Chiwetel Ejiofor Quote of the Month: July 2011

Children of Men, by any measure, is one of the best Sci-Fi films to come out in the past ten years. It's also a lesson in how a book adaptation needn't be faithful in order to produce a great movie. I read the original book by P.D. James before the film came out and thought it was a moving story. The film took quite a bit of liberties while retaining the bare bones plot, but there's little arguing with the results.

Our protagonist Theo (Clive Owen) lives in a future where pregnancies have suddenly stopped and the human population is in the midst of it's slow shuffle to extinction. He is soon recruited by an old flame to help her radical group transport a refugee out of the country. Something goes wrong and they have to retreat to a safe house, where upon the refugee takes Theo aside and shows him that she's actually pregnant. Chiwetel plays one of the radicals, Luke, and arrives just after Theo finds out.

Luke: “When you’re ready, come inside. Everybody’s arrived.”

Theo: “She’s pregnant.”

Luke: “Now you know what’s at stake.”

Theo: “But, she’s pregnant.”

Luke: “Yeah, I know. (pause) It’s a miracle, isn’t it?”