4 Ways Alfonso Cuaron’s Children Of Men Hits Me Way Harder Now

I have never gone through the experience of losing a child, and so I hopefully never understand the pain, grief, or guilt clearly visible in Clive Owen’s portrayal of Theo, but having children of my own I now empathize with the broken shell of a man. In late 2019, my daughter broke her leg at a birthday party, and while that’s different than say dying of the flu, I felt like I failed her as a parent as she let out the most heartbreaking cries I’ve ever heard. As parents, we’re supposed to protect our children, and in that situation, I felt like I was to blame for the break. Multiply that feeling of failure and helplessness to the nth degree and you have Theo’s shattered and closed-off mindset.