Theo Faron (Clive Owen) is an epitome of a savior in a society facing a possibility of extinction due to almost two decades of human infertility in the movie Children of Men ( Cuarón, 2006 ).
I. Introduction : Clive Owen's character has a significant responsibility to symbolize optimism, faith, and salvation against the rise of inhumanity as functioning governments across the world collapse, leading to, among others, plagues, an increase in illegal immigration, and oppression of refugee in the United Kingdom.
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II. Character Description : The director’s choice of a hopeless civil servant to play the savior role helps to underscore the service to humanity at the time of great pessimism and fear. His appropriateness for the character also portrays itself from his background personal story of having lost a child due to a flu pandemic. In summary, Theo is stripped down to practically nothing, and the people he loves the most are ripped away from him (Hoffman). Suggestively, the experience puts him in the best place to empathize with other characters who become victims of a chaotic world full of hatred and desperateness. Admittedly, these are seen in his different attempts at humanness despite the challenges he faces. In that light, Theo becomes an apt choice for his messiah-like role in the film to provide the much-needed humaneness and hope.
III. Function : Theo always finds himself in a situation that results in a sense of hope at the end. His child dies, but against that backdrop, he still manages to instill confidence. Also, his interactions with other characters, such as his cousin, affirm that truism. More importantly, he appears at the scene where a woman is being attacked due to her pregnancy, and being an immigrant in the unwelcoming UK provides him with an opportunity to rescue the woman. He does this despite risking his life as the attackers turn their anger on his escaping caravan.
IV. Scene 1 : The scene in which Theo visits his cousin, Nigel (Danny Histon), is essential in different ways. First, through the visit, the character helps contextualize some of the problems that people need salvation from at the time of widespread fear and hopelessness. Admittedly, this is witnessed when Theo asks him how he can remain in high spirits even in the face of the inescapability of people's annihilation. His reply that he has been able to stay happy by not thinking about such an eventuality provides a strategy people can utilize to deal with the inherent anxieties in the movie. Thus, through Theo's interaction with the individual, the scene offers a way of coping with pessimism associated with the malaise in his society.
V. Scene 2 : The other insightful scene is where Theo decides to join a group of people to transport a pregnant immigrant woman called Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey) to a safe place. The scene appears in the background of violence to which the female is subjected. The act of Theo striving to assist an otherwise targets of human aggression connects to his role as a savior to people in heightened predicaments such as Kee.
VI. Conclusion: Theo Faron (Clive Owen) in Children of Men is an excellent choice that the director of the movie uses to symbolize the salvation that people need at a time of massive turmoil. Through his expression of humanness, the audience can visualize an exemplary individual who goes against the norm in his society by risking his life to help the needy. Indeed, by the end of the movie, the sense of the empathy that he feels makes him a hero with whom the audience can connect in their contemporary lives.
References
Cuarón, A. (Director). (2006). Children of God [Film]. Universal Studios.
Hoffman, J. (2015, January 29). Developing Theo in children of men | Introduction to film and media studies . Sites at Lafayette – The place for personal, club, project, course blog, and organization sites at Lafayette College. https://sites.lafayette.edu/fams101-sp15/2015/01/29/developing-theo-in-children-of-men/
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