, and British society teeters on the verge of collapse due to the problems thrown up by a long economic decline, totalitarianism, refugee ("'fujee") crisis, and terrorism.
10
11Theo (Owen), a white-collar worker, is distracted from his rut when he is abducted and his ex-wife Julian (Moore) approaches him for a favor: to help smuggle a refugee girl named Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey), who happens to be ''pregnant'', out of the country. Theo agrees to protect Kee on a dangerous journey -- past rebels, a repressive government, and traitors -- to see her to safety.
12
13'''Character tropes go on to the [[Characters/ChildrenOfMen Characters Sheet]].'''
14
15----
16!! This movie contains examples of:
17* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: As the film is set in 2027, only 20 years after it was made, it is done deliberately subtly.
18** Cars, for example, may look ordinary at first glance, but are more unfamiliar upon closer inspection. They are also equipped with hi-tech heads-up displays (e.g. projecting the speedometer or warning notices onto the windscreen).
19** London buses carry scrolling holographic adverts on the side, contrasting with the rickshaws now present on London's streets.
20** Adverts in the street reveal human organs can now be legally purchased on 'The British Organ Market'.
21** Various stalls throughout London (such as that of the 'Digital Evening Standard') use alternating digital screens to advertise.
22** Radio Avalon, a former short-lived festival radio station, is now a major broadcaster in the United Kingdom.
23** Queen UsefulNotes/ElizabethII is implied to have passed, with Charles taking over as ruling monarch (implied via the royal cypher on police helmets and various newspaper headlines referring to Charles). This ended up being a correct prediction, as Queen Elizabeth passed away in 2022.
24** Newspaper headlines reporting on 'Test Tube Daisy' dying suggests that {{Uterine Replicator}}s have been prototyped, even if they aren't successful.
25** Miniaturization and versatility of mobile communication devices and portable computers has also advanced considerably since the 2000s.
26** The British Army has upgraded to darker digital camouflage fatigues and body armour, and some soldiers are seen with what appears to be compact targeting devices built into their helmets.
27** Both British soldiers and police officers are seen carrying the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XM8_rifle Heckler & Koch XM8 rifle]], which was only in its prototype stage during filming.
28** Some of the in-universe advertising and tech can be glimpsed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VnIrXmdYhY in this featurette]].
29* AbandonedPlayground: Kee is sitting on an old swing in an abandoned primary school while waiting for Syd. Considering there are [[ChildlessDystopia no more children]], it makes sense it is abandoned.
30* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: The sewer at the refugee camp is wide enough to a steer a rowboat across.
31* AccidentalChildKillerBackstory: Theo, in the novel. He recalls inadvertently running over his own daughter while backing out of the driveway. His then-wife never forgave him, and he does not seem to have ever forgiven himself. (In the film his child, a son, died in an epidemic.)
32* ActionSurvivor:
33** Theo spends most of the film running away from people with guns who want to kill him.
34** And Marishka who survives the encounter with the Fishes though wearing a [[RedShirt red parka]].
35* AdaptationalAttractiveness: The descriptions of Theo in the novel do not exactly call to mind a Creator/CliveOwen. Then again, the film is only a very loose adaptation.
36* AdaptationDistillation: In order to bring the book to the big screen, several key character roles were switched and streamlined and a LoveTriangle was eliminated in order to focus more on TheChase. It all works in the book, but would have been quite clunky in a 100 min movie. Not only that but Theo's occupation and overall character was switched from an Oxford historian who had to [[BadassBookworm rely on his brain]] to a former activist who had to [[IndyPloy think quickly on his feet]]. It works perfectly in terms of the action-filled movie.
37* AdaptationExplanationExtrication: The scene with the mob chasing the car and being covered up by the media seems like a random plot device to provide a reason for [[spoiler: Julian dying]], however there is an explanation from both the novel and earlier versions of the script. The youngest generation (called Omegas in the novel and Zeds in early drafts of the script) go on random sprees of chaos and violence throughout the country. As they are the last generation of humans in existence, they feel they have nothing to lose. [[spoiler: It is later revealed that The Fishes paid the Zeds to carry out the attack, and one of the motorcycle gunmen was Patric]].
38* AdDissonance: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VnIrXmdYhY Shiny advertising]] in a CrapsackWorld.
39* AdvertOverloadedFuture: The UsefulNotes/{{London}} of 2027 has moving digital billboards on buildings and the sides of buses, as well as flatscreens inside public transport and shops. Mostly they show government propaganda and adverts for various medications.
40* AffectionateNickname: Tomasz, a Polish man working for The Fishes, refers to his English wife as a "cod" (an English fish).
41* AgonyOfTheFeet: As a prime visual indicator of how maladjusted to his circumstance Theo is, he spends a lot of the film without proper footwear (or any footwear at all), which leads to his feet getting beaten up badly. He even cuts a foot on broken glass, which gives him a lasting limp.
42* AnyoneCanDie: People are dying left and right as soon as the main plot gets going. The final scene leaves [[spoiler:only one main character and her newborn baby alive, with all other major characters either dead or presumably dead.]]
43* ApatheticCitizens: Try a whole society of them. When Theo is [[VehicularKidnapping kidnapped off the street]] in broad daylight by masked gunmen, people don't even stop to look.
44* ApocalypseAnarchy: Society descends further and further into chaos as people realize that the human race will be extinguished in a matter of decades since reproduction is no longer possible.
45* ApocalypseHow: The human race is grappling with likelihood of going extinct due to a lack of new children being born.
46* ArmiesAreEvil: Subverted. [[spoiler:British soldiers massacre civilians at one point, but they are shown to still have humanity when they cease firing upon seeing Kee's baby. The fighting only resumes because some random ''rebel'' interrupts the ceasefire, by opportunistically taking a shot with an RPG.]]
47* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Julian says that tinnitus is the sound of your "ear cells dying," and it's the last time you'll hear that frequency. This is not the way tinnitus works.
48* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: "Marichka" is a Ukrainian name, but the actress playing her speaks Romanian.
49* AssholeVictim: "Baby" Diego Ricardo, the youngest person on the planet at the time. He is killed at the start of the film when he gets stabbed by someone that asked for an autograph, which he not only refused to give but also responded to by spitting in the guy's face. In fairness, having spent your entire life as celebrity simply for being born later than anyone else would give anyone attitude problems.
50-->'''Theo:''' Come on, though, Baby Diego? The guy was a wanker.
51-->'''Jasper:''' Yeah, but he was the youngest wanker on the planet.
52* AsTheGoodBookSays: Not made clear in the movie, but the title comes from Psalm 90:3 of the King James Version ("Thou turnest man to destruction, and sayest, Return, ye children of men").
53* AsYouKnow: Jasper is the first person to state the fact that children are no longer born, which he does in the context of a joke.
54* BittersweetEnding: The optimistic interpretation. Depending on how you look at it, [[spoiler:Theo either succumbs to his wounds or passes out from blood loss]]. Either way, [[spoiler:Kee and her baby are alive, and The Human Project is definitely real, giving humanity a fighting chance at survival.]]
55* BlastOut: After Theo and Kee [[spoiler: bring the baby through a silenced battle]], a single RPG fired at an armored personnel carrier prompts a devastating response from the army, with nearly ''every single soldier'' returning fire, shredding the concrete facade of the building they came out of.
56* BlatantLies: After [[spoiler:Jasper is shot, Theo tells Kee that he's fine.]]
57* BondVillainStupidity: Justified. Luke orders Patric to wait with Theo's execution until he and Kee are out of sight to not distress her further. This opens up the chance for Theo to escape when warfare starts in the streets right after Luke has left.
58* ChairReveal: Subverted. When Theo arrives at Jasper's house, he sees Jasper from behind sitting in his chair, his arm hanging limp with some empty syringes by his chair. The scene is [[BaitAndSwitch set up for us to assume]] that he committed suicide but instead he was just taking a nap.
59* ChekhovsGun: Theo's flask, which he uses to sterilize his hands before delivering Kee's baby.
60* ChekhovsGunman: The one-legged hustler Theo and the others pass who later reappears leading some of Luke's men against the soldiers.
61* ChildlessDystopia: The whole point of the movie.
62* CigaretteOfAnxiety: After [[spoiler: Julian]] dies Theo goes to light a cigarette but ends up falling to the ground sobbing when he sees her blood on his hands.
63* ColdBloodedTorture: It is heavily implied that Janice's catatonic state was caused by torture at the hands of [=MI5=].
64* CompositeCharacter: In the movie, Theo and Julian's son Dylan died from a disease epidemic, while in the book Julian's character was the one that is pregnant and the one Theo is protecting. In the book, Theo is married and divorced Helen and had a daughter named Natalie who was killed when Theo backed out of the driveway and accidentally ran her over. Both the film and book show this death as the reason for either relationships not working. The movie changed and combined Julian and Helena while creating Kee.
65* CorruptCop:
66** Syd breaks government protocol by allowing the protagonists to enter Bexhill in exchange for a large amount of Jasper's weed.
67** Before he is forced into Bexhill, a Homeland Security soldier seizes Theo's watch.
68* CrapsackWorld: No babies are being born, dooming humanity to a slow but inevitable extinction. As a result, society has completely broken down, with pretty much the entire world being turned into nuclear wastelands or lawless war zones. Britain, possibly the only remaining pocket of civilization left, is a horribly authoritarian and xenophobic dystopia. Argentina, the only other nation hinted at being at least moderately stable is no better, as "Baby Diego", the youngest person in the world, is stabbed to death in Buenos Aires at the start of the film simply for ''refusing to sign an autograph''. The situation has gotten so bad that Theo tells Jasper he thinks it doesn't matter if a cure for global infertility is ever found, as the world is already beyond salvaging.
69* CreatorCameo: P.D. James, author of the book ''The Children of Men'' plays the old woman in the cafeteria with Theo.
70* CrypticBackgroundReference:
71** "What about Liverpool?"
72** "That thing in Madrid was a real blow for art." "Not to mention people."
73** "Were your parents in New York when ''it'' happened?" ''It'' was a nuclear explosion if the quick shots of scenes from a government propaganda film are to be believed.
74* CyanidePill: [[GovernmentDrugEnforcement The government issues]] free suicide kits called Quietus along with food rations. Jasper re-purposes the formula however, mixing it with bread to kill the rats in his home.
75* DarkAndTroubledPast:Theo and Julianne losing their son. Jasper's wife being tortured and left catatonic by the government, Miriam the midwife describing who bore witness to all the new babies being stillborn and was only able to save a precious few in the last month or so it was happening. Hinted at with Luke's reflections about his sister.
76* DeadGuyJunior: Kee eventually settles on [[spoiler:naming the baby after Theo and Julian's dead son Dylan.]]
77* DeadStarWalking: The characters played by both [[spoiler:Julianne Moore]] and [[spoiler:Creator/MichaelCaine]] die before the 1 hour mark.
78* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler:Theo Faron]].
79* DefiantToTheEnd: [[spoiler:"Pull my finger" was Jasper's way of saying "fuck you" one last time, as in, "You can kill me but I'll still prank on you before I die."]]
80* DeliveryStork: Jasper's expository joke has a punchline humorously blaming stork hunting as the reason for no babies being born anymore.
81* DisappearedDad: Kee, a prostitute, unsurprisingly has no idea who the father of her baby is. However this plays on the Christian allegory, since she also jokes that she's a virgin (i.e. her baby is akin to UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}}).
82* DisproportionateRetribution: The news broadcast at the beginning of the film that mentions the world's youngest person was killed because he spat in the face of a fan who asked for his autograph. Said fan then stabbed him to death and was in turn beaten to death by a mob.
83* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
84** The heroes are trying to smuggle a refugee (i.e. illegal immigrant) across the border and out of the country, and this ends up saving civilization as they know it (or so they hope).
85** The ads used to sell Quietus (the suicide pills) are deliberately meant to resemble antidepressant ads.
86** There's also the political situation in Britain, where the country [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany responds to a national catastrophe by using a persecuted minority group as scapegoats and victimizing them with organized violence — ultimately rounding them up in prison camps]].
87** When [[spoiler:Miriam is pulled off the bus]], Music/TheLibertines' "Arbeit Macht Frei" can be heard in the background. The song title translates to "Work will make you free", which was written [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust above the entrance to Auschwitz.]]
88** As the bus drives away, the "hooded man" from Abu Ghraib prison can be seen in one of the cages, in the exact pose [[https://i.redd.it/v284pbrsy5j71.jpg from the infamous torture pictures.]]
89* DrivenToSuicide: Not for a particular character, but for society in general. Given that [[WorldHalfEmpty there is no hope for a future because no children have been born in 18 years]], the government rations suicide kits and anti-depressants.
90* DueToTheDead:
91** [[spoiler:Julian]] gets a proper burial.
92** In the middle of the parade of Muslims at the end, there is a group carrying a dead man on a makeshift stretcher, surrounded by women in Muslim funerary garb, suggesting that this protest was sparked by a murder.
93* DyingRace: The human race is doomed to die out, which pushes peoples into depression.
94* TheEndIsNigh: We come across these people in the scene when Theo takes a ride to see his cousin.
95* EpicTrackingShot: Director Alfonso Cuaron is very fond of this technique and the film is famous for it. The action climax is shot in one long shot in is ''over seven and a half minutes long''. And this is an action scene with multiple gun fights, explosions, and the consistent and active presence of a ''tank''.
96* EscortMission: The plot follows Theo escorting Kee to a meeting point with the [[SafeZoneHopeSpot Human Project]].
97* EternalProhibition: Jasper complains about the government sending out suicide kits with the food rations but not legalizing cannabis.
98* EvilVersusEvil: The British government, one of the last functioning governments on the planet, has become an oppressive regime, while the Fishes are (mostly) ruthless and would [[spoiler:kill their own leader]] if it furthers their goal.
99* ExactEavesDropping: Theo is right there to overhear the members of the Fishes disclose the ambush to be an inside job and what they are planning to do to him and Kee.
100* FacingTheBulletsOneLiner: "Pull my finger."
101* FailedState: The United Kingdom teeters between being a PoliceState and one of these, having to deal with hordes of refugees and a failing economy. Multiple other nations have already collapsed entirely due to the infertility crisis.
102* FallenStatesOfAmerica: Various news media throughout the film shows that the USA has collapsed, with a nuclear bomb going off in NYC, and militias taking control of the cities of Spokane, Cincinatti and Bozeman. A newscaster in the opening credits also makes mention of "day 1000 of the Siege of UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}".
103* FalseFlagOperation: The Fishes have committed terrorist bombings in the past, but claim to have stopped after a bombing in Liverpool and accuse the the government of framing them by carrying out false flag bombings since. It's left ambiguous whether they're telling the truth [[spoiler:since they launch an armed uprising near the end]].
104* FictionalCounterpart:
105** The BCC reports the news in 2027 instead of Creator/TheBBC.
106** Higham Cigarettes, the tobacco brand Theo smokes.
107** RUF, an pet clothing equivalent of GAP.
108** Niagra, a sexual aphrodisiac seen advertised throughout, whose branding is similar to Viagra.
109** One of the Fishes cars is stolen from the Biology Institute of the fictitious Swinton University.
110* {{Foreshadowing}}:
111** During the car attack, Miriam, previously only really characterized as something of a spiritual ditz, suddenly starts giving sound medical advice when [[spoiler:Julian is shot]]. She later reveals that she used to work in a hospital.
112** Theo is confused why, when stopped by the police following the attack, Luke shot the cops and the medics with them. As fugitives from the law, it makes sense that Luke wouldn't trust dealing with the police [[spoiler:but the reveal that he ordered Julian's assassination explains why he shot the medics too]].
113* FreezeFrameBonus: Lots of the history regarding the state of the world and the characters is given through environmental and background means.
114** In the background of the opening shot, The Shard (yet to begin construction in 2006 when the film was made) can be seen next to St. Paul's Cathedral.
115** The royal cypher present on the helmets of the Metropolitan Police officers who walk past Theo in the opening shot is no longer that of [[https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2094/2539992009_d5aaccb855_z.jpg Queen Elizabeth II]], but of her presumptive successor [[http://thumbs3.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/pict/391327490862_1.jpg King Charles III]].
116** All crown images on government and police branding are the Imperial Crown (arches rising to centre) as opposed to the Royal Crown (arches depressed), also indicating a male monarch is in power.
117** Background advertisements reveal that due to the lack of children, companies have started making expensive designer clothes for ''pets'' instead, suggesting many people treat them like surrogate children.
118** When Theo is seen walking through London, hundreds of bouquets of flowers and candle vigils are seen left at the entrance to the Embassy of Argentina, in memoriam of "Baby Diego", the youngest person in the world who was stabbed in Buenos Aires at the start of the film.
119** A special features option on the DVD shows further graphics and media, including a newspaper front page which shows that in 2018 a referendum was held in the UK regarding what the legal status of foreigners residing in the country should be. 83% of public voted for them to be considered illegal.
120** Various newspaper clippings show backstory:
121*** The reason Janice Palmer (a photojournalist) is catatonic is because she was tortured by the government for questioning the ethics of their actions in her reporting.
122*** They also show the build up to Britain becoming a totalitarian state, starting with massive floods of immigration to the country, and progressing to placing mosques under surveillance, converting southern coastal towns into refugee camps, and finally the closing of the Channel Tunnel and declaring all foreigners illegal.
123*** Other international incidents, such as the bombing of a Saudi pipeline disrupting the worlds oil supply and a dirty bomb going off in Munich, are also shown.
124** Old newspapers blocking the windows of the room Theo is held in by the Fishes also reveal large amounts of expository information about the current state of the world. This includes events such as:
125*** Prince Charles ascending to the throne and receiving criticism ('Charles Should Be [[{{Pun}} Throne]] Out')
126*** Russia annihilating Kazakhstan with a nuclear bomb.
127*** The FA Cup being cancelled due to the international crisis.
128*** [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking David and Victoria Beckham celebrating their anniversary.]]
129*** Various American cities (including Cincinnati and Spokane) becoming overrun by militias.
130*** Mandatory fertility testing (seen advertised on billboards throughout the film) becoming law.
131*** The attempt to create a fertility hormone drug, and the subsequent arrest of the surgeon who pioneered it when it failed and produced fatal results in human trials ('Surgeon arrested, hormone attacks: violent reaction', 'Fertility drug kills').
132*** A scandal involving a plastic surgeon, presumably catering to the rich who want to look younger and younger in the face of extinction.
133*** The death of 'Test Tube Daisy', presumably an attempt to grow a fetus/baby outside a human body.
134*** A bombing carried out by the Fishes in Liverpool, which killed dozens of civilians.
135*** Hundreds of dead bodies of refugees being discovered in shipping containers entering Great Britain.
136*** Homeland Security confiscating weapons found in refugee camps after raids.
137*** The government conceding it is struggling to deal with sprees of Zed violence. Zed's are the name given to the youngest, last generation of humans (who were given more screentime/exposition in earlier versions of the script).
138** The background of Theo's young nephew Alex is told through details that can only be seen on close inspection. Likely a Zed (a member of the nihilistic, chaotic final generation of humans to be born), he is implied to have lived the reckless lifestyle of his peers, given the assortment of scars and tattoos on his body, poorly concealed by his fathers choice of smart clothing. He appears to be in rehabilitative therapy to quell such behaviour, being shown taking medication and pacified with a strange interactive game. Furthermore, he is shown wearing a medical security barcode bracelet provided by the institution treating him.
139** Theo is seen wearing a well-worn London 2012 Olympics hoodie. Despite the movie being filmed in 2006, in the 2027 setting it would be considered an old piece of clothing.
140** Close ups of Theo's cigarette packet show the health warnings have changed from focusing on the risk of cancer and heart disease to those more pertinent to the current crisis, now warning that smoking causes "INFERTILITY, MISCARRIAGE and IMPOTENCE". It also shows they are imported into the UK under the fictional EU Directive License 2026.
141** There is also a water conservation poster in the Ministry of Energy that illustrates Britain didn't escape the AtomicHate: 38% of the water supply is contaminated by radioactive fall out.
142** Another poster in the Ministry of Energy urges employees to report any colleagues they suspect of being illegal immigrants to the authorities, in an effort to provide "British Jobs for British Workers".
143** The fighter jets that [[spoiler:carpet bomb Bexhill]] at the end of the movie are F35 Lightening II's, which were only in the prototype design stage at the time of filming.
144* FriendToAllLivingThings: Theo. Pretty much every scene incorporates some kind of animal in them and they are always friendly to Theo.
145* TheFundamentalist:
146** A large group of religious folk wearing yellow capes and holding signs saying 'Repent' are seen gathered in London, blaming humanity's sin for the SterilityPlague.
147** A conversation between Theo and Jasper reveals there are two main fundamentalist groups: "The Repenters", who kneel for a month at a time as penance for humanity's sins, and "The Renouncers", who self-flagellate to punish themselves for humanity's sins.
148** It's implied that Muslim extremists are a threat to British society as they were suggested by Theo as a suspect for the cafe bombing. Averted when Theo runs into a funeral procession of scary, bearded, angry Muslims (many wielding assault rifles) in Bexhill. They completely ignore him as if he weren't there and he runs right through the midst of them.
149* FutureMusic: Jasper's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUq4P-v4BMs Zen music]]. The song, minus the screaming, is actually "omgyjya Switch 7" by Music/AphexTwin.
150* FutureSlang: "'Fujee" (pronounced like "Fuji"), as a semi-derogatory shorthand for "refugee."
151* GallowsHumor: An In-Universe example is the graffiti that reads "Last one to die, please turn out the light."
152* GambitRoulette: Julian's death involved a perfect pistol shot, taken from the back of a speeding motorcycle, into a very small car containing not only the pregnant girl who could be the last hope of humanity, but the would-be leader as well. In a realistic film like this it's hard to imagine a plan so dangerous even being considered.
153* GenderBlenderName: Julian and Dylan. Kee lampshades this by noting that Dylan is a girl's name too.
154* GenderRarityValue: In the film, a fertile female is the sought-after rarity. In the book, it's a lack of fertile men.
155* GenericGraffiti: "Last one to die, please turn out the light."
156* GovernmentAgencyOfFiction:
157** A British version of 'Homeland Security' oversees law and immigration enforcement.
158** A poster briefly mentions the 'Deportation and Exile Department', tasked with removing illegal immigrants from the country once they have been captured by Homeland Security.
159** The 'Ministry of the Arts' collects and displays classic works of art and monuments rescued from various parts of the now CrapsackWorld.
160** The 'Ministry of Energy' regulates fuel and electricity consumption throughout Britain. It is where Theo works.
161* GrayAndGreyMorality: The government and the "Fishes" are equally as radical and dangerous.
162* GriefInducedSplit: In both the book and film versions, Theo and his wife split following the death of their child, but the cause of death is different. In the book, it was because he accidentally ran his daughter over when backing out of the driveway, while in the film, his son died during a flu epidemic.
163* TheGroup: The "Human Project" are a group of scientists dedicated to curing infertility, supposedly based in the Azores. They are secretive to the point of being a myth.
164* HandicappedBadass: The one-legged hustler who's part of Luke's resistance.
165* HellholePrison: Bexhill has been converted into basically a post-modern concentration camp.
166* HellIsThatNoise: The ringing sound heard throughout the film, always immediately following [[spoiler:somebody's death via blast or gunshot]]. Julian claims it signifies a loss of frequencies (which [[ArtisticLicenseBiology isn't actually accurate]]), but this interpretation also [[RuleOfSymbolism symbolically parallels]] [[spoiler:the loss of life]].
167-->"You know that high-pitched ringing sound you hear? That 'eeeeeeeeee'? That's the sound of the ear cells dying, like their swan song. Once it's gone, you'll never hear that frequency again. Enjoy it while it lasts."
168* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler:Theo passes out from a gunshot wound at the end of the film. It's unclear if he's died or still unconscious]].
169* HeWentThatWay: Discussed. Jasper intends to pull this trick on the Fishes to throw them off Theo and Kee's tracks. [[spoiler:[[SacrificialLamb Sadly, he doesn't get a chance to execute his plan.]]]]
170* HopeBringer: [[spoiler:The point of the whole movie. After 18 years of despair that children are no more, the fact that a woman is pregnant is a major sign of hope.]]
171* HumansAreBastards: The bulk of humanity is shown to have become this trope. Though the trope is touched on in the book, the film version places way more emphasis on it. In both, however, humans, being unable to mentally cope with being unable to stave off human extinction, use the worldwide infertility as an excuse card to commit all sorts of horrible behaviors.
172* ImprovisedWeapon: Theo bashes Syd over the head with a discarded car battery.
173* InvisiblePresident: No senior members of the British Government are ever shown or mentioned verbally, but a news ticker on the television reveals that the country is still ruled by a Prime Minister.
174* ItsPersonalWithTheDragon: Luke's Dragon Patric develops a personal vendetta against Theo after [[spoiler: Theo knocks his cousin off the motorbike he and Patric used during Julian's assassination, killing him]].
175* JadeColoredGlasses: Theo was a daring Merry Prankster and activist before the world's population ceased growing. After the crisis, he is so jaded and tired that he can barely muster a tear for anything.
176* JitterCam: The film uses handheld cameras extensively, and often in concert with lengthy tracking shots.
177* JustBeforeTheEnd: With no babies being born, humanity is doomed, but it will still be some time before everyone dies. The world responds by descending into nationalistic, nihilistic mayhem.
178* KidnappedByTheCall: Theo is kidnapped at gunpoint by the Fishes, but it was at the behest of his ex-wife, who wants his help in securing travel papers for an illegal immigrant.
179* {{Leitmotif}}: Whenever a character dies, a ringing sound akin to tinnitus is heard.
180* LongevityTreatment: In contrast to the many who want to end their life due to the impending extinction of mankind, it is implied there is a large section of society who are trying to live for as long as possible. Throughout the movie numerous advertisements are seen for both plastic surgery (Forever Young Medical), organ replacement (The British Organ Market), discount botox and even an early version of cryogenesis.
181* LostPropertyLiveDrop: Variant - because they're officially a terrorist movement wanted by the government, the Fishes can't contact Theo through normal channels after their first meeting; so, Luke gives Theo a missing poster of a lost dog and tells him to pin it to the notice board at Camden tube station if he ever decides to accept their offer. When he finally does, Theo's left in the dark up until a woman approaches him at the dog track with the poster and directs him outside. Not only does the woman actually ''own'' the "lost" dog, but this is just a pretext to get Theo onto a bus where he can meet up with Julian and Luke for the mission.
182* MadonnaArchetype: Theo realizes Kee is pregnant in a barn (analogous to a manger), she jokes that she was a Virgin and that she doesn't know who the father is, and when her baby is born people react to it like a religious figure. Theo himself plays the Joseph role by shepherding Kee to safety.
183* MagicPlasticSurgery: Various advertisements are seen for the Forever Young Medical Group throughout the film, suggesting many people have chosen to deal with the inescapable fact of no more children being born by making themselves look younger. Interestingly, one of the signs the yellow parka wearing fundamentalists is seen holding reads "REJECT BOTOX", suggesting that the fundamental religious groups believe humanity should embrace its old age in sin.
184* MaternityCrisis: Kee starts going into labor while Theo and Miriam are escorting her into the refugee camp, forcing Miriam to create a distraction. She is subsequently detained and never seen again, and Kee gives birth later that night.
185* MauveShirt: Sirdjan, Marichka's friend or relative, who briefly accompanies them as an escort before being shot by Patric.
186* MeaningfulName:
187** Kee ("key" meaning the most important thing, or the thing that opens a previously locked door).
188** Theo Faron is Greek for "The God of the Lighthouses".
189* MegaCorp: The "British Leaf Of Eden Company," a government-sponsored conglomerate that operates companies specializing in: organ trade (The British Organ Market), plastic surgery (Forever Young Medical Surgery Group) and anti-depressants (Bliss.)
190* MolotovTruck: The heroes are ambushed after a flaming car blocks their path.
191* MoodWhiplash: Frequently. Interrupting a light scene with horrible violence and death is a favorite.
192* MoralMyopia: Patric's reaction to Theo inadvertently killing the other ''assassin''. Could be because the kid was so young, and young people are held up to a deity status in a society with no future. Also, it was [[ItsPersonal his cousin]].
193* MortalWoundReveal: In the final scene, Kee sees blood on the bottom of the boat and assumes it's her own (she'd given birth a short time earlier), but Theo assures her he'd been shot minutes ago and just paid it no mind in the heat of the situation. [[spoiler:[[TheHeroDies He sags soon afterward.]]]]
194* MoveAlongNothingToSeeHere: The police officer with his AngryGuardDog shouts this at Theo.
195* MyCarHatesMe: Happens when the heroes try to escape the farm. A tense chase then ensues, with the heroes pushing their non-starting car, followed by angry pursuers on foot.
196* MySecretPregnancy: Kee hides her belly by wearing loose clothes and carrying objects in front of her.
197* ANaziByAnyOtherName: British soldiers are rounding up minorities, locking them in ruined cities that have been converted into ghettos, and exterminating them. Not to mention the use of The Libertines' "Arbeit Macht Frei" in conjunction with images of the government executing people. The intended message is also a criticism of present right-wing anti-immigration hysteria.
198* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Creator/MichaelCaine has said he based Jasper on Music/JohnLennon, down to the long hair and the RoundHippieShades.
199* NukeEm:
200** It is implied both by conversations between Theo and Julian and a government propaganda video that UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity was destroyed in a nuclear attack.
201** Newspaper clippings in the Palmer residence mention a 'dirty bomb' being detonated in Munich.
202** A headline on an old newspaper in the Fishes hideout reveals that Russia nuked and completely obliterated Kazakhstan, and that Africa has also been devastated by nuclear fallout.
203* TheOner: Part of the visceral thrill of the film is the way many action scenes are filmed in long, continuous takes that make it seem like the viewer is inside the scene. The three longest shots make up about 1/8th of the film's running time.
204* OneWomanWail: Can be heard on the soundtrack after [[spoiler:Jasper]] is killed.
205* OppressiveImmigrationEnforcement: The United Kingdom has turned into a PoliceState due to the infertility crisis, in response to massive waves of migrants and refugees trying to enter the nation. Illegal migrants who are arrested are subject to draconian laws, with many being imprisoned or executed.
206%%* PaintingTheMedium: See CameraAbuse
207* PietaPlagiarism: A compound example - the film includes a shot of a woman wailing while holding her dying son in her arms, which was a ShoutOut to a similar photograph taken in the Balkans, which was itself an obvious allusion to the ''Pietà''. Foreshadowed by a mention earlier in the film: Theo's cousin managed to save [[Creator/MichelangeloBuonarroti Michelangelo's]] ''David'' for the Ark of the Arts, but ''La Pietà'' was smashed up before they got there.
208* ThePlague: Whilst talking to Miriam and Kee, Jasper mentions the "2008 flu pandemic", which was responsible for the death of Theo and Julian's son, Dylan.
209* PoliceState: Britain has become a militarized police state as British government forces round up and detain immigrants.
210* PostApocalypticDog: Pets, including dogs, are everywhere, showing how humanity has been trying to fill the hole caused by the absence of children in the world.
211* PowderKegCrowd: The film opens with the youngest person ''in the world'' being shanked to death in Argentina because some asshole got homicidally impulsive when the guy didn't want to give him an autograph, over video footage of a big riot that probably wanted to lynch the killer. This threat also dangles in the background constantly amongst all of the melancholia, with the script having some excised scenes in which authority figures admit that rioting has reached an almost uncontrollable level. [[spoiler:The apocalyptic BlastOut at Bexhill that starts after the baby is born happens because someone couldn't stop being TriggerHappy even while witnessing what everybody InUniverse is considering a miracle.]]
212* ProductPlacement:
213** Theo's alcohol of choice throughout the film is Bell's Whiskey.
214** A Carling beer mat is given an unusual amount of screen time when Theo meets with Luke in a London pub.
215** Dog racing events in the film are sponsored by British betting giant William Hill.
216* QuickNip: Theo, constantly.
217* RacistGrandma: Courtesy of BilingualBonus. When Theo is on his way to visit Jasper, he walks past a holding cell with some refugees of various races detained within. An elderly German detainee can be seen complaining about being detained alongside some black detainees.
218* RayOfHopeEnding: [[spoiler: The sound of children laughing and playing at the end credits.]]
219* RealIsBrown: The film is extremely grey. It being Britain in winter helps.
220* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: The anti-government resistance group, the Fishes, quickly turn into this when the more radical Luke hijacks the organization, after assassinating his predecessor.
221* SacrificialLamb:
222** One of the highest-billed stars [[spoiler:Julianne Moore]] dies 25 minutes into the movie, with maybe 10 minutes of screen time.
223** [[spoiler:Creator/MichaelCaine]] follows suit around the 1 hour mark.
224* SafeZoneHopeSpot: The final destination for the MacGuffinEscortMission is to bring Kee in contact with a mysterious, non-governmental group called the "Human Project", supposedly based in the Azores. This group is thought to be humanity's last hope for curing infertility. We never learn if they manage to live up to that expectation.
225* SceneryGorn: The desolate hellscape of Bexhill, a former seaside town turned refugee camp.
226* ScreamingBirth: Kee gives us lots of painful screams well before and during the delivery.
227* SecondAmericanCivilWar: While Britain has mostly held together in the face of the existential crisis of no children having been born in the last eighteen years, in the background America has become engulfed in internal conflict and militias have seized several cities.
228* SecretStabWound: Kee sees blood on the bottom of the boat and assumes it's her own (she'd given birth a short time earlier), but Theo assures her he'd been shot minutes ago and just paid it no mind in the heat of the situation. [[spoiler:Theo survives long enough to help Kee escape before succumbing to his wound.]]
229* SerendipitousSurvival: At the very beginning of the film, Theo buys coffee at a cafe that is packed with people watching a news story. About thirty seconds after he leaves, a bomb explodes in the cafe. Had he taken longer to wade through the crowd of people, had he stopped to watch the news report a bit longer, or had his order taken a bit longer to make, Theo could very well have been killed.
230* ShoutOut:
231** When Theo is dining with his cousin Nigel, Creator/PabloPicasso's {{painting|s}} ''Art/{{Guernica}}'' hangs on the wall behind them.
232** There is a pig-shaped balloon floating over the Battersea power station (which has been turned into a museum). It's a reference to the cover of Music/PinkFloyd's 1977 album ''Music/{{Animals|1977}}''.
233** Syd. The real Music/SydBarrett quit the rock business, shaved his head, and the hippie dream of the sixties died with him.
234** Battersea Power station being turned into an art gallery is ''itself'' a shout out to fellow power station Bankside, slightly downriver, which is now the Tate Modern (which provided the internal set for the scene where Theo entered the gallery).
235** In the gallery, Michelangelo's 'David' can be seen in a damaged state, as can a piece of Banksy graffiti; it would have had Michelangelo's 'La Pieta', but it had gotten smashed.
236** 'La Pieta' would later get referenced in a shot of a mother holding her dead son's body, which also references the aforementioned ''Art/{{Guernica}}'' and a photo from the Balkan wars.
237** When Kee reveals her pregnant belly, her pose resembles Venus in Boticell's 'Birth of Venus'.
238** Jasper and Miriam recite "Shantih Shantih Shantih", a reference to the Upanishads and Creator/TSEliot's ''Literature/TheWasteLand''.
239** Quietus, the state-sponsored suicide drug, is named for a section of the famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy from ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'', in which Hamlet speaks favorably of suicide (''But who would bear the whips and scorns of time ... [[DrivenToSuicide when he himself might his quietus make with a bare bodkin?]]").
240** Given that the story is about a baby representing a new hope for humanity, there are not surprisingly many references to the story of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph from the [[Literature/TheBible Christian Bible]].
241*** Theo (whose name is the Greek root meaning "God") first sees that Kee is pregnant in a barn, among farm animals, a reference to Jesus' birth in a manger.
242*** When Theo becomes aware of Kee's pregnancy, he swears "Jesus Christ!"
243*** Kee jokes that she is a virgin, a reference to the Christian belief that Mary was a virgin before, during, and after her pregnancy.
244*** Kee also admits that she doesn't know who the father is. Since we don't know the identity of the father, it could be assigned to "God."
245*** Also Theo as surrogate father and protector (i.e. Joseph) and his switch to wearing sandals halfway through.
246*** Theo is seen washing or soaking his feet several times during the movie; there are several references to Jesus or saints washing their feet or having them washed in the Christian Bible.
247*** The name of the 'Fishes' group is also a Christian reference. In fact, the 'fish' was one of the very first symbols in Christian art. Fish, in Greek, is spelled "IXTHYS" which served as an acronym for "Iesous Xhristos Theou Hyios Soter": I (esous = Jesus) X (ristos = Christ) TH (eou = God's) Y (ios = Son) S (oter = Saviour).
248*** Later in the film during the long take there is a lot of religious suggestion in the peoples' reactions to the child, such as reaching their arms out, singing, crying, and crossing themselves. The child literally represents the salvation of all mankind.
249* ShutUpGunshot: Syd does this in order to shut up the Gypsy lady when they find Kee with her baby.
250%%* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Continually switching both sides of the middle point. - ZCE
251%%* SlidingScaleOfShinyVersusGritty: Most of the setting is on the gritty side. - ZCE
252* SmokingIsCool: Used as a form of lazy suicide. Interestingly, although Theo tries to smoke several times over the course of the film, he is never allowed to finish a cigarette.
253* SoundtrackDissonance: After an hour and forty minutes of dark drama, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2wvJUZYQ7o this song]] plays over the credits.
254* SpitefulSpit: Kee spits on Luke's face when he seizes her in the wheelchair.
255* SterilityPlague: This trope forms the basic premise of the movie. No one knows why.
256* StiffUpperLip: A dark example: "The World Has Collapsed: Only Britain Soldiers On"
257* SuicidePill: Quietus, a government-distributed suicide pill for anyone that doesn't want to wait for society to collapse on its own. Jasper uses one on his wife just before sacrificing his life to delay the Fishes.
258%%* SurprisinglySuddenDeath: In keeping with the film's steadfast aversion of DeathIsDramatic, most deaths meet this description. - ZCE
259* SwissCheeseSecurity: The guards at the Fishes refugee house. They let Theo [[ExactEavesDropping overhear the plan about his execution]], let him enter Kee's room unchallenged, don't notice him [[VehicularSabotage sabotage the cars]] and only notice the group escaping when the car is right behind them.
260* TestedOnHumans: Various HM Government billboards seen throughout the movie imply that the government selects random members of the public for fertility tests in the small hope of finding someone who is able to reproduce. Refusal to undergo one is an offense.
261* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Subverted. The news report in the prologue reports the death of 18 year old "Baby Diego", fatally stabbed to death by a fan in Buenos Aires after Diego refused to sign an autograph and spat in the man's face. Paraphrasing Jasper, "he was the youngest wanker on Earth". It's a really effective way to quickly establishing the film's ChildlessDystopia.
262* ToyotaTripwire: Happens twice to the same guy. Once using the motorcycle gag (albeit, the car is reversing to accomplish this), and once chasing a car downhill. On foot.
263* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VT2apoX90o trailer]] reveals Kee's pregnancy, which was carefully set up as a WhamShot in the movie.
264* TraumaCongaLine: At the start of the movie, Theo has lost his son to illness. [[spoiler: It's not long before his ex-wife and best friend are dead as well, both murdered right in front of him.]]
265* ATruceWhileWeGawk: At the climax of the film when Kee's baby is seen by everyone. Then someone pops off an RPG and the fighting resumes.
266* TrustPassword: "You're a fascist pig."
267* UncertainDoom: Most of the soldiers and resistance fighters from the climax.
268* UnnaturallyBlueLighting: Scenes in the streets of CrapsackWorld London are shown in a blue/greenish light.
269* UnsafeHaven:
270** The thousands of refugees flocking to Britain come to realise this when they are rounded up and put in concentration camps.
271** Theo and company arrive at a refugee house only to discover that the people there are planning to kill Theo and kidnap Kee so that they can use her baby for their own political ends. They manage to escape, and the trope is lampshaded with this exchange:
272--->'''Miriam:''' We need to find a safe house.\
273'''Theo:''' Yeah, 'cause the last one was really fucking safe.
274* UnspecifiedApocalypse: We don't know why mass infertility happened. The director Creator/AlfonsoCuaron even stated that he doesn't like backstories in his movies. Furthermore, the book this movie is based on didn't reveal the cause of mass infertility, either.
275* UrbanSegregation: Although most of 2027 London appears far scruffier and more ramshackle than present-times, there are clearly enclaves within the city where a [[GoodOldWays gentrified lifestyle]] still exists -- although these once-public areas are clearly now highly restricted. When Theo travels in a Rolls Royce to visit Nigel at Battersea, he goes through a check-point clearance gate at Admiralty Arch and travels down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace. During the journey, it appears as if the area around the Palace, St. James' Park and Green Park is physically unchanged, although it has now become an exclusive gated enclave where people relax in the parks, walk dogs (as well as other more exotic animals) and listen to a brass band play whilst the Household Cavalry process by.
276* UsedFuture: The juxtaposition of [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture mildly futuristic technology]] and slowly decaying public infrastructure gives the setting an almost PostCyberPunk feel.
277* VikingFuneral: Several corpses are seen being burnt on a bonfire in the Bexhill refugee camp, with various people huddled around them for warmth.
278* WeWillHaveEuthanasiaInTheFuture: The government issuing [[CyanidePill Quietus]] to its citizens.
279* WhamShot: In the barn when Kee reveals her pregnancy to Theo.
280* WhoNamesTheirKidDude: Froley if it's a boy, Bazooka if it's a girl. [[spoiler: She finally settles on [[GenderBlenderName Dylan]], to honor Theo's dead son.]]
281* WorldHalfEmpty: The human race has lost its source of new life. All nations in the world have plunged into mayhem, save for Britain, now under the oppressive heel of an authoritarian state. Refugees are everywhere, and the last hope for humanity may well go into the wrong hands.
282* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: The Fishes can be seen as either.

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