Children of Men

(2006)

Written by
Alfonso Cuarón & Timothy J. Sexton
and David Arata
and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby

Based on the Novel by P.D. James

Directed by Alfonso Cuarón

Clive Owen..................................Theo Faron

Michael Caine............................Jasper Palmer
Philippa Urquhart...............................Janice
Chiwetel Ejiofor..................................Luke
Julianne Moore...........................Julian Taylor
Danny Huston.....................................Nigel
Pam Ferris......................................Miriam
Claire-Hope Ashitey................................Kee
Francisco Labbe..............................Francisco
Peter Mullan.......................................Syd
Oana Pellea...................................Marichka

FADE IN:

Middle-aged FACES looking up, in quiet shock, listening...

A WOMAN'S VOICE
(upper-class English
accent)
...the world was stunned today by
the death of Diego Ricardo, the
youngest person on the planet...

1 INT. CAFE - DAY 1

MORE SAD FACES, and now we see we're in a crowded cafe.

Standing room only. Everyone staring upward, O.S.,

listening...

WOMAN'S VOICE
Baby Diego was killed in a bar fight
in Buenos Aires after refusing to
sign an autograph...

A man enters he coffee shop, making his way through the

transfixed crowd: THEO FARON (55, American), wearing a worn
suit and tie, glasses. Theo is a veteran of hopelessness. He
gave up before the world did.

Theo wedges his way through the packed bodies to the counter.
He orders:
 THEO
Coffee. Black.

Next to him, a 50-year-old woman stares upward, cradling a

small dog, a tear rolling down her face. Theo follows her
gaze: an old plasma TV is mounted above the counter. A
REPORTER delivering the breaking news. Theo watches with
little interest.

WOMAN REPORTER (TV)

...He struggled his entire life with
the celebrity status thrust upon him
as the world's youngest person.

ON TV: The face of "Baby" DIEGO (18), the most famous boy in
the world, a fair-haired teenager who never lacked anything,
smiling a practiced smile.

WOMAN REPORTER (CONT'D)

Witnesses say Diego spat in the face
of a fan who asked for an autograph.
(MORE)

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 2
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WOMAN REPORTER (CONT'D)

The incident escalated into the brawl
that ended with Diego's demise. The
fan was trampled to death by the
angry crowd shortly thereafter.

Theo's coffee arrives. He lays exact change on the counter

and makes his way back toward the door, weaving through the
crowd, past people crying.

WOMAN REPORTER (TV) (CONT'D)

(solemnly)
Diego Ricardo, the youngest person
on earth, was 18 years, 4 months, 2
days, 16 hours and 8 minutes old.

2 EXT. STREET - DAY 2

Theo walks outside with his coffee. All around him, people
have stopped, their faces turned upward, transfixed by the
news. Atop some buildings, old billboard style LED screens
display the coverage. Some of the pixels are burnt out.

On a nearby wall, a mural of the country's current leader,

known only as the "Warden." A stoic visage with steely,
watchful eyes.

SUPER: LONDON, NOVEMBER 17, 2026 A.D.

 Theo continues past dusty storefronts. Homeless huddle in
doorways, bundled in threadbare blankets. Pedestrians hurry
by, on their Monday morning rush to work.

Theo sets his coffee cup atop a post box. A few cars roll
by. Mostly "older" vehicles -- 2008's, a couple of 18's.
Some motorized rickshaws, a double-decker bus with metal
mesh on the windows. Bicycles. He takes a flask from his
pocket, unscrews the top, about to pour into his coffee,
when behind him

-- BOOM! A BOMB EXPLODES inside the cafe, blowing out the

windows, shaking the ground. Theo's knocked off his feet.

Smoke pours through the shattered facade of the cafe. The

counter where Theo stood moments before, simply gone. WAILS
of pain as people stagger out of the blackened wreckage,
bleeding, covered in debris. A woman splattered in blood,
holding her own severed hand.

Theo gets up, shell-shocked, hands pressed against his ears.

SHRIEKING ALARMS from nearby buildings blending with the
"Eeeeeeeee" of his ringing ears...

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 3
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BLACK

SILENCE now, except for the "Eeeeeeeee" of Theo's ringing

ears. Title:

"CHILDREN OF MEN"

3 EXT./INT. MINISTRY OF ENERGY BUILDING - LOBBY - DAY 3

The LOUD RUMBLE of steel wheels on a stone floor, aged

MAINTENANCE WORKER rolls a heavy bin out the front doors of
the lobby. He passes Theo who is on the other side of the
open doors.

Theo, looking lost, disheveled, walks in and approaches the

SECURITY GUARD. He displays his ID, looks into a retinal
scanner and moves toward the metal detector. Absently, he
begins to empty his pockets -- then stops, pressing his palms
against his ringing ears, staring off with a lost expression.
A beat. He notices the guard looking at him expectantly. He
then continues through the metal detector.

4 INT. MINISTRY OF ENERGY BUILDING - SECOND FLOOR - DAY 4

Theo walks into a vast work space. There are two hundred
identical cubicles on the floor, but only half are occupied.
visible consequence of downsizing. A painting of the Warden
dominates the front wall.
 Theo heads down an aisle, passing SEVERAL EMPLOYEES who have
windows open on their computer screens, watching reports of
Baby Diego's death. We catch a bit of the reports as he
walks by...

COMPUTER MONITOR

A NEWS REPORTER...

TV REPORTER
... Diego resisted being identified
as a Zed, the label given to those
of the final generation. He felt
the term Zed had become primarily
associated with the youthful gangs
who have formed their own nihilistic
and violent societies. But clearly'
as youngest of the young...

Theo passes another cubicle...

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 4
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2ND REPORTER
... his tragic passing now makes
Vladimir Raskovich the world's
youngest human being, at 18 years, 4
months, 2 days. Vladimir was born
in small town outside of Kazan,
Russia...

Theo arrives at his cubicle, sits down at his desk. It's

devoid of any personal touches, except a little plastic palm
tree stuck on his computer monitor. Etched into the base of
the palm tree are are the words "Pair A Dice."

He looks up and watches SHIRLEY, a heavyset woman across the

aisle, sobbing softly into a Kleenex. He turns away, once
again presses his hands against his ringing ears and...

PETER (O.S.)
Broken up over Baby Diego, eh, Theo?

PETER has wheeled a cart up to Theo's desk. Although he has

an office boy's job, Peter is at least forty. Theo stares,
considers setting Peter straight but...

THEO
The only thing on my mind, Peter.

Peter places a few file folders on Theo's desk, then moves

on with his cart. Theo gets up from his chair...

5 INT. MR. GRIFFITHS'S OFFICE - DAY 5

 Bare walls. Empty shelves. The fluorescent overhead flickers.
The office of a middle manager. Mr. Griffiths (40's) is
watching coverage of Baby Diego on his computer screen. He
looks up, sees Theo standing in his doorway.

GRIFFITHS
Faron...

THEO
Mr. Griffiths... I seem to be more
affected by Baby Diego's death than
I realized. Sir, if you wouldn't
mind, I'd like to finish the day's
work at home.

Griffiths considers the request.

6 INT. OFFICE CORRIDOR - DAY 6

Heading down the hallway, Theo glances at the elevators,

Then turns a corner and stops in-front of a locked door. He

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 5
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puts his eye up to a retinal scanner. The laser beam shines

across his pupil. A door clicks open.

7 INT. SAFE ROOM - DAY 7

A wall of locked drawers, like safe deposit boxes. Block

letters spell out: AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. Theo slips a
small key into one of the boxes and slides out a long metal
tray containing stacks of coupons.

On the side of the tray, a digital readout: 1,028. Theo takes

out five coupons, and the readout instantly reflects the
change: 1,023. Tearing a corner from a piece of paper, Theo
fashions three tiny spitballs and, with a quick glance over
his shoulder, slips them between the remaining coupons. The
readout turns back to 1,028. Satisfied, Theo slips the
pilfered coupons into his pocket.

8 EXT. STREET - WOOLWICH - DAY 8

Old red-brick apartments interspersed with a few empty shops.

A state poster on a hotel wall reads: "ENGLISH IS OUR
LANGUAGE." Theo crosses the empty street, heading for The
Snake & The Flute, an old-school corner pub. A bicycle chained
to a lamp post out front.

RUDY (O.S.)
A reliable source says the Warden'll
be allowin' selective wireless service
again, end of this year.
 9 INT. THE SNAKE AND THE FLUTE - DAY 9

From a canvas backpack, RUDY pulls out a cell phone and places
it on a table next to two dented tins of tuna.

WIDER: Theo in a booth with Rudy (30's), who has the qualities
of a street hustler. Beers in front of them. Theo stares
at the cell phone a moment, then picks it up and examines
it.

RUDY
Get the internet back up as well.

Theo twirls the phone in his hand...

THEO
(ironically)
And he'll hold free elections too...

...and places it back on the table

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 6
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THEO (CONT'D)
I need something for a woman.
Something nice.

RUDY
(raises an eyebrow)
A new development? Sure, I got
something for ya, Theo.

Rudy lifts a black teddy from his bag.

RUDY (CONT'D)
Keep you both warm on a cold night,
eh?

But Theo has noticed something else in Rudy's backpack. Theo

pulls out a red scarf.

THEO
How much?

RUDY
You got a good eye, my friend. 100%
Chinese silk -

THEO
How much?

RUDY
Ain't made nothing of that quality
in fifteen years. Vintage stock,
that is. --
 THEO
(overlapping)
Rudy, I got a train to catch in twenty
minutes.

RUDY
I'll let it go for fifty.

Theo slides a packet of his purloined petrol coupons across

the table.

THEO
(off Rudy's look)
Two months petrol rations. For the
scarf... and the tuna.

Rudy reaches for the packet of coupons -- but Theo puts his
hand on them.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 7
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THEO (CONT'D)
-- And I need you to place a bet for
me. With Freddie.

RUDY
I can't do that. I don't want Freddie
up my arse.

A beat, then Theo lets Rudy retrieve the coupons.

RUDY (CONT'D)
Fuck, you don't want Freddie up your
arse either.
(holds up coupons)
If you got access to these, use 'em
to pay 'em off, instead of getting
in even deeper.

And from O.S...

VOICE (O.S.)
'Tis his wrath we are feeling!

Theo turns: A street-corner evangelist stands on a chair...

STREET-CORNER EVANGELIST
(ranting)
'Tis your derogate ways that keeps
this plague upon us! You disappoint
our Lord! My wounds will make amends
for your reprobate --

And he opens his shirt, revealing strands of barbed wire

 wrapped around his waist, pin-pricks of blood dotting his
skin.

CLOSE ON A FLAT-SCREEN MONITOR

A state propaganda loop of a quick montage of cities in

turmoil...

A mushroom cloud over Beijing. The battered Eiffel Tower

surrounded by ruins. Tanks in the streets at Washington
Square. Militias on the march in Oslo. Riots in the streets
of Rio. Only one Petronas Tower still standing in Kuala
Lumpur...

The montage ends with an image of Big Ben, still ticking,

its famous chimes BOOMING on the soundtrack. Title: "OTHER -
COUNTRIES FALTER. ENGLAND SHOULDERS ON." Then, superimposed
over this, the ghostly, domineering face of the Warden.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 8
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10 INT. TRAIN - DAY 10

Theo sitting next to the window of a passenger train, watching

the flat screen mounted on the back of the seat in front of
him. His eyes begin to close as the soundtrack's PATRIOTIC
MUSIC swells... Then...

POCK! POCK! Rocks smack against the side of the train, jolting
Theo out of his sleepy moment. He looks out...

A GANG is hurling rocks and bottles. Some of the faces are

covered in war paint. They're mostly "ZEDS" -- 20-year-olds,
members of the final generation. The gang disappears behind
a billboard: "IS YOUR NEIGHBOR A TERRORIST? REPORT ALL
SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY."

Another billboard flashes by: "AVOIDING FERTILITY TESTS IS A

CRIME!" Graffiti on a wall: "LAST ONE TO DIE PLEASE TURN OUT
THE LIGHT."

11 EXT. TRAIN STATION - AFTERNOON 11

Stepping off the train, Theo passes police officers patrolling

with German Shepherds. A pleasant female VOICE on a taped
loop announces: "Transit Papers must be current and
verifiable. Travel to Zone One requires a valid Zone One
pass. Travel to Zone Two requires..."

Theo joins a queue to exit the station. Up ahead, passengers

swipe ID cards and push through turnstiles. Off to one side,
police stand guard over detained TRAVELERS (early 30's),
some sitting on their luggage. Tears roll down the face of
one woman as she WHINES to the others in Dutch.
 Theo glances at the woman, then looks away. When he reaches
the front of the line, he pulls out his ID card -- fastened
to a self-coiling chain -- and swipes through the turnstile.

12 EXT. TRAIN STATION - PARKING LOT - DAY 12

Theo spots an OLDER MAN across the way and walks toward him,
waving. The older man's eyes light up as he waves -

JASPER
Hey, amigo!

JASPER PALMER, a teenager in the 60's, has refused to let go

of his youth. Thick glasses, wispy beard, long hair, he is
probably the coolest 75-year-old on the planet. The two old
friends greet each other with a warm embrace.

JASPER (CONT'D)
Good to see you.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 9
7-1-07

THEO
You too, Jasper.

13 EXT. RURAL ROAD - DUSK 13

Abandoned fields, ruined farms and barns. A pair of headlights

cut through the darkening sky, illuminating machinery rusting
on the fallow land. The car is a Volvo sedan, circa 2009,
not mint but still reliable.

JASPER (O.S.)
How many were killed?

THEO (O.S.)
Fuck knows, the place was packed.

14 INT. VOLVO - SAME 14

Theo's in the passenger seat, Jasper driving.

JASPER
Who do you think did it?

THEO
(shrugs)
Pick a number.

JASPER
They'll blame the usual bunch...
Muslims, the Five Fishes, the IRA...
but I'm sure the Warden is behind
some of these bombings. It wouldn't
be the first time.
 THEO
All I know is my ears are still
ringing.

JASPER
I'm glad you don't take cream or
sugar, amigo. Losing you and Baby
Diego on the same day would be too
much to bear.

THEO
Baby Diego was a wanker.

JASPER
Very true, but he was the youngest
wanker on earth.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 10
7-1-07

15 EXT. RURAL ROAD - SAME 15

The Volvo sailing along the country road. A cyclone fence on

one side cordons off a vast stretch of land -- one of the
Evacuated Zones.

Behind the Volvo, a black bus escorted by Saracen tanks bears

down on them.

16 INT. VOLVO - SAME 16

Jasper slows, hugging the left side of the road to allow the
tanks and bus to pass. Theo watches the bus overtake them.

JASPER
(re: the bus)
Fewgees -- taking them to Bexhill.
You see buses all the time now.

The overcrowded bus has steel mesh over the windows, the
driver separated from his passengers by a metal cage. A
glimpse of a few arms handcuffed to the overhead railing.
Sad faces pressed to the steel mesh, looking out.

JASPER (CONT'D)
Poor devils. Things must be awfully
grim in Europe to want to come here
and be hunted down like foxes.

Through the windshield, the bus speeds toward the horizon,

passing a road sign: BEXHILL 22 miles.

The Volvo slows down, turns off the road into a heavily wooded
area.
17 EXT. ROAD - DUSK 17

Jasper and Theo get out, Jasper looking both ways to make
sure the coast is clear. They walk toward some bushes. Jasper
lifts one up -- it's not rooted.

JASPER
I was surprised you called. We weren't
expecting to see you for a few weeks.

THEO
Yeah, they gave me the day off.

They remove the rest of the fake bushes -- revealing a dirt

road. Jasper gets back in behind the wheel and drives through.
Theo replaces the fake bushes and gets in the car.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 11
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INT JASPER'S CAR - SAME

The car drives into the woods, up the small dirt trail.

THEO (CONT'D)
How's Sandra doing:

JASPER
She's lovely...
(beat)
She's had better days, though. Back
in her own world at the moment.

Through the windshield, in a clearing through the trees...

JASPER (CONT'D)
Last week I found her down by the
creek. Mud all over her nightgown.
Poor thing, shivering her death of
cold.

...a low-tech, jury-rigged eco-house, complete with primitive

solar panels and a grass roof.

JASPER (CONT'D)
When she's more her normal self, she
cries, started talking about Quietus.
(off Theo's look)
Thinks she's a burden. I tell her be
patient, the curtain will lift.

CUT TO:

CLOSE ON SANDRA

She sits in a chair, staring ahead. The light is gone from

 her eyes, her face a blank mask.

18 INT. JASPER'S HOUSE - NIGHT 18

Theo and Jasper are standing in front of her.

JASPER
Hi, Sweetie.

Jasper kisses her. Sandra does not react.

JASPER (CONT'D)
Theo's here. Remember? Your Rebel
with a Lost Cause? He came early
this month.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 12
7-1-07

THEO
Hi, Sandra. I brought you something.

In her hand he carefully places the brightly colored scarf

we saw earlier. No response from Sandra. She's still staring
at something O.S...

THEO (CONT'D)
(re: the scarf)
I think you like red, don't you?

Sandra just holds the scarf. Says nothing.

JASPER
It's her favorite color.

A beat, then...

JASPER (CONT'D)
She came out of it for a moment last
week. Grabbed my hand and apologized
to me for writing that article. She
suffers unspeakable hell inside the
Warden's prisons -- a hell she can't
leave behind, and she apologize to
me.
(to Sandra, tenderly)
Every line you wrote came true, my
love.

Theo follows Sandra's eyes. She's staring at a wall of

photographs.

The photos evoke a warm and keen observation of life's little

moments, while also documenting Jasper's and Sandra's hippy
past: Children with grinning painted faces at Woodstock;
Jasper carrying a peace banner at the Hyde Park anti-Iraq
 War rally in '03; a pair of young girls at a piano in the
middle of a field. There are few shots of Sandra, and when
there are, she always has a camera in hand.

Among the photos, a long-haired, defiant-looking Theo, arm-

in-arm with a striking YOUNG WOMAN with the same attitude.

19 INT. JASPER'S GREENHOUSE - NIGHT 19

It's a makeshift affair. Grow lights coax marijuana plants

into bloom. Electronic MUSIC with an infectious, driving
beat plays softly on a vintage stereo. Nearby, a bank of
video monitors display infrared images of Jasper's property.

Jasper is rolling a monster joint; Theo sips from his flask.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 13
7-1-07

JASPER
Business has been slow. Daddy
government hands out pills and anti-
depressants as part of your ration...

Jasper holds up the joint for emphasis...

JASPER (CONT'D)
...and the Buddha is still illegal!
Most of my weed now goes to Bexhill
bloke buys it from me, smuggles it
inside. Guess what he does? His
real job?

THEO
Immigration cop?

JASPER
Bravo! One of the many perks of having
a refugee camp in the neighborhood.

Jasper fires up the joint. Theo toasts Jasper with his flask.
Theo drinks deeply.

JASPER (CONT'D)
(telling a joke))
##So, the Human Project is having this
big dinner. All the brightest minds--

THEO
(scoffing)
C'mon, Jasper, the Human Project
doesn't exist--

JASPER
I'm trying to tell a joke, Theo.
 THEO
ah... Right. Okay.

JASPER
Anyway, there's this big dinner.
Scientists and sages, all gathered
together... They're throwing around
theories, asking the ultimate
question: why haven't there been any
babies born in 18 years?
(beat)
The bioethicist blames genetic
experiments. The environmentalist
argues it's pollution and pesticides.
Minister says God is pissed, right?
(MORE)

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 14
7-1-07

JASPER (CONT'D)
Same old, same old.
(beat)
Then they look at this Englishman
who hasn't said a word, just keeps
tucking into his entree. So they ask
him, "What do you think? Why don't
people have babies anymore?" The
Englishman looks at them, he's chewing
on a wing...
(thick English accent)
"I haven't a clue," he says, "but
this stork is quite tasty, eh?"

Jasper playfully hits Theo. LAUGHS.

JASPER (CONT'D)
Haaa! Get it? He's eating a stork!

THEO
(flat)
Stork. That's funny.

Jasper takes another hit.

JASPER
No, I suppose not... We made a
bollocks of the whole thing, didn't
we? I would have hoped we might've
held it together a little better.

THEO
Don't take it so personally, Jasper.

JASPER
In sixty years, humanity will be
 gone.

THEO
Ninety-eight percent of the species
that roamed the earth are extinct.
What makes us so goddamn special?
Just because we left behind a few
piles of rock?

JASPER
A few really brilliant piles of rock.
And some books... really awesome
books. And some smashing symphonies.

THEO
True, but maybe the planet's ready
for a little peace and quiet.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 15
7-1-07

Jasper turns to the old hi-fi system behind him.

JASPER
But not quiet yet....

He cranks the volume, music blasting from the speakers.

20 EXT. JASPER'S HOME - NIGHT 20

WIDE on Jasper's home in the woods. Light spilling from the

greenhouse. The MUSIC continuing over... SLOW FADE OUT.

Now we become aware of another sound. The SOUND OF THE SURF.

We slowly fade in on...

21 EXT. BEACH - DAY 21

A beautiful sunlit beach. Waves crashing in the b.g., palm

trees, a gentle breeze.

A female form approaches wearing a sarong. She's carrying a

tray with one perfectly designed tropical drink centered on
it. The sun is behind her, partly silhouetting her. When sh-
reaches us, she smiles, impossibly beautiful, youthful, the
sun glistening behind her long hair.

REVERSE: Theo lying on the sand, relaxing, looks up. He likes

what he sees, smiles back.

She begins to speak.

GIRL
BBC World Report. The time is now
seven hundred Greenwich mean time...
 Theo opens his eyes but...

22 INT. THEO'S APARTMENT - MORNING 22

...now he's on his bed, in his apartment. He blinks, looks

over at the TV as the ANCHORWOMAN recites the morning news.

ANCHORWOMAN
...A dirty bomb has exploded in
Copenhagen.

CLICK. A light comes on, reflected in the screen of the TV.

ANCHORWOMAN (CONT'D)
And in the United States, the siege
of Philadelphia is in its two hundred
and thirtieth day.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 16
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Theo gets up, shakes out the cobwebs. The news program cuts
to a commercial. Soothing music, a smiling older couple.. .
walking through a field of daises...

SOOTHING VOICE
Quietus. It's your choice. It's
your decision. It's your final
destination.

IMAGES of elderly people greeted by smiling Quietus attendants

dressed in white.

SOOTHING VOICE (CONT'D)

Trained, compassionate professionals
tend to your every need as you make
the transition within luxurious and
soothing surroundings... Quietus.
You deserve it.

CLICK. Theo shuts off the TV.

23 EXT. STARBUCKS - DAY 23

Dressed for work, Theo walks out of Starbucks with his coffee
in hand. A bit of visual deja vu as he stops at a mailbox
to pour some whisky from his flask into his cup. He takes a
sip and heads down the street

24 EXT. STREET - DAY 24

Theo passes a row of apartment buildings. As we move with

him, the multicolored facades behind him casually give way
to a wall of riot shields. He seems oblivious as he app-
roaches the intersection, where...
 ... Police Officers butted next to each other block off the
cross street. Theo barely glances at the human barricade,
when a Police Dog lunges at him, SNARLING. Theo jumps back,
dropping his coffee, spilling it everywhere --

THEO
Jesus!

He now notices the activity on the street beyond the

barricade: Bewildered faces of frightened NORTH AFRICAN MEN
and WOMEN, some with scarves around their heads, being lead
out of their homes by uniformed officers... a school bus,
painted over black, waiting for them in front of the building.
Then, someone YELLING.

Theo looks up to see objects, personal possessions being

thrown out of an upper-floor window. A jewelry box smashes
onto the street. A policeman trying to keep order...

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 17
7-1-07

POLICE OFFICER
Keep moving! Keep moving!

Theo moves on.

25 INT. MINISTRY OF ENERGY BUILDING - SECOND FLOOR - DAY 25

Theo at his desk, bored, killing time, staring impassively

at the baby figurines and other trappings on Shirley's
monitor.

Peter approaches, places a thick folder on Theo's desk.

THEO
What's this?

PETER
Forms 22 B and C need your
authorization. You might want to
read them first.

Theo looks up at Peter. Then, without saying a word, he

opens the folder, picks up a stamp and stamps the various
forms, barely glancing at the pages. He then signs them,
closes the folder and hands it back to Peter.

THEO
Anything else?

A beat. Then Peter turns away. As Peter heads out into the
hallway, TWO MEN pass him on their way in. One is a head
taller and a foot wider than Theo, dressed in a baggy maroon
jogging suit. The other is smaller, slickly dressed with
 gold inlays in his teeth.

Theo quickly shrinks down in his chair and slips under his
desk, huddling there, listening to the SOUND of approaching
footsteps. The footsteps stop near his desk...

SMALLER MAN
Pardon me, darlin'. We've come to
visit our good friend, Mr. Faron.

SHIRLEY
Well, that's Theo's cubicle there...

The big man moves dangerously close to Theo's desk.

SMALLER MAN
Don't tell me 'e's gone fishing on
us?

Shirley giggles.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 18
7-1-07

SHIRLEY
You might try the library on the
third floor, though I've never seen
him there.

SMALLER MAN
Thank you, turtle dove.

Theo listens to the SOUND of RETREATING FOOTSTEPS. After a

moment, he crawls out from under his desk. He straightens
his jacket and heads for the door.

26 EXT. MINISTRY OF ENERGY BUILDING - ALLEY - DAY 26

Theo bangs out a side door and hurries down the alley...

27 EXT. STREET - DAY 27

Quickly putting as much distance between the office and

himself as he can. He rounds a corner, slows down, trying to
catch his breath. Up ahead, a MOTHER (30's) is pushing a
pram down the street. A YOUNG COUPLE approach, crouching to
look at the infant and cooing "Lovely, lovely baby."

Suddenly, the YOUNG MAN grabs the infant and runs. The mother
chases after him SCREAMING... and the man TOSSES the WAILING
baby to his GIRLFRIEND. The mother lunges at the girlfriend,
PLEADING, but she LAUGHS and tosses the flailing baby back
to her boyfriend -- playing a horrific version of keepaway.

The frantic mother does her best to stop them when, abruptly,
the man raises the baby over his head and SLAMS it head-first
 into the pavement... The baby shatters... porcelain and
springs and computer chips flying... a tiny blue eye rolls
to a stop... The mother crumbles to her knees, wailing as
she gathers the pieces.

Theo watches the pranksters dart off LAUGHING. He doesn't

notice TWO MEN coming up behind him, pulling on ski masks.
Then, they're on him --

MALE VOICE
Keep walking...

Theo does as ordered.

THEO
C'mon guys, I'm gonna pay! Tell
Freddie, I swear I'll have his money,
all of it --

2ND MAN
Shut up.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 19
7-1-07

THEO
By the end or the week -- Monday at
the latest

Theo's rapped on the back of the head with a gun.

2ND MAN
Shut up! Shut up!

A van pulls up alongside them, the door sliding open. Theo

is shoved inside. A motorcycle skids to a stop nearby. The
gunman hops on the bike, and the motorcycle speeds off, racing
against traffic along the one-way street. The van takes off
in the opposite direction.

28 INT. VAN - DAY 28

Theo stares at four masked faces. He's frightened and

confused... Clearly these are not the men who were after him
earlier. A burlap sack is whipped over Theo's head and we...

CUT TO:

BLACK. SILENCE. THEN...

A VOICE ECHOING, as if in a vast space...

MAN'S VOICE (LUKE)

You are under the jurisdiction of
the 5 Fishes. Your basic human rights
will be respected.
 SECOND MAN'S VOICE (PATRIC)
The 5 Fishes have eyes and ears
everywhere. We keep the truth flowing.

WOMAN'S VOICE
Why is he handcuffed?

MAN'S VOICE (LUKE)

It's procedure.

WOMAN'S VOICE
(an order)
Uncuff him.

MAN'S VOICE (PATRIC)

The prisoner should remain cuffed at
all times.

WOMAN'S VOICE
I don't care. Uncuff him.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 20
7-1-07

MAN'S VOICE (LUKE)

Do it.

MAN'S VOICE (PATRIC) (CONT'D)

She doesn't have the authority.

MAN'S VOICE (LUKE) (CONT'D)

Uncuff him.

From Theo's POV... as the burlap sack comes off his head,
the BLACK SCREEN becomes a blurry whitish image and...

29 INT. ABANDONED FACTORY - DAY 29

... a fuzzy, overexposed silhouette moving in front of a

light, reaching around to remove his handcuffs. A second
human shape moving closer, right up to his face and..

... slowly coming into focus: He's looking at the face of an

angel. JULIAN TAYLOR is about Theo's age. Life on the run
has taken its toll, but she still has the radiance of someone
who believes in her cause. Julian is the woman in Sandra's
photographs. A scar runs down the side of her face.

Theo blinks, everything corning into focus, a few shafts of

daylight in the otherwise huge, darkened space. Silhouettes
of his four abductors, still wearing their ski masks, standing
in the shadows.

JULIAN
Hello, Theo...
 Theo staring, clearly shocked to see her. SILENCE. SILENCE.
SILENCE.

THEO
I thought you were dead.

JULIAN
Sorry about the theatrics, but it
was for your safety as much as ours.

THEO
How'd you get that nasty scar? Or
shouldn't I ask?

JULIAN
A close call.

THEO
And that didn't knock any sense into
you?

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 21
7-1-07

JULIAN
Walk with me, Theo...

She nods toward the cavernous warehouse floor. Theo seems

tentative.

JULIAN (CONT'D)
I won't bite.

She holds out her hand. Theo takes it -- Luke steps forward
and Julian waves him off with a subtle gesture. They walk
off -- the Fishes following at a discreet distance.

THEO
I'm trying to think. I can't remember
the last time I saw you.

JULIAN
You're not going to reprimand me for
not calling?

THEO
Never crossed my mind.

JULIAN
It would have made things dangerous
for you.

THEO
You're flattering yourself, Julian.
It never crossed my mind.
 JULIAN
Okay.
(then)
How've you been?

THEO
Never better.

JULIAN
And Jasper and Sandra?

THEO
They're lovely.

JULIAN
How's Sandra doing?

THEO
She's brilliant.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 22
7-1-07

Julian tries to light a cigarette. The lighter sparks, and

sparks, but no flame. Theo does nothing to help her.

THEO (CONT'D)
And how about you and your
boyfriends?..
(looks back at the
Fishes)
Been busy with all these bombings
around town?

Luke steps up, lights her cigarette, turns to Theo.

LUKE
You know that's the Warden's
handiwork, not ours. We're his
scapegoat.

THEO
Right... kidnapping's more your style.

Luke leans toward Theo, his eyes cool behind his mask.

LUKE
Sorry if we frightened you.

Theo turns to Julian

THEO
Why am I here, Julian?

JULIAN
 I need transit papers. Not for me. A
girl. She's illegal. She has to get
to the coast, past the security
checkpoints. Her life depends on
it.

LUKE
We'll pay you 10,000 pounds.

Julian shoots Luke a look. A beat, and Luke retreats to the

other Fishes.

THEO
Why come to me?

JULIAN
You have connections.

THEO
Not anymore. It's a brave new world.
In case you haven't noticed.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 23
7-1-07

JULIAN
You could rekindle an old
friendship...

THEO
Nobody's handing out transit papers
and they're impossible to steal.

JULIAN
You could find a way.

THEO
I'm flattered. Maybe one of your
other ex-lovers could help. You
could toss their names in a hat;
pick out the lucky winner.

Julian looks at Theo a moment, then...

JULIAN
"The only reason to breathe is to
make a difference."

Theo stops short. This seems to have an effect on him. She

faces him squarely:

JULIAN (CONT'D)
"The only reason to breathe is to
make a difference."
(beat)
You remember who told me that?
 THEO
Wanna know the truth? I got it off
a fortune cookie.

There's a look of disappointment in her face, a sadness in

her voice...

JULIAN
Sorry to trouble you, Theo. My
mistake.

She turns and starts back to her comrades. Then--

JULIAN (CONT'D)
(turning back)
Ramona's. The Italian place in Camden.
Six years ago. It was my thirty-
seventh birthday. You had a little
too much to drink and fell asleep in
the booth. That was the last time I
saw you.

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 24
7-1-07

And she continues walking, leaving four masked men alone

with Theo.

30 INT. VAN - DUSK 30

Theo riding with his four captors. The van jolts as it speeds
along the dilapidated road. Luke stares at Theo.

LUKE
I told Julian that appealing to your
conscience would be a waste of time.
But you'll do what we want.
(beat)
I know you need the money to pay
your debts.
(off Theo's look)
The Five Fishes have eyes and ears
everywhere.

31 EXT. BUS STOP - DUSK 31

Deserted, empty street. The van rounds a corner, pulls up

in front of the bus stop. The sliding door opens. Luke
addresses Theo:

LUKE
So when you change your mind...

Luke hands Theo an index card.

 LUKE (CONT'D)
... pin this card on the notice board
at the entrance to the Camden tube.
We'll do the rest.

Theo looks down at the index card: Lost Dog, Black and White
Shelty, answers to the name of Scottie," etcetera.

THEO
Right... Been a genuine pleasure,
fellas...

He starts to get out. And Patric gives him a shove into the
street. Luke tosses some coins at him.

LUKE
Bus fare... The 5 Fishes hope you
weren't too inconvenienced.

The door slams shut, and the van speeds away. Theo watches
it disappear. WIDER: The empty street. Theo looks in both
directions, bends down and picks up the coins.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 25
7-1-07

32 EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT 32

Theo steps around a homeless woman sleeping on the stoop of

his apartment building. He punches in a security code.

33 INT. LOBBY - NIGHT 33

Dimly lit, paint peeling off the walls. Theo walks past the
elevator, doesn't even look at the faded sign that reads
"Out of Order" and starts up a narrow staircase.

34 INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT 34

He stops outside his door, fumbling for his keys. He hears a

creak and looks up -- the BIG MAN in the jogging suit is
charging him. Before Theo has time to react, the thug slugs
him in the stomach, knocking him backwards. Theo falls on
the steps, tumbling down.

Theo comes to a stop on the next landing, and he's hauled to

his feet by the big thug who drags him back up the stairs to
face his smaller partner.

THEO
I'm getting the money together

SMALLER MAN
(overlapping)
Are ya now?
 THEO
(overlapping)
-- Tuesday...

The Smaller Man grabs Theo's hand, twists Theo's fingers

back. He SCREAMS in pain.

THEO (CONT'D)
Wednesday at the latest --

A door opens -- the Smaller Man stops, stares at a SKINNY

MIDDLE-AGED MAN looking out. A long beat.

SMALLER MAN
May I help you?

The door quickly slams shut.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 26
7-1-07

SMALLER MAN (CONT'D)

(back to Theo)
Ya think we got nothin' better to do
'an chase after the likes of you, do
ya?
(shakes his head)
I could be 'ome and warm watching a
Franky Vaughan. And Andrew could be
playing a bit a snooker. Instead,
we're 'ere all evening waitin' and
waitin' for you.

And the Small Man jerks Theo's ring finger back, SNAPS the
bone. Theo SCREAMS in agony.

The big man lets go of Theo, and Theo crumbles to the floor,
cradling his hand. The small man puts his foot on the Theo's
hands. He presses down on Theo's broken finger.

SMALLER MAN (CONT'D)

Now... ya know what I'm gonna say
and I know what you're gonna say.
So let's not bore each other to death.
(and)
Don't make me come back.

A beat, and the Smaller Man releases Theo's hand. The SOUND
of FOOTSTEPS receding. Theo crawls painfully down the hallway
to his door. He struggles to his knees, leaning against the -
wall. He then reaches inside his jacket with his good hand
and pulls out -- his flask. He manages to unscrew the top
and gulp the booze down his aching throat.

35 INT. MINISTRY OF ENERGY BUILDING - SECOND FLOOR - DAY 35

 Theo walks down the hall with a bit of a limp. There's a
small Band-Aid above his eye and a splint on his finger.
Theo enters, walks with purpose toward the wall of locked
drawers, his key in hand... and stops. There are two WORKMEN
in the back of the safe room. One is on a ladder, the other
passing him some tools.

WORKMAN
(greets Theo)
Morning to you.

THEO
Something broken?

WORKMAN TWO
Installing a camera is all.

Theo considers this, then turns back toward the exit.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 27
7-1-07

36 INT. HALLWAY - DAY 36

Theo spots Peter and approaches him.

THEO
Peter...

PETER
(seeing Theo's
condition)
Jealous husband, I suppose?

THEO
(motions toward safe
room)
What's going on?

PETER
Someone's been stealing petrol
coupons.

THEO
(a beat)
Huh... Wow. Stealing.

PETER
Keep your ears open. There's a
thousand pound reward for any
information.

THEO
Wouldn't want to be in that poor
bastard's shoes.
37 TNT. MINISTRY OF ENERGY BUILDING - SECOND FLOOR - DAY 37

Theo approaches his cubicle. He stands there, pondering his

next move, and...

SHIRLEY (O.S.)
(conspiratorially)
I know who it is.

He turns, faces Shirley.

THEO
Really?

SHIRLEY
Yes, it's that Allison Hammer. Her
son's a mongoloid, you know, retarded.
(MORE)

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 28
7-1-07

SHIRLEY (CONT'D)
Their medical bills are through the
bloomin' roof. He's forty years and
acts just terrible. I was alone
with 'im for ten minutes at a
Christmas party and he showed me his
member! You tell me what you hear
and I'll split the reward.

Theo has been looking at her with a blank expression.

SHIRLEY (CONT'D)
Keep your ears open.

She starts back to her cubicle, then remembers something

SHIRLEY (CONT'D)
Oh. Some gentleman was paging you.
I connected him to your voice mail.

Theo remains frozen for a moment, before moving to his phone.

He keys in his code, listens to the message.

38 EXT. STREET - NIGHT 38

Theo frantically pushes past pedestrians, limping as he runs

through the park...

39 EXT. ALBERT HALL - NIGHT 39

The famous concert hall is now a Quietus Auditorium -- a

large banner flaps in the wind, the word "Quietus" next to
an enormous Union Jack. Theo rushes towards the building.
40 INT. ALBERT HALL - AUDITORIUM - NIGHT 40

Rolling clouds across a glorious blue sky. You almost don't

notice the pixels.

FACES lying on soft mats, staring at the clouds projected on

the ceiling. Mostly older men and women, some middle-aged.
Soothing music suffuses the ambiance, and a gentle female
voice:

VOICE
Forgiveness. Experience forgiveness.
Dwell in forgiveness. Forgiveness
towards those who intentionally cause
you pain. Forgiveness. Forgiveness
for those who unwittingly caused you
pain. Forgiveness.

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 29
7-1-07

It's peaceful. It's inviting. It's Quietus. The participants

on the floor are gently dying.

FIND Sandra among the others. Her face is not the blank mask
it was before. Her eyes are now moist with profound
awareness...

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GLASS

are the stands. A few dozen people on the bleacher seats.

Some are there to observe loved ones make their final passage.
Others are just looking for a warm place to sleep.

In the b.g., Theo rushes in and finds... Jasper pressed

against the glass, watching the event unfold. Jasper turns
as Theo approaches, gives a small shake of his head.

JASPER
She left a note. I didn't get here
in time.
(off Theo's look)
They won't let you in. I tried.

Jasper looks at Theo's bandaged hand.

JASPER (CONT'D)
What happened to you?

Theo dismisses the question with a shake of his head. Jasper

looks back through the glass at Sandra.

JASPER (CONT'D)
They say it's a peaceful way to go.
God knows she deserves some peace
after what they did to her...
41 THEO SAYS NOTHING. THEY WATCH THROUGH THE WINDOW AS -- 41

BELOW - ON THE MAIN FLOOR

An ATTENDANT approaches Sandra and offers her a cup. Sandra

reaches for it, her hand shaking. The Attendant steadies her
and Sandra drinks.

VOICE
Gratitude. Immerse yourself in
gratitude. Gratitude. Gratitude
for those who brought you joy.
Gratitude. Gratitude for those who
brought you pain. Gratitude.
Gratitude for your unique journey.
Gratitude. Dwell in gratitude.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 30
7-1-07

IN THE STANDS

Jasper and Theo, watching silently as Sandra's grip slips

from the cup. Her entire body relaxes as the attendant helps
her lie back down.

JASPER
We just moved to Paris. We didn't
have anything, a mattress, two cups.
We were so broke. One day I finished
early at the Sorbonne and I saw her
from the window, coming home, carrying
flowers. There was a curtain that
was our closet, and I hid behind it.
I was going to surprise her.

Behind them, past the glass, a disturbance: An OLD MAN is

resisting, he knocks away the cup as it's offered. The lights
dim.

JASPER (CONT'D)
She came in, put flowers in a drinking
glass, and she sat on the sofa just
looking at them. Daffodils. She was
twenty-seven. Her hair was dark brown.
So much of it, it would fill your
hands... She was so beautiful.

The lights fade up on the main floor, everything returned to

its state of peace. The old man lies completely still.

JASPER (CONT'D)
She was humming "I Love Paris In the
Springtime." Very softly. And she
stayed there, just like that. Looking
 at the flowers. For a long time. And
you know what she was doing? She
was picking her nose.
(smiles, back in the
moment)
She always did that when she thought
no one was watching her. Did you
ever notice?

THEO
(lying)
No.

JASPER
That's what she did. She picked her
nose...
(MORE)

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 31
7-1-07

JASPER (CONT'D)
(shows his little
finger)
With her pinky.

Jasper looks down at Sandra.

JASPER (CONT'D)
She's gone.

BELOW - ON THE MAIN FLOOR

Sandra stares up at the clouds rolling across the ceiling.

VOICE
Experience the light. The light is
soothing. The light is comforting.
The light is love. It's a light
that shines forever.

42 INT. PICK-UP OFFICE - QUIETUS - NIGHT 42

Theo waiting on a plastic couch in the simple white room.

People at the counter, picking up paper bags that resemble
sacks of flour.

Jasper returns from the counter, holding one of the paper

sacks. Theo stands to meet him.

JASPER
(re: brown sack)
She's still warm.

43 EXT. QUIETUS - NIGHT 43

 Outside, the street is quiet. Theo and Jasper walk. Jasper,
stoic, holding the bag of Sandra's ashes. Sudden}y-

Jasper breaks down. Crying. All of his 75 years now revealed,

all at once an old man.

FADE OUT:

FADE IN:

44 INT. ROLLS ROYCE - DRIVING - DAY 44

A uniformed chauffeur pilots the Rolls. Theo in the back.

His worn suit has been cleaned and pressed.

On the London Mall, well-dressed citizens on their afternoon

outing, some walking their dogs. Some dressed in chaps, riding
horses. A woman walking, holding the hand of a young chimp

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 32
7-1-07

in toddler's clothing. The privileged minority. A restricted

zone.

45 SOUTHWARK BRIDGE CHECKPOINT - DAY 45

The chauffeur stops at a security gate at the entrance to

the Southwark bridge. He hands papers to a security officer.
Guards check under the car with mirrors. Dogs sniff for bombs.
They are waved through.

46 INT. ROLLS ROYCE - DRIVING - DAY 46

Coming over the bridge: an imposing brick structure, its

square tower dominating the gloomy sky: the Battersea Power
Station.

47 INT. BATTERSEA POWER STATION - GREAT HALL - CONTINUOUS 47

A team of SECURITY GUARDS watches Theo walk through a metal

detector and look into a retinal scanner.

Then one of the guards leads Theo through an enormous hall.

SECURITY GUARD
Wait here.

And the Security Guard walks out, leaving him there, alone.

Theo looks further down the hallway -- he's awed. In the

middle of the marble hall, under the soft glow of a skylight
dome, in its perfection: Michelangelo's David. Theo is drawn
to the sculpture --

WOOF! Two Irish Wolfhounds laying on the floor in front of

 the David. Theo doesn't speak dog, but knows that means stop.
Deep growls, the Wolfhounds standing up.

From behind the David, a man dressed in T-shirt and jeans

appears. COLIN PHILLIPS is Theo's age, but looks younger.

COLIN
(Oxford accent)
We couldn't save "La Pieta," it was
already smashed by the time we go
there. But this is pretty rummy,
eh?

THEO
My mom had a plastic one in the
bathroom. It was a lamp.

Colin approaches Theo. They embrace.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 33
7-1-07

COLIN
Hey, bro. I was surprised to hear
from you. Told Mum you called --
she sends her love.

THEO
How's she doing?

COLIN
Holding the respirator.

48 INT. REMBRANDT HALL - BATTERSEA POWER STATION - DAY 48

An endless corridor with masterpieces on both walls. Colin

throws tennis ball, and the Wolfhounds chase after it,
shrinking in the distance.

Colin and Theo carry drinks. Rembrandt's self-portraits age

as they pass.

COLIN
...the self-portraits. We have most
of them. We lost the one at the Frick.
That thing in New York was a real
blow to Art.

THEO
Not to mention people.
(then)
You've gotta admit it's a kind of
perverse. The world's gone to shit
and here you are assembling the
world's greatest art collection.
 COLIN
Might as well save what made us great.
(indicates a painting)
His last.

He stops in front of Rembrandt's final self-portrait.

COLIN (CONT'D)
Look at him. Old Dutch bastard. He's
saying something. Can you tell what
he's saying?

Theo looks at the portrait.

THEO
"Oh, well..."

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 34
7-1-07

COLIN
Exactly. This bloke did some of the
wickedest masterpieces in history,
and here he is, looking at you at
the end of his days. Regretful,
mischievous... "Oh, well."

The old Rembrandt looks down at them.

49 INT. PICASSO HALL - BATTERSEA POWER STATION - DAY 49

Planes drop bombs on civilians. Black and white cubist mayhem.

Theo and Colin stand in front of Picasso's Guernica." The
Wolfhounds sit nearby.

COLIN
Things good at work, bra?

THEO
I can't thank you enough for making
that possible.

COLIN
Thank your mum. I couldn't have done
a thing if you didn't have a British
passport.

THEO
Actually, I feel stupid for asking...
but I need another favor.

Colin raises an eyebrow.

THEO (CONT'D)
I have a new girlfriend... a bit of
a Francophile.
 (sheepishly)
I promised her a trip to Paris...
In a moment of passion, if you know
what I mean. I have the money. But I
was hoping you could get us the
transit papers.

COLIN
Transit papers? That's quite a favor.

THEO
I know. I'm sorry.

COLIN
Isn't your girlfriend aware Paris
isn't what it used to be? Paris
n'est plus la ville des amants.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 35
7-1-07

THEO
Her brother's there. She hasn't seen
him in five years and he's not doing
too well. Not too well at all.
(off Colin's look)
Colin, she's the one decent thing
that' happened to me. She kind of
looks to me for stuff like this...

Colin chews on this.

THEO (CONT'D)
Maybe I could pick up some art for
you.

COLIN
There's nothing left but second-rate
junk.

THEO
I guess I got myself in over my head.
I didn't have anyone else to go to.

Colin embraces the power of helping the little guy.

COLIN
Well... I can't exactly promise
anything.

THEO
(brightening)
You're a lifesaver, Colin.

COLIN
Nonsense, bro. Mummy loved your mum.
 And times like these... Well... Vive
le petit mort.

THEO
Amen.

Colin opens a small silver case. He takes out a pill, offering

it to Theo, who shakes his head, staring at him.

COLIN
What?

THEO
You amaze me. A hundred years from
now, there won't be one sad fuck to
look at any of this. What keeps you
going?

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 36
7-1-07

COLIN
You want to know what it is, bra? 1
just don't think about it.

Colin pops the pill, washing it down with wine.

50 INT. PUB - NIGHT 50

ON TV: A PRETTY REPORTER outside the fence surrounding

Bexhill, speaking to a COLONEL in camouflage fatigues.

PRETTY REPORTER (TV)

...but there are some who'll ask:
isn't there a more humane way of
dealing with refugees than to lock
them in Bexhill and force them to
fend for themselves...

FROM 0.S., CHANTING PROTESTS, the BANGING of POTS and PANS.

Some sort of demonstration past the prison gates.

COLONEL (TV)
We've been tolerant to the point of
drawing criticism. Force is the only
thing stopping Bexhill from becoming
a breeding ground for terrorists.

THEO

sits alone at a table in a crowded pub, watching the TV. He

glances at rowdy patrons arguing over a game of darts.

PATRIC (O.S.)
You're in the company of the 5 Fishes.
 Theo turns and sees Patric, Luke and another Fish standing
behind him.

They sit down. Patric rambles on...

PATRIC (CONT'D)
The 5 Fishes have eyes and ears
everywhere. The 5 Fishes keep the
truth flowing.

Theo looks from one Fish to the other.

THEO
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue
Fish.

Patric doesn't understand.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 37
7-1-07

THEO (CONT'D)
(to Patric)
Dr. Seuss. You ought to do a little
more reading, mate.

Patric's eyes flair.

THEO (CONT'D)
I can see why you guys opt for the
masks.

Luke stares at Theo, sees his bandaged finger.

LUKE
Looks like your friends caught up
with you.

THEO
(ignores him)
Everything's moving ahead, but I'll
need a photo of the girl and her
name.

LUKE
(hands him an envelope)
It's all in here.

THEO
-- And an extra 5,000 pounds for my
trouble.

LUKE
We agreed on ten.

THEO
 All I could get were joint transit
papers, which means I'll have to
escort the girl. Extra time means
extra money. So now it's fifteen.

LUKE
Ten's as high as we can go.

THEO
Find another sucker then.

Theo rises to leave. Luke grabs his arm.

LUKE
Twelve, take it or leave it.

Theo stares a beat.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 38
7-1-07

LUKE (CONT'D)
Thirteen.

THEO
Fifteen's my lucky number.

PATRIC
The hell with the fuckin' Yank.

THEO
If you're short, you could always
kidnap somebody. Rob from the rich,
give to the poor, isn't that what
you guys do?

Luke stares at Theo, then gets up to leave. The other Fishes

follow. Theo watches them walk off, then sits back down. He
takes a swallow of his pint, turns his attention to the TV.

ON TV: Footage from a surveillance camera. A man walking

alone down a remote, poorly illuminated street. Emerging
from the darkness... dozens of wilding Zeds.

TV VOICE
...a security camera capturing the
horrific assault of a 43-year-old
man from Shoreditch by a gang of Zed
hoodlums...

The Zeds swarm around the man, who disappears under their
onslaught. A moment later, the Zeds withdraw into the night.
One Zed left behind, holding a deep gash, staggering...

TV VOICE (CONT'D)
...it's not clear if the Zed was
 stabbed by the victim or by one of
his own gang.

The wounded Zed takes one step and falls to his knees beside
the victim, who lies motionless on the sidewalk, half-naked,
picked clean...

OVER: The CHANT of English football...

51 EXT. ENGLISH FOOTBALL MATCH - DAY 51

KICK! A cleated foot propels the ball into the air. Men
fight their way to it. We're well into a hard-fought English
football match. Players smeared in sweat and mud.

Theo watching the match. Drinking a beer -- hair of the dog.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 39
7-1-07

An OLDER WOMAN, 60's, stands in a front row, blocking his

view -- she casually moves her long gray hair from her neck
revealing an image penned on her neck: five fish. She walks
off. Theo gets up and follows her.

On the walls, a billboard: "REPORT ANY SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY."

52 EXT. EXIT TUNNEL - STADIUM - DAY 52

The older woman walks through a tunnel, exiting the stadium.

Theo follows, losing her in the shadows for a moment as his
eyes adjust to the darkness, then... suddenly Julian is beside
him. The older woman heads in another direction.

JULIAN
Smile.
(discreetly motions
toward a security
camera)
You look good in that shirt...

THEO
You bought it for me, remember?
(beat)
Is all this cloak and dagger
necessary?

JULIAN
Yes. Have to be sure we're not
followed.

A pair of cops appear in he blinding light at the end of the

tunnel. She holds out her hand.

JULIAN (CONT'D)
Take my hand.
 Theo hesitates.

JULIAN (CONT'D)
Lends credibility.

She leans into his shoulder, hiding the scar on her face
from the two cops who pass in the opposite direction.

53 EXT. STADIUM - DAY 53

The crowd ROARS as one of the teams scores.

Julian leads Theo to a bus stop. A double-decker starting to

leave. She tugs Theo's arm and they run, catching up to it,
jumping on through the rear door.

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 40
7-1-07

54 INT. DOUBLE-DECKER BUS - CONTINUOUS 54

Theo and Julian sit at the front of the bus, their backs -
toward the overhead security camera. Theo is a bit out of
breath. She looks over at him, playful, seductive...

JULIAN
(whispers in his ear)
Remember when we used to ride the
buses?

Her hand tightens around his, passion in her gesture

impossible to tell if it's real... or an act.

55 EXT. STREET - DAY 55

The double-decker chugs through the outskirts of London.

Very few people. Shuttered stores. Abandoned flats.

56 EXT. BUS STOP - CITY OUTSKIRTS - DAY 56

The bus rolls away revealing Julian and Theo. They cross the
street. She puts her arm around him. He looks at her, and
for a second it seems he might kiss her.

A FIAT MULTIPLA passenger wagon comes around the corner,

stops in front of Julian and Theo. The back door opens.

LUKE
Get in.

57 INT. MULTIPLA - CONTINUOUS 57

Julian gets in the front. Theo climbs in the back, looks

around. Luke at the wheel, two other women in the backseat.
 THEO
So this is the elite unit?

No response. Luke shifts into gear, drives off.

Theo glances at the woman beside him. KEE (19), brown skin,
North African descent. The world was already falling apart
by the time she was born. She's a Zed.

THEO (CONT'D)
(to Julian)
Is this the girl?

JULIAN
Kee, this is Theo.

Theo locks eyes with the Zed...

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 41
7-1-07

KEE
Fuck you staring at?

THEO
Apparently the pleasure is all mine.

Julian looks around the car, past Luke to the third woman.

JULIAN
This is Miriam...

MIRIAM {40s, black, simply dressed. She looks at him, nods.

LUKE
We're going with you to Canterbury
Road. It's before the first
checkpoint.

THEO
Why?

LUKE
Because we want to. We'll take the
old road and you'll drop us where we
say. After that, the two of you
will be on your own.

THEO
Aren't you forgetting something?

Luke reaches down and tosses a black bag onto Theo's lap.
Theo look inside at stacks of notes.

THEO (CONT'D)
Did you roll an old lady?
 Luke glares at him through the rear-view mirror.

LUKE
We took up a collection for your
soul.

THEO
Hallelujah...

He turns to look at Julian. The sunlight plays in her hair,

her smile like the Mona Lisa. He looks past her, out the
window, the bright sunlight bleeding in as we FADE TO WHITE...

THE WHITE SLOWLY BECOMING OCEAN FOAM...

The sound of... THE SURF...

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 42
7-1-07

A glistening blue wave, rolling luxuriously toward the beach.

The backlit woman in the sarong, her beautiful form moving

closer.. .

Theo in the sand, smiling, in heaven... as she approaches...

Theo shades his eyes as she nears... and now we see... the
woman is Julian Julian's face is soft and beautiful, her
hair is flowing in the breeze.

THEO (CONT'D)
Jules...

She lowers her tray with the drink toward him, smiles and...

THEO (CONT'D)
What do You want from me, Jules?

JULIAN
(tender reprimand)
Theo....
(then)
You're snoring...

58 INT. CAR - DRIVING - DAY 58

Theo asleep. A hand reaches over and nudges him awake.

JULIAN
Hey there. You're snoring.

THEO
(coming to)
No I wasn't.
 JULIAN
How would you know?
(to the others)
He always snored.

THEO
I did not. Where are we?

JULIAN
Canterbury.

Theo looks over at Kee.

THEO
So why's it so important to get this
girl out of the country? She rob a
train, kill a cop, blow up a building?

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 43
7-1-07

No one responds.

THEO (CONT'D)
You're right, I don't want to know
anyway.

Kee turns from Theo to Julian

KEE
(to Julian, re: Theo)
You once was dotage for this berk?

JULIAN
Two or three lifetimes ago. We met
in the states. We weren't much older
than you. Theo was an activist then.

Miriam LAUGHS, can't believe it. Theo ignores the slight.

THEO
An activist was what you wanted me
to be. I just wanted to get laid.

JULIAN
We were at Berkeley. Theo was pissed
that all the money for health and
education was going to defense
contractors. So he had this idea:
Let's go to Seattle and chain
ourselves to the sculpture in front
of Boeing's corporate headquarters.
Naked.

THEO
 Naked was your idea.

JULIAN
We got shy, stopped at our underwear,
thank God, and we chained ourselves
to the sculpture, and we threw away
the key. Total commitment. So we're
waiting for the employees to arrive.
Waiting for the TV cameras to show
up. And it's cold. And nobody is
coming. And it keeps. getting colder.
So we start yelling: Hello?.. Help?
I mean, where's a surveillance camera
when you need one? Finally a patrol
car drives up. The cops get out,
they're staring at us. We're chained,
we're shivering, we're in our
underwear.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 44
7-1-07

Julian and Theo looking at each other, reliving this moment.

JULIAN (CONT'D)
(laughing)
Cop says, "What are you doing?" And
you say, "Protesting." Cop says "Come
back tomorrow." And I said, "Why?"
Cop says--

THEO
"It's Columbus Day."

JULIAN
Yeah.
(and)
A week later we ran off and got
married.

MIRIAM
Married!

THEO
And six months later we ran off and
got divorced.
(beat)
Julian was used to giving herself to
the masses.

JULIAN
(amused)
You're really still there, eh?

Miriam spots something out the window.

 MIRIAM
Look out!

Through the windshield, up ahead: a BURNING CAR rolling down

a hill, toward the road they're travelling on. Luke
accelerates, the Multipla responds grudgingly.

MIRIAM (CONT'D)
What are you doing?!

LUKE
We can make it!

The Multipla gaining speed -- The burning car careening down

toward the road... It looks like they may beat it...

THEO
Go!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 45
7-1-07

But instead, Luke slams the brakes, screeching to a stop,

just misses --

ON THE ROAD

-- the burning car as it cuts them off and -- SMASH! --crashes

into a parked, abandoned vehicle. Flames rise from the car,
blocking off the narrow Road.

INSIDE THE MULTIPLA

Tense silence.

LUKE
This is not good.

Then: WAR CRIES.

EMERGING FROM THE WOODS

ZEDS. Faces painted, armed with stones, sticks and knives.

The gang moves in a wave, like a tribe of hunters, running

toward the car --

INSIDE THE MULTIPLA

CRACK! The first stone hits the window.

JULIAN
Go around!

Instead, Luke throws the car into reverse, screeching the

vehicle backwards. The Zeds race after the car. CRACK! Sticks
 and fists pounding, bodies piling on...

Luke keeps the pedal to metal, screeching away in reverse,

the last Zeds dropping off, giving chase, but can't catch
up.

A lone MOTORCYCLE emerges from behind the burning car, two

riders in masks weaving through the running Zeds. It speeds
towards the Multipla, gaining on them.

INSIDE THE MULTIPLA

Luke can't go any faster in reverse, the motorcycle closes

in, alongside them now. The Zed on back, eyes visible for an
instant through his black mask.

The motorcycle drops back, riding now in front of the car

and...

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 46
7-1-07

Theo sees the Zed on back of the motorcycle straighten aiming

a high-powered RIFLE.

THEO
He's got a gun --

BAM! The bullet crashes through the windshield -- Julian

rocked by the impact, blood spraying. Everyone SCREAMING in
terror and disbelief:

VOICES
(in car)
She's hit! She's hit!

LUKE
(screaming to Miriam)
Get Kee down!

Miriam covers Kee with her own body. Theo moves to Julian
She's been hit in the neck, bleeding badly. Her eyes are
open, alive. Barely.

MIRIAM
Put pressure on the wound!

THEO
Godammit, godammit!

MIRIAM
Stop the bleeding! Use your hand!

ROAD

The motorcycle accelerates again, moving back alongside them.

 INSIDE THE MULTIPLA

Theo sees the motorcycle approach, the Zed on back, pointing

the gun at him, about to shoot and...

He throws open his door --

ROAD

WHACK! Theo's car door SLAMS into the motorcycle. The bike
wobbles. The driver trying to keep balance, but...

The motorcycle tilts and falls, throwing the gunman into the
grass, the driver bouncing across the pavement, leaving a
lot of skin behind.

INSIDE THE MULTIPLA

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 47
7-1-07

Luke slows the car just enough to turn, spinning a 180,

heading away from he ambush, finally driving forward.

LUKE
How is she? How's Julian? She's
bleeding a lot...

Theo holds her throat wound with both hands, trying to dam
the blood with his fingers.

THEO
Hang on, Jules, hang on...

Julian reaches toward her throat, grabbing one of Theo's

hands. She squeezes it. Holding his hand tightly.

Miriam rubs her palms together, laying healing hands onto

Julian's head. Holding them there.

MIRIAM
She's making her transition.

Julian's grip on Theo's hand loosens. She is dead. Everyone

is silent. Then In the distance, SIRENS.

THEO
Jesus.

A police caravan, two squad cars and a van, coming from the
opposite direction. Luke plays it cool, maintaining his speed,
as the caravan heads right toward them.

The caravan flies past, heading toward the scene of the

ambush. There's a moment of relief. Until-
 In Luke's rearview mirror: one of the police cars splits
from the caravan, turning around, coming back.

LUKE
Jesus.

Sirens screaming, the police car closing in. Luke is sweating.

Neither slowing nor speeding up.

KEE
Go, go, go, go, go!

MIRIAM
You have to pull off!

The Police are right on their tail. They have no choice.

Luke eases the car to a stop.

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 48
7-1-07

ROAD

The police car skids to stop behind the Multipla. Two POLICE
OFFICERS instantly out of their car, guns drawn:

COP 1
Let's see your hands!

COP 2
Your hands, let's see your hands!

IN THE MULTIPLA

Luke watches the two police officers approach.

COP 2 (CONT'D)
Get out of the vehicle!

Miriam opens her door, Theo opens his, starts to get out...

ROAD

Luke swings his door open and stands. One hand raised in the
air.

LUKE
We were attacked by Zeds -

COP 1
Your hands!

Luke pulls his other hand from the car --

BAM! Luke's other hand is holding a gun, and he's shot the
 First Cop through the heart. Before the Second Cop can react,
Luke swivels

BAM! Luke gets off another shot. And the Second Cop crumples
to the ground... but manages to fire a round --

BAM! Luke finishes him off.

The echo of the gunfire dissipates. Theo standing there.

Looking at the two cops bleeding on the ground. Silence.

KEE
The fuck?

LUKE
Let's go.

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 49
7-1-07

THEO
(stunned)
What did you do?

MIRIAM
Let's go!

Theo doesn't move. Still reeling. Luke levels the gun at

Theo.

LUKE
Let's go.

Luke holding the gun on Theo. Theo glaring back at him. Miriam
sees how close Luke is to pulling the trigger and...

MIRIAM
Luke! No!
(firmly to Theo)
Get in. Now!

Theo gets in the car. Luke hands the gun to Miriam.

59 INT. MULTIPLA - DRIVING - DAY 59

Luke driving off. All business, taking control.

LUKE
We'll need a new car. We have to get
off the main roads--

THEO
You just killed two men.

LUKE
Had no choice.
 THEO
No choice -- ?

MIRIAM
He's right.

LUKE
We need to find a safe house.

Miriam reaches forward, brushes her hand over Julian's eyes,

closing them. Theo looks at the blood on his hands.

60 EXT. WOODS - DAY 60

Theo carries Julian's body through the woods, Miriam

following. He lays Julian down between two trees.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 50
7-1-07

Theo looks at Julian's pale, bloody corpse. A sensation

begins to form: anguish.

MIRIAM
She's at peace...

Theo turns to Miriam. She has tears in her eyes.

THEO
She's dead.

MIRIAM
All is well. She died for something
she believed in.

THEO
She died for nothing!

MIRIAM
If that's what you choose to believe,
Mr. Faron.

Kee is waiting down the hill, next to the Multipla.

KEE
He's coming.

HONK! HONK! An old Vauxhaul sedan pulling up. Luke at the

wheel.

Miriam and Kee start toward the car. Theo lingers, alone,
in private grief, looking at Julian's body. Then he walks
off, the satchel of money in his hand.

61 INT. VAUXHAUL - DRIVING - NIGHT 61

 Cold rain beats steadily against the windshield. Theo sits
in front, the wipers scraping shadows across his face.

In the back, the shadows from the rain on the windows play
on Miriam and Kee' faces, blending with their tears.

Luke puts on the turn signal. Getting off the main road.

62 EXT. MUDDY ROAD - CONTINUOUS 62

The Vauxhaul struggling up a muddy, rutted road.

63 INT. VAUXHAUL - NIGHT 63

Luke honks three times. Through the windshield. the

headlights illuminate an old farmhouse. Two men walk out the
door. One of them holding a rifle.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 51
7-1-07

LUKE
Tom and Ian. They're loyal Fishes.

64 EXT. FARMHOUSE - CONTINUOUS 64

The Vauxhaul parks in front of the stone farmhouse. Luke

turns the car off. The two men approach. .

TOM (58), strong, dark features, a farmer with the wrinkles

and weathered skin that comes from working the soil. IAN
(40), shorter, fine features, small-town bureaucrat, the
pale skin of a man who shuffles paper under fluorescent light.
Tom holds a rifle, an AK 49, the next generation.

IAN
Everything's been taken care of.

TOM
It's an honor, sir.

LUKE
Hide the car, Tom. Don't block it.
We have to push-start it.

TOM
Yes, sir.

LUKE
(Re: Kee and Miriam)
This is Kee, this is Miriam. They'll
need a place to wash up and rest. We
need to convene.

KEE
 How 'bout Julian's mate?

IAN
We'll watch him.

LUKE
He needs a scrub. Get him a clean
shirt..

Luke looks at the black satchel in Theo's hand.

LUKE (CONT'D)
I believe that belongs to the Fishes.
(off Theo's look)
Clearly you won't be fulfilling your
part of the bargain.

Luke holds cut his hand. A beat. Theo gives him the satchel.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 52
7-1-07

LUKE (CONT'D)
Tomorrow we'll give you a lift back
to London.

65 INT. BATHROOM - FARMHOUSE - NIGHT 65

The bathroom is small, dank, unkept. Theo stands in front

of the mirror after his shower. He wipes the mist off the
mirror and looks at himself. Reflected in the mirror, he
sees something on the wall behind him. He turns...

AN OLD PHOTO. A weathered portrait from thirty years back,

taken in front of the same farmhouse: a man, a woman... and
their five chldren. All five kids hanging on a tire hung
from a large tree. Testament to a world now gone.

66 INT. BEDROOM - FARMHOUSE - NIGHT 66

Theo walking out of the bathroom wearing a fresh shirt. Tom

is seated in a chair, waiting, holding his rifle.

TOM
Shirt fit?

THEO
It's fine, thanks.

TOM
(proud)
We've got an important meeting going
on. Fishes from all over the place.

Beyond, through the window, a car driving up. Ian greeting

the TWO MEN who step out.
 TOM (CONT'D)
Luke sent this for you.

Tom hands him a bottle of whiskey. Theo accepts it with the

sad smile of someone aware he's being bought.

THEO
You thank him for me.

Theo heads for the door.

TOM
If you're going out, take a coat.
Catch a cold in this weather...

Tom points to the coat rack. Theo crosses to it and glances

through an open door into the next room: Luke is putting the
black satchel in a closet.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 53
7-1-07

67 EXT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT 67

The rain has stopped. Theo, wearing a long tweed coat, stands
outside the farmhouse. He takes the first sip from the bottle.
Tom catches up, rifle in hand.

TOM
I'm in charge of watching you.

THEO
You're doing a good job, Tom.

Theo offers him the bottle. Tom shakes his head.

TOM
Alcohol is a tool of the government
to numb the people.

Theo takes another swallow

THEO
This your farm?

TOM
House is mine. and the cows.
Consortium took the land They pay me
shite.

Theo notices the old tree.

THEO
That used to be a swing, right? A
tire swing.
 TOM
Yeh.

A frayed rope dangles from a thick branch, moving with the

breeze. A faint smile on Tom's face, a memory.

TOM (CONT'D)
Children's stuff.

THEO
Yeah, children's stuff.

From a short distance, Miriam shouts to Theo:

MIRIAM
Mr. Faron, Kee would like a word
with you. She's in the barn.
(to Tom)
It's okay, Tom. I'll watch him.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 54
7-1-07

Theo gives a nod to Tom, then starts walking toward Miriam.

TOM
Mr. Faron?

THEO
Yeah?

TOM
You're from America?

THEO
Yeah.

TOM
I'm sorry about what happened there.

THEO
Thank you, Tom.

68 INT. BARN - NIGHT 68

Theo steps through the wooden door. Miriam stops at the

threshold.

MIRIAM
I'll wait outside.

Miriam closes the door. The old stone barn houses forty cows
and industrial milking equipment. Theo spots Kee standing
among the cows in the back. He starts toward her and...
 KEE
You know they chop the poor cow's
tits? They do -- zzzt. Gone. Only
leave four. To fit the machine. Why
not make machines to fit the cow?
Wacko, eh?

He stops, a few yards from her now.

THEO
Something on your mind, Kee?

KEE
Julian said anything goes spooky, I
could talk to you. Said to trust
you. Said you'd get me out of
England.

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 55
7-1-07

THEO
Sorry, Kee, it's out of my hands.
You got plenty of friends, they'll
take care of you.

KEE
But Julian said only trust you.

THEO
Yeah, well, Julian was wrong.

Theo turns to leave.

KEE
You can't go.

Kee begins to unbutton the front of her dress.

KEE (CONT'D)
You can't leave me.

THEO
Don't...

KEE
Got to help me.

Theo wants no part of this.

THEO
(annoyed)
Don't...

Kee steps from behind the cow. Her arm covering her swollen
breasts, her hand covering her panties. She's staring straight
 into his eyes.

Theo is paralyzed at the sight of her naked form. The curve

of her hip. Her hair dangling over her shoulders. Her taut
belly. A million possibilities flash through his mind, but
there can only be one explanation: Kee is pregnant.

THEO (CONT'D)
(stunned)
Jesus Christ.

And BAM! -- The barn door behind Theo slams open. Luke walks
in. Ian and Miriam hurrying in after him.

LUKE
What's going on here?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 56
7-1-07

Kee immediately retreats behind the cow, covering herself

up.

LUKE (CONT'D)
What is this then?

Miriam steps forward.

MIRIAM
She wanted him to know.

LUKE
And who is she? Nobody authorized
it.

MIRIAM
It's her body.

Luke looks at Miriam. Seems to consider this. Then:

LUKE
We're meeting in five minutes.

Luke turns an eaves.

69 INT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT 69

ON TV: Grainy footage of the Multipla approaching from the

opposite direction, the windshield blasted out. The image is
blurry. Then a series of FREEZE FRAMES: Kee, Luke, Miriam,
Julian, and Theo.

NEWSWOMAN'S VOICE
Any citizens with information
regarding the identity of these
killers should report to the Ministry
 of Security immediately.

Scrolling below the images: "20,000 pound reward for

information leading to the arrest of each of these criminals."

NEWSWOMAN'S VOICE (CONT'D)

Do not try and approach them directly:
they are considered armed and
extremely dangerous...

Luke shuts off the TV with the remote and turns to the -
assembly of the Five Fishes -- about fifteen men, a few women --
gathered in the musty living room. Theo stands in back.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 57
7-1-07

LUKE
This was broadcast an hour ago. It's
only a matter of time before
identifications are made. For the
present, it's too dangerous to proceed
with the original plan.

Kee squeezes Miriam's hand.

MIRIAM
But Julian wanted her to go to
Iceland.

FISH 1
Not all of us agreed on that.

LUKE
It's too dangerous

THEO
(interrupting)
Make it public!

Theo's uninvited opinion draws glares from around the room.

FISH 2
She is public -- She was on the telly!
A dead cop!

LUKE
The Warden would never let the people
know that an illegal became pregnant.
He'd lock Kee up, take the child and
parade an Englishwoman as the mother.
(beat)
And a baby in the hands of the Warden
would perpetuate the regime.

MIRIAM
 That's why we must go to Iceland!

FISH 4
Yes-- The Human Project! They're
all waiting for her. The scientists.

LUKE
It's too late for that. Our faces
are on TV, we'd never be able to
reach the coast. It was agreed that
getting Kee to Iceland was the best
choice, but the reality has changed.
(MORE)

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 58
7-1-07

LUKE (CONT'D)
We will have to adapt to it: The
baby will have to be born here. After
the birth, when the time is right,
we will show the country we can do
what the government cannot --
(pauses for effect)
Deliver.

MIRIAM
Julian said this shouldn't be about
politics.

He turns to Miriam.

LUKE
I loved Julian We'll follow the spirit
of her thinking, but we must salvage
what we can from an untenable
situation.

He looks out at the others...

LUKE (CONT'D)
We have all suffered under the
tyrant's heel. Our brothers and
sisters have been tortured,
imprisoned, murdered, because their
hearts burned with the flame of truth.
It's this flame the Warden fears. It
is this flame that spreads. We have
been handed a torch in the form of a
child. As the flame of truth
obliterates darkness, so shall this
new flame destroy the Warden and his
regime!

SHOUTS of "Yes!"; "He's right!"

 LUKE (CONT'D)
The Uprising is assured!

More CHEERS from the crowd as they look to Luke, unified--

the Fishes have found their new leader.

Theo turns to Tom, standing beside him.

THEO
Quite a speech.

TOM
Luke spent some time at the pulpit.
He was a minister.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 59
7-1-07

THEO
A man of God.

70 EXT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT 70

Quiet. One light burns in the living room. Tom keeping guard
at the door. The hum of a motorcycle in the distance, growing
closer. Faintly, its HORN sounds three times.

71 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 71

Theo asleep, lying in a lower bunk. A CREAK. Past Theo's

face, a FOOT descends the bunked ladder. Theo's eyes open:
Fish 1 is covertly climbing down the ladder. He quietly
joins Fish 2 who is freshly out of bed and is looking out
the window. From outside, MUFFLED VOICES. The two Fish
slip quickly out of the room.

Theo gets up, moves to the window. Theo's POV: Two Zeds on a
motorcycle... the driver straddling the bike, the rider
slumped over, clinging to him. Theo recognizes the driver:
Patric. Cut, bloody, clothes torn, soaked to the bone.

Patric is pleading with Luke and Ian.

PATRIC
...quickly!.. quickly!.. He needs to
be treated.

Fish 1 and 2 (from Theo's room) join them. Ian motions toward
the slumped figure.

IAN
Take him to the barn.

FISH 1
Aye, sir.
 IAN
Stay on high alert.

Luke, Ian and Patric head toward the house, disappearing

from Theo's view.

72 INT. HALLWAY 72

Theo's bare feet coming down the stairs. He stops when he

sees Luke and Ian step into the front hall.

IAN
(to Tom)
You have a First-Aid kit -- medicine?

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 60
7-1-07

TOM
Mostly for cows.

IAN
Hydrogen peroxide, bandages, clean
towels, whatever you have, bring it
to the barn. And for God's sake,
hide that fucking motorcycle.

Tom disappears into the bathroom. Luke, Patric, and Ian head
into the kitchen and close the door.

Theo starts down the stairs, toward the back door as...

Tom steps out of the bathroom with an armful of medicine and

supplies. No place to hide. Theo backs against the wall,
waiting for Tom to pass. Tom walks out the front door.

73 EXT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT 73

Theo steps out the back door... SQUISH! Theo's expression

his socks are soaked in the cold mud. He sloshes quietly
alongside the farmhouse, no coat, shivering in the cold. He
reaches the kitchen window and sees:

Luke pacing, Patric in a chair, Ian leaning on the table.

LUKE
What were you thinking? You realize
you put the whole mission in jeopardy?

PATRIC
What was I supposed to do? You saw
how he was! Bloody piece of pulp.
And all the fuckn' police coming.
We had to hide in the woods for hours!

LUKE
 You shouldn't have come!

PATRIC
But he's my cousin! I don't know
what's wrong, I think he's all broken
inside, I'm telling you, he needs a
doctor.

LUKE
(softens)
Don't worry, we'll take care of him.

PATRIC
Where's the American Bastard? I'm
goinq to kill him!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 61
7-1-07

LUKE
You can do that, but tomorrow --
after we move "the girl.

Theo has seen enough. He moves away from the window, sloshing
back along the side of the house.

74 INT. FARMHOUSE - HALLWAY - NIGHT 74

Theo walks stealthily down the hallway. Stops at the door to

a room. Checks to make sure it's safe, then enters:

75 INT. ANOTHER BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS 75

Miriam sits up in bed.

MIRIAM
What do you want?

THEO
Shhhh.

Kee awakening--

KEE
What's going on'?

THEO
Luke killed Julian

MIRIAM
Ballocks.

THEO
That was Patric on the motorcycle.
I'm getting the hell out of here. I
suggest you come with me.
 The two women exchange a look. But don't move.

THEO (CONT'D)
Suit yourselves.

Theo walks back out the door. The two women, looking at each
other, unsure.

76 INT./EXT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT 76

Theo dons the tweed overcoat, looks out the side door: There's
a row of six cars parked in front of him. Two Fishes standing
nearby. Activity in the barn.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 62
7-1-07

Theo steps out the door... SQUISH! Theo's expression -- he

forgot to get his shoes. He continues, moving quietly to the
car in front of him. He opens the door...

INSIDE THE FIRST CAR

Through the windshield, Theo sees the Fishes up ahead. He

reaches down to the hood release -- POOK! The hood pops open.
The Fishes don't hear it.

OUTSIDE THE FIRST CAR

Theo squatting, sneaking around to the front of the vehicle.

Lifting the hood quietly. Reaching in... YANKING OUT the
distributor cap. He gently lets the hood down.

INSIDE THE SECOND CAR

Theo repeating the operation. Reaching for the hood latch,

when:

Fish 2 returns from the barn, on a beeline for the car. His
hands and coat stained with blood. Theo hunches on the car
floor.

FISH 2
(to the nearby Fishes)
Shite, he looks bloody awful.

Fish 2 reaches in the car, just above Theo's head, feeling

for: a pack of cigarettes on the dash.

FISH 2 (CONT'D)
His bones are sticking out, no skin,
no way to hold the blood in...

Fish 2 snags the cigarettes, walks off. Theo watches them

recede, then tugs the hood release. FOOK!
 OUTSIDE THE SIXTH CAR

Theo has the hood up on the last car, he slips the distributor
cap in his coat pocket, eases the hood down, glances over
at...

77 THE FARMHOUSE - NIGHT 77

Two Fish are turned away, standing near the front door, trying
to stay alert, trying to stay warm.

THEO

backs away from the car and...

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 63
7-1-07

A HAND reaches for his shoulder. He jumps -- spins o see

Miriam and Kee. His reflex causing Miriam to GASP and...

78 THE FARMHOUSE - NIGHT 78

One of the two Fish standing guard turns toward them...

THEO

gestures down! And Miriam and Kee duck below the fender.
Theo's pissed off.

THEO
(low)
Shit.

O.S., the sound of FOOTSTEPS approaching. The FOOTSTEPS stop.

A beat. Then the FOOTSTEPS recede.

Theo inches back up, looking over the fender to see...

79 EXT. FARMHOUSE 79

NIGHT

The two Fishes are near the front door again, turned away.

THEO
Okay. Let's go.

And Theo leads Kee and Miriam to the Vauxhaul, the first car
parked in the row. Quietly opens the back door for Kee. She
slips in, while Miriam moves to the front passenger seat.
They silently shut the doors without letting them latch.

INSIDE THE VAUXHAUL

 MIRIAM
Theo?

Theo turns to her and...

THEO
Stay put. Keep quiet.

Theo opens the door to leave...

MIRIAM
But--

And he's gone.

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 64
7-1-07

80 INT. FARMHOUSE - KITCHEN/HALLWAY - NIGHT 80

Theo grabs a butcher knife off the kitchen table, he moves

quickly and silently down the hall to Luke's room. Opens
the bedroom door and moves toward the closet.

WITH THEO

CLOSE as the butcher knife slides between the door and door
frame. The lock snaps and the closet door opens, revealing...

... THE SATCHEL OF MONEY.

INSIDE THE VAUXHAUL

The driver's door opens, Theo gets in and tosses the satchel
down at Miriam's feet.

MIRIAM
You're risking our lives for that?

He gives her a look and turns the key in the ignition and
HARUMPH! After the first spark, the engine dies.

Through the windshield: Two nearby Fishes REACT to the

sputter.

THEO
(quietly)
Shit!

Miriam stares at him, angry and scared. Theo tries again

HARUMPH! Nothing.

MIRIAM
What happened?

THEO
 Battery's dead.

Through the windshield: the Fishes start walking to the car.

FISH 6
Mark?

Theo releases the brake and pushes in the clutch. The car
starts rolling slowly down the steep, muddy road. In the
direction of the approaching Fishes.

THEO
Shut the doors!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 65
7-1-07

Miriam and Kee and Theo pull their doors shut. Miriam hits a
switch -- FWICK! The car doors lock.

FISH 6
Mark?

TOP OF DRIVEWAY

The Vauxhaul picking up a little speed, bouncing down the

steep, rutted road, heading right at the Fishes.

FISH 6 (CONT'D)
(shouting the alarm)
Alert!

Theo checks the speedometer: 5 mph.

MIDDLE OF DRIVEWAY

Fish 5 stands in the muddy track holding up his gun, pointing

it at the oncoming car.

FISH 5
STOP!

The car still coming.. Fish 5 about to shoot...

HOUSE

Luke steps out of the door

LUKE
NO! DON'T SHOOT!

MIDDLE OF DRIVEWAY

Fish 5 looks confused, lowers his gun, the car still rolling
toward them. He and Fish 6 try stopping the car with their
hands, but the weight and momentum of the car is too much
 for them. They're forced to step aside.

More Fishes come running from the barn. Patric tearing out
of the house...

LUKE (CONT'D)
The girl's in the car! Don't shoot!

IAN
Somebody get a car!

MIDDLE OF DRIVEWAY

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 66
7-1-07

Fish 5 and 6 chase down the slow-moving car, grabbing the

doors, but they're locked. Fish 5 sticks his hand through
the half-open window, trying to pull the car to a stop...

81 INSIDE VAUXHAUL 81

Kee punches the intruding hand, trying to break its grip,

but Fish 5 hangs on...

TOP OF DRIVEWAY

More Fishes join the chase. So does Patric, running down the
muddy road after the car...

Two other Fish head for the row of parked cars.

INSIDE VAUXHAUL

Kee bites the intruding hand. Fish 5 yelps, releasing his

grip, and the car gains momentum. Fish 6 slips down in the
mud.

TOP OF DRIVEWAY

Fish 2 hops out of the second car.

FISH 2
It won't start!

INSIDE VAUXHAUL

Theo turns: they now have some distance from their pursuers.
He checks the speedometer -- 10 mph.

THEO
Here we go...

Theo shifts into second gear, releases the clutch: Ha-RUMPH!

The car shudders, but doesn't start. He tries it again --
HA-RUMPH! No success. And the car slows, nearly stops.
 Kee looks out the back window: the Fishes are gaining.

KEE
They're coming!

Theo puts in the clutch and the car starts rolling again.

THEO
(begging the car)
Go, go, go, go, go...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 67
7-1-07

The Fishes getting closer. Patric is racing full tilt,

running faster than the rest.

TOP OF DRIVEWAY

At the row of cars, two Fishes push the second car, getting
it rolling. As it picks up speed, the Fishes jump in, the
momentum carrying them downhill...

INSIDE VAUXHAUL

They approach the end of the muddy track, one big ditch,
right before it intersects the paved road.

Speedometer: 9 mph.

Theo shifts into second gear, about to release the clutch,

when he turns to see: Patric has caught up, running even
with the back bumper, gaining.

MIDDLE OF DRIVEWAY

The second car coming downhill picks up speed.

INSIDE VAUXHAUL

Theo can't afford to slow down, lets the car keep rolling.
Patric catching up, keeping pace, focusing on Theo, raising
a pistol.

PATRIC
(shouting)
Got a shot! Got a clean shot!

Theo in disbelief, Patric running alongside, about to shoot

him at close range, when Kee kicks open her door and --

FWAK! Kee's door hits Patric's back, tripping him up, sending
him tumbling, bouncing hard across the mud and rocks.

The car headed right for the ditch--

 THEO
Hold on -- !

BOTTOM OF DRIVEWAY

The car crashes into the ditch, throwing up mud. The momentum
carries the car through the ditch, flying up onto the paved
road, where it bounces to a complete stop.

INSIDE VAUXHAUL

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 68
7-1-07

Theo looks back to see...

BOTTOM OF DRIVEWAY

The Fishes still running down toward them. The second car is
coming fast, right behind the pursuing Fishes...

PAVED ROAD

Theo jumps out of the Vauxhaul.

THEO (CONT'D)
(to Miriam)
You know how to push-start a car?

Miriam slides over to the driver's seat.

MIRIAM
Just push! Push!

Theo runs to the back of his car. He's wearing only socks.
He starts pushing. As the car starts picking up a little
speed -

HA-RUMPH! Miriam releases the clutch. Stopping the car.

THEO
(annoyed)
Wait till it goes faster!

Theo looks back:

BOTTOM OF DRIVEWAY

The Fishes part like the Red Sea, making way for the fast
approaching second car. Fish 2 doesn't get the message,
still in front of the car.

VOICES
Move! Get off the road--
 Too late. The second car runs down Fish 2, just as it SMASHES
into the ditch, the momentum carrying it to:

PAVED ROAD

The second car bounces to a stop. Not thirty yards from Theo.

DOWN THE PAVED ROAD

Theo is pushing for all he's worth. His socks are bloody.
Gritting as he strains his broken finger. The Vauxhaul picking
up speed. He turns to see:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 69
7-1-07

The Fishes have jumped out of the second car, running toward
them, catching up...

THEO
(to Miriam)
Now! Now!

The car shudders, the reluctant engine hesitating a moment,

before -- VA-ROOM! The engine finally roars to life. The
Vauxhaul now pulling away from Theo. He turns: the Fishes
are gaining.

Miriam stops the Vauxhaul, ten yards ahead, Theo gasping, -

trying to make it...

One of the Fishes pulls out a gun, aiming... Kee looking out
the back window.

FISH 4
(seeing Kee)
Don't shoot!

Behind them, more fishes have reached the paved road, joining
the chase. Theo reaches the car, the door swings open for
him.

INSIDE VAUXHAUL

Theo jumps in.

THEO
Go, go, go, go!

Miriam shifts it into gear, the car lurching forward. Through

the back window we see the Fishes receding.

MIRIAM
Now what?

Theo about to vomit, out of shape, out of breath -- on the

 verge of complete collapse.

THEO
Just drive, damnit!

Miriam floors it, then glances back at Kee. Kee looks pale,
still worked up from the escape.

MIRIAM
(to Kee)
Breathe, Kee. Long deep breaths.
Breaeethe. Breeeethe.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 70
7-1-07

Theo finally catching his breath... adrenaline dissipating.

THEO
(low)
Jesus Christ...

Theo looks down at the satchel of money, then leans back in

his seat...

HOLD on Theo... as the car travels ON and ON...

HOLD, HOLD, HOLD... then a flicker in his eye and...

THEO (CONT'D)
(urgently)
Miriam! Get off the road! Pull into
the woods!

Miriam turns, confused.

THEO (CONT'D)
Now!

Miriam slows, pulling off onto the shoulder and...

82 EXT. WOODED AREA 82

...the Vauxhaul rolls through a field and into the trees.

83 INT. VAUXHAUL 83

Theo reaches over and snaps off the headlights.

THEO
Leave it running...

MIRIAM
But -

THEO
 Shh!

And then we hear it... the ROAR of a MOTORCYCLE ENGINE growing

closer... they watch through the windshield, as the motorcycle
speeds down the road in the direction they were heading. A
glimpse of two riders on the bike, Patric and another Fish.
Miriam looks at Theo.

MIRIAM
Should we go back the other way?

THEO
Just give me a moment to think...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 71
7-1-07

Theo takes out his flask, takes a long pull.

MIRIAM
(re: Theo's drinking)
Right.. .
(then)
We might try another safe house
nearby.

THEO
The last one was real safe. I think
we'll skip the Fishes, Miriam.

MIRIAM
If what you have said is true, and
Luke pulled off a coup d'etat, there
would still be others who are loyal
to--

THEO
Wait, wait, wait: If what I say is
true?
(off Miriam's look)
Luke had Julian killed!

MIRIAM
We only have your word on that. But
say it is true... then there was a
coup d'etat--

THEO
What about all your pals waving guns
at us, you only have my word on that
too!

MIRIAM
They likely thought you were
kidnapping Kee!
 THEO
Why didn't you just stay with them!

MIRIAM
Where Kee goes, I go!

KEE
SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK
UP!

They both turn around, looking at Kee.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 72
7-1-07

KEE (CONT'D)
I'm fuckin' cold and I'm fuckin'
hungry and you two bitchin' ain't
getting us nowhere! We need to meet
the boat, Miriam.

MIRIAM
I know, sweetie.

THEO
What boat?

MIRIAM
The Human Project sent a boat from
Iceland -- we're supposed to meet it
tomorrow in Dover.

THEO
What is this nonsense about the Human
Project and Iceland?

MIRIAM
Scientists from all over the world
gathered in Reyjkavik to cure
infertility. Kee could be their
answer.

THEO
... And they're all living next door
to Jerry Garcia.

KEE
Jerry Gar--?

MIRIAM
(overlapping)
The Human Project is real.

THEO
Iceland is completely radioactive!
 MIRIAM
That's the Warden's propaganda! He
wants you to believe that he's the
only choice. That everywhere else
has failed.

THEO
Says who?

KEE
Says Julian

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 73
7-1-07

And that stops Theo. Then, from the road, the SOUND of a
motorcycle. They watch as the motorcycle speeds toward them...
and continues on, back toward the farm.

THEO
Okay.

Theo gets out of the car, walks around to the driver's side,
opens the door and

THEO (CONT'D)
Scoot over.

A beat. Then Miriam slides over. Theo starts the car, pulls
out of the trees.

MIRIAM
If I may just be permitted to ask...
Where are you taking us?

THEO
Don't worry. I know a safe place.

84 EXT. ROAD - DAY 84

The Vauxhaul sails down a country road. We hear Miriam's

Voice: "Om Bhavan Namah... Om Bhavan Namah..." Then Kee's
voice joins in: "Om Bhavan Narnah."

THROUGH THE DRIVER SIDE WINDOW - MOVING

Theo at the wheel, rolling his eyes in disbelief as the women

continue chanting.

85 EXT. SIDE OF THE ROAD - DAY 85

The Vauxhaul pulls up and stops, Theo gets out, walks to he

middle of the road, making sure no one is coming. Then he
hurries to Jasper's fake hedge, lifting the bushes...

86 EXT. WOODS - DAY 86

 The car approaches Jasper's house.

MIRIAM
You're certain we can trust this
man?

THEO
Julian trusted him. That good enough
for you?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 74
7-1-07

87 EXT. JASPER'S HOUSE - DAY 87

The Vauxhaul stops in front of Jasper's home. Theo climbs

out, goes to the front door and knocks.

THEO
Jasper. Hello?

Theo opens the door --

88 INT. JASPER'S HOUSE 88

-- steps inside.

THEO
Jasper?

The house is a mess. Glasses and dirty plates, books left

strewn around. He walks into:

JASPER'S STUDIO From behind: Jasper on the sofa, his hand

dangling lifelessly off the armrest... a bottle of pills
spilled on the floor.

On Theo's face, as he hesitantly approaches Jasper, walking

around the couch...

Jasper lays in peaceful repose, his long hair partially

obscuring his face. A picture of Sandra in his hand.

THEO (CONT'D)
(low)
No...

Theo leans in closer. Pushes the hair out of Jasper's face,

and...

JASPER
Huh... ?

Theo jumps back and --

 THEO
Fuck!

JASPER
Fuck you!

The two men share a look-- they've nearly scared each other
to death. A hint of Jasper's old mischief flashes in his
eyes.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 75
7-1-07

JASPER (CONT'D)
Amigo.. .

But it fades away, and Jasper breaks down, sobbing. Theo

leans down and hugs his old friend.

JASPER (CONT'D)
I can't do it, Theo. There's no point
without her...

Kee and Miriam walk into the room.

THEO
Jasper. Meet Miriam. And Kee.

Jasper turns, looking at Miriam and then at Kee-- disbelief,

recognition... awe.

89 INT. JASPER'S HOUSE - DAY 89

Jasper is at the stove, frying eggs. Energized.

JASPER
They're sending a boat?

Jasper delivers Kee a plate of eggs. Past her, Theo is soaking

his bruised and cut feet in a big pot.

MIRIAM
(nods)
Traveling under the guise of a fishing
vessel.

KEE
"The Tomorrow."

MIRIAM
We were to board at Dover, but
instead, Theo brought us here and --

THEO
No one's going to Dover. We're
fugitives. We'd be stopped at the
 first checkpoint.

Miriam looks over at Theo, who is gingerly, painfully,

adjusting his soaking feet. She offers the olive branch:

MIRIAM
(to Theo)
Would you allow me to try something?

She approaches him and begins massaging his shoulders.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 76
7-1-07

THEO
Um, Miriam, it's my problem.

MIRIAM
Pain is pain. It would help if you
try and relax. This will get your
healing energy flowing.

Theo's expression: His energy is not flowing.

JASPER
(to Miriam)
Anywhere else you could possibly
board the ship?

THEO
Don't encourage them, Jasper.

MIRIAM
(ignoring Theo} If we fail to board
at Dover, it will stop at the last
two weather buoys along the route:
tomorrow off the coast of Windsmore
and -

THEO
It's impossible to get within five
miles of the coast without hitting a
checkpoint.

MIRIAM
-- the following day at Bexhill.

THEO
There you go -- impossible!

JASPER
Theo, why are you so afraid of hope?

THEO
It's not hope I'm afraid of -- it's
bullets!
 JASPER
Right.
(beat)
Why don't you have a drink while the
rest of us sort this all out.

All too willing to play the part of the drunk...

THEO
Don't mind if I do...

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 77
7-1-07

Theo lifts his feet from the water, dripping as he hobbles

on his tender feet toward the liquor cabinet. Jasper unfolds
a map on the table.

JASPER
It's too late for Windsmore -- we
wouldn't make it in time.

MIRIAM
But it's our only chance. We can't
get into Bexhill.

THEO
(looking through the
cabinet)
All you have is gin?

JASPER
(to Theo)
You polished off the scotch.

MIRIAM
(to Jasper)
Bexhill's a refugee camp.

KEE
Refugee camp, my sharries. A jeezey
death camp, that.

Theo unscrews the top to the gin. Pours himself a hearty

shot.

THEO
Too bad you're not fewgees -- that
way you could get yourself rounded
up and tossed in.
(beat)
Then again, if you were fewgees,
cops'd just as likely shoot you on
the spot.
 MIRIAM
(to Theo)
Could you please -- ?

JASPER
(interrupting)
Brilliant!

They all turn to Jasper. He's so thrilled by whatever he's

thinking that he can't keep still. He grabs his coat, turns
back to Kee.

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 78
7-1-07

JASPER (CONT'D)
Kee, your baby is the miracle the
whole world has been praying for!
Hallelujah, hosanna, shanti, shanti,
shanti!

The old man starts for the door.

THEO
Where the hell you going?

JASPER
Won't be a tick.
(to Kee))
You rest. With any luck, you'll need
all your energy.

They all watch as Jasper goes out the door. Theo downs his
gin, looks up to see the women staring at him..

THEO
Anybody care to join me?

90 INT. JASPER'S BEDROOM - LATER 90

A battered foot inches into one of Jasper's loafers.

Theo, sitting on the bed, grimaces trying to squeeze his

feet in the shoes which are two sizes too small.

THEO
(low)
Ow...

He gives up, rummages through the closet and comes up with a

pair of flip-flops. He slips his feet into them. The flipflops
are also two sizes too small, but they'll have to do.

He walks gingerly out of the room, his flip-flops slapping

against the floor.
91 INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY 91

Theo reaches for the bottle of gin, pours another drink. He

glances out the window: Miriam is outside, doing Thai-Chi
exercises.

KEE (O.S.)
She doin' her craze?

Theo turns. Kee is stretched out on the couch, her belly is

exposed and propped on a pillow. A fire blazing behind her.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 79
7-1-07

THEO
She's doin' something.

KEE
She smited me with that. Said it was
good for my baby.

Theo grumbles, starts to take a swallow of gin but...

KEE (CONT'D)
She look posh to you? Or gawky?

Theo lowers the drink. Outside, Miriam is standing on one

foot, suspending her other leg in the air, trying to keep
her balance...

THEO
She looks earnest.

Theo turns. Kee's beautiful belly in the soft light of the

fire. He's about to sip from his glass, but stops.

THEO (CONT'D)
How long have... how many months --?

KEE
Eight.
(off his look)
Takes nine months.

THEO
Right.

A beat. Silence.

KEE
(sharp)
Father? That what you wanna know?

THEO
Uh-huh.
 KEE
Whiffet. I'm a virgin.

THEO
Huh?

KEE
Cha, be wicked, eh?

Theo smiles.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 80
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THEO
That it would.

KEE
Fuck knows. Omar. Sammy. Phil. Don't
recall most of the wanker's names.
Did some for quid, some for drugs.
Some... Fuck knows, I was bored,
horny. You know the cock'n bull.

Theo clears his throat, has got the general idea, still
holding his glass, not drinking.

KEE (CONT'D)
When I started puking, thought I
catch the pest. And I think -- "bitch,
you are whoppingly fucked." But
then my belly start gettin' big, and
I think, "this is no big fart stuck
in my belly!" No, this fuckin'
spooky. Never seen a pregnant woman.
Nobody ever told me these things.
But I knew. Got a baby in me tummy.
Cheedo, eh?

THEO
Uh-huh.

KEE
Felt like a freak. Embarrassed.
Afraid. Didn't tell nobody. I thought
about that Quietus thing. 'Sposed to
be suave. Pretty music and all that.
(beat)
Then the baby kicked.

She breaks into a big smile, her mood now bright.

Through the window, Theo sees Jasper's car pulling up.

KEE (CONT'D)
 Little bastard was alive. Me Too!
I was alive
(then)
Didn't know what to do. Talked to me
best girl, she knew the Fishes.
Told me they would help me. I met
Julian. She was suave.

Outside, Jasper is excited, says something to Miriam who

follows him toward the porch...

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 81
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THEO
She was suave...

The door flies open and Jasper hurries into the room. He
grabs Theo and kisses him on both cheeks.

JASPER
You're a genius, Theo!

THEO
Now I'm a genius?

JASPER
(to Kee)
You're going to Iceland tomorrow!
Cheedo, eh?

KEE
How?

JASPER
Just like Theo said -- we get
ourselves arrested!

THEO
Oh, Jesus!

JASPER
Syd, the border cop I sell to...
he's agreed to get us in.

Theo GROANS.

JASPER (CONT'D)
Nicely ironic, isn't it? Breaking
into a prison.
(points to a spot on
his map)
We'll meet him in Rye, tomorrow
afternoon.
(to Theo)
By the way, I'll need four thousand
 quid from your little black bag.

THEO
Excuse me?

JASPER
Syd's fee for getting us in, I'm
afraid.

Theo just stares at him. Then...

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 82
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THEO
We'll never make it.

Jasper takes this in, nods soberly.

JASPER
Perhaps. But I'd like to think we
would.

He hobbles out of the room.

92 EXT. JASPER'S HOUSE - DUSK 92

The woods past Jasper's home becoming dark, shadowy shapes

as the last rays of daylight fade. Smoke wafts from Jasper's
stone chimney.

THROUGH THE WINDOW: Miriam sitting on the couch by the fire...

Kee by the kitchen where Jasper is making tea...

THROUGH A SECOND WINDOW: Theo alone in the hallway...

93 INT. JASPER'S HOUSE - HALL/LIVING ROOM - DUSK 93

... examining the tweed overcoat he took from the farm. It

doesn't have a lining. He tosses it on a chair and rifles
through the other coats in Jasper's closet. He pulls out a
navy pea coat, checks the lining and measures it for size.

Past him, in the living room, Miriam has joined Kee who is
inspecting Jasper's wall of photographs. Jasper walks up to -
them with the tea.

KEE
How long have you known Theo?

JASPER
Met in him oh eight.

The three of them looking at the wall of photographs.

MIRIAM
 Was he the same tosser back then?

JASPER
A different kind of tosser.

Jasper's eyes fall on the photo of Theo and Julian

JASPER (CONT'D)
He claimed to have fled America
because of the Patriot Act witch
(MORE)

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JASPER (CONT'D)
hunts that were going on at the time.
But it was obvious he came to Pembroke
for Julian

Theo calls out from across the hallway...

THEO
Can I have this?
(re: peacoat)

JASPER
Be my guest.

Theo crosses to the table in the corner of the living room

and begins to rip out the seam of the coat lining.

JASPER (CONT'D)
(back to the girls)
Theo was reading P.P.E.
(off Kee's look)
Politics, Philosophy, Economics.

Miriam and Kee look at a photo of Theo in his robe on the

Pembroke campus.

JASPER (CONT'D)
He wrote this amazing paper. "The
ripple effect of class and racial
prejudice on the low-income worker.."
He was gifted. But he chose to drown
his talent in single malt Scotch.

Miriam glances at Theo, who is absorbed with his work on the

pea coat, ripping open the lining.

KEE
Because of Julian?

JASPER
Perhaps. She was a good excuse. But
 it would have happened anyway.
Everyone gave up.
(off Kee's look)
Not right away -- in the beginning,
most of us held on. Things changed
slowly. Despair grew as the noise
from the playgrounds faded.

He looks at Sandra's photo of a pair of young girls gathering

shells on the beach.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 84
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JASPER (CONT'D)
Very odd, what happens in a world
without children's voices.

Theo is busy stuffing his money under the pea coat's lining.

94 EXT. BEACH - DAY 94

A glistening blue wave, rolling luxuriously toward the beach.

The wave slowly ebbs...

... and we become aware of a figure lying in the sand...

perhaps asleep. Empty liquor bottles poke up from the sand.

Another frothy wave rolls in, just reaching the still, prone
figure, his back to us...

Past him, a woman is hurrying out of the surf, her shorts

and top soaked.. She's smiling, lifts a beach ball from the
sand And we can make out, now, that it's Sandra.

SANDRA
Hey... rebel with a lost cause--

And she tosses the beach ball playfully at the prone figure.
Then, oddly she starts singing...

SANDRA (CONT'D)
(singing)
London calling to the faraway towns/
Now that war is declared-and battle
come down/ London calling to the
underworld/ Come out of the cupboard,
all you boys and girls--

The figure slowly turns over, and we see that it is Theo. He

looks hung over, confused. He squints up at Sandra, into the
blinding daylight...

95 INT. JASPER'S HOUSE - NIGHT 95

Theo opens his eyes. Jasper is shaking him awake. The driving
 beat of the Clash's "London Calling" louder now.

JASPER
Theo... wake up....

THEO
Wha -- what?

Theo looks around, getting his bearings. The MUSIC is some

sort of alarm.

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96 INT. GREENHOUSE - DAYBREAK 96

Dark. The door flies open and Jasper and Theo rush in...
Miriam a few feet behind them. Theo and Jasper stare at a
bank of video monitors.

MIRIAM
What is it?

ON THE SCREEN, the vague infrared image of a car pulling up

to the perimeter of Jasper's property. Then, a second car.
Both cars rolling slowly forward with their headlights off.

The first car stops. The passenger door opens, and a man
gets out and stares at the fake bushes that obscure the road
to Jasper's home. The man gazes upward... it's Luke.

THEO
Shit.

Jasper turns to a second monitor: More Fishes piling out of

the two cars. Patric and Ian join Luke and have a discussion.
Luke gestures toward Jasper's fake bushes.

97 EXT. JASPER'S HOUSE - DAYBREAK 97

Jasper is behind the wheel of the Vauxhaul. Theo, at the

back of the car, pushing it down the drive. The Vauxhaul
gains momentum and Jasper pops the clutch. The car shutters,
then -- VA-ROOM! Theo breathes a little easier.

Miriam and Kee hurry out the door of the house. Theo swings
Open the passenger door for them...

Jasper gets out of the car and...

JASPER
(to Theo)
You drive.

Jasper removes a fake hedge from the back of his yard. Behind
the hedge: a path through the woods.
 Theo slides behind the wheel, pulls onto the path. From the
other direction, the SOUND of cars approaching...

THEO
Jasper! C'mon!

Jasper rushes to the passenger's side door. He passes Theo

his backpack through the open window...

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 86
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JASPER
Follow this path to the main road.
Then make a right and follow the map
I gave Miriam.

THEO
What are you talking about? Get in.

JASPER
Wait for Syd on Watchbell Street --
in Rye. He'll find you. Just give
him the money and do as he says.

THEO
Get in!

Jasper shakes his head no.

JASPER
I'm not going, Theo.

Jasper's tone is matter-of-fact.

JASPER (CONT'D)
You'll need time... This way I can
stall them... It's the best plan,
amigo...

Theo leaps out of the car, hustles up to Jasper...

JASPER (CONT'D)
I'll convince them you went off toward
Windsmore.

THEO
Get in the car!

Theo tries to grab him but the old man ducks away.

JASPER
Theo, you'll get us all killed! You
know I'm right!
 The RUMBLE OF the Fishes' cars growing closer.

JASPER (CONT'D)
I've talked myself out of worse.

Miriam pokes her head out the window.

MIRIAM
Hurry!

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 87
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Again Theo lunges and again Jasper dodges, but now Theo gets
him by the arm.

JASPER
"The only reason we breathe is to
make a difference." Your words --
not mine.

Theo is lost. He loosens his grip.

Jasper backs away. He replaces the fake hedge behind the

Vauxhaul, blocking the view of the car and the trail.

WITH THEO

Grim expression on his face as he gets into the Vauxhaul.

Pulls out onto the trail.

98 INT. VAUXHAUL - DAYBREAK 98

The Vauxhaul climbs the slope, following the trail, and is

soon obscured by the trees.

JASPER'S HOUSE - DAY

Jasper enters the living room. He flicks on the stereo, cranks

the volume, BLASTING "Ruby Tuesday. He sits down in his
chair facing his wall of photos, his eyes on one of Sandra.

Through the windows -- the dark shape of the Fishes' car.

99 INT. VAUXHAUL - DAYBREAK 99

Theo at the wheel. Miriam and Kee in back. Theo's face is

set as the car winds up a steep path through the woods,
emerging out on the...

100 EXT. HILLTOP - DAYBREAK 100

... hilltop. Theo stops at the top of the hill. He gets

out of the car, hurries to the edge of the ridge.

In the distance he can see Jasper's home. A couple of Fishes

 stand outside the door. Jasper between them, seems to be
calmly deflecting their questions. From here, they look
slightly larger than black dots.

Then, Patric hurries out the door, holding the tweed overcoat
Theo took from the farmhouse. He shoves Jasper now, shouting
questions. The Fishes circling Jasper; someone pushes him
roughly to the ground. One of the Fishes pulls a revolver,
and we hear the flat POP of a gunshot. They shoot Jasper in
the foot. He crumbles in pain. They continue to question

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 88
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him. Unhappy with Jasper's answers, they shoot him again,

in the hand this time.

Theo watches helplessly, the ordeal tearing his heart out.

Patric lifts Jasper from the ground and the old man appears
to break, yelling out and pointing down the road. The Fishes
seem satisfied. Luke moves in, takes the pistol from one of
the others and aims it at Jasper's heart. POP... and it's
over.

Theo stares.

101 INT. VAUXHAUL - DAYBREAK 101

Theo slides in, looks at Miriam and Kee.

KEE
Jasper?...

Theo doesn't respond.

MIRIAM
Where's Jasper?

A long beat, then Theo releases the brake.

MIRIAM (CONT'D)
Theo... Jasper?

Theo answers with a look. Not another word. Theo puts it in

gear, floors the accelerator. The Vauxhaul bounces through
the woods, out onto...

AN ABANDONED COUNTRY ROAD

... and speeds down the wide, deserted road, toward Rye.

102 INT. VAUXHAUL - DAYBREAK 102

Theo staring silently and darkly out the windshield. Miriam

and Kee consumed by grief. Shadows from the muddy windshield
pass over their faces like tears.
103 EXT. RYE - DAY 103

The Vauxhaul putters down the empty streets of the-ghost

town suburb. Turns left, down a narrow street.

DISSOLVE TO:

THE SUN A bright orb high in the sky. Cicadas DRONING.

THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 89
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Part of a windshield wiper... past it, the sky. A bee buzzes,

banging against the glass.

THEO

in the driver's seat, waking up. He's alone in the car. He

watches the bee beating its head against the windshield,
trying to get out.

104 EXT. ABANDONED SUBURB - DAY 104

WIDE as the car door opens and Theo gets out, looks around
at a vast, empty suburb. Handsome homes with overgrown yards
stretch out as far as the eye can see. Theo stares out at
the empty streets, empty yards. It's eerily quiet. Miriam
and Kee are nowhere to be seen.

Christmas decorations adorn the overgrown lawn of the nearest

house: gnomes and giant mushrooms and lawn elves. The front
door is missing. Inside, a flash of movement.

105 EXT. TWO-STORY HOUSE - DAY 105

Theo steps up on the porch of the door-less, two-story home

and peers inside...

106 INT. HOUSE - SAME 106

... Dust particles in the sunlight. The house looks

untouched... large rooms full of dusty furniture. Paintings
on the walls. Apparently once the home of the well-to-do.

Theo walks inside... spots Miriam in the kitchen, snooping

around. He watches as she PINGS various pots and pans that
are hanging from a rack. She turns on the faucets, nothing
comes out.

Theo looks around the empty living room in silence.

107 EXT. PORCH 107

 Theo steps out on the porch. He sees Kee by the side of the
house, walking across an overgrown lawn toward a wooden fence.
She seem drawn to something...

... a child's swing. Kee slips though a hole in the fence

and walks over to it and sits.

FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING... it's Miriam. She joins Theo.

MIRIAM
Three o'clock. He should be here in
half an hour.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 90
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Theo is still looking at Kee in the swing. Miriam follows

his gaze... both of them looking at Kee: a picture of
innocence.

MIRIAM (CONT'D)
I was 27, a midwife in the maternity
department of the John Radcliffe. I
was doing a stint in the antenatal
clinic. Three of my patients
miscarried in the same week... The
mothers were in their fifth and sixth
month. We were able to save two of
the poor babies. The following week
we had five more miscarriages. Then,
the miscarriages began to occur
earlier.

Kee gets out of the swing, walk behind a tree. Theo averts
his eyes as she squats to pee.

MIRIAM (CONT'D)
I remember booking a patient for her
next appointment and noticing that
the page seven months ahead was blank.
Women usually booked after they'd
missed a second period, some as soon
as they missed one. But there it was --
Not a single name...
(turns to Theo)
You can relax. She's finished.

Kee is approaching them now. Miriam looks back at the child's

swing, still swaying slightly.

MIRIAM (CONT'D)
I thought, what's happening to the
women in this city? So I rang a
friend who was working at Queen
Charlotte's. She didn't have any
new pregnancies either. She then
 telephoned her sister in Sydney. It
was the same there...

Behind them, moving down the street on a distant slope,

unnoticed, some sort of vehicle approaches.

MIRIAM (CONT'D)
I often wonder if I was one of the
first to know. I was there at the
end.
(looks at Kee)
Now I shall be there at the beginning.

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Theo notices the vehicle now -- a Humvee -- intermittently

visible past the homes. Miriam turns, Kee looks up. They
all watch as the Humvee moves ominously closer...

THEO
Let's hope Syd's in the habit of
showing up early.

And he leads them out onto the street, into the open.

KEE
So it's him then?

MIRIAM
Who else would it be?

Miriam raising her hand to wave. Apparently the driver sees

them -- because the vehicle speeds up. They watch in silence
as the Humvee races down the street toward them...

The Humvee is almost on them when...

TAT! TAT! TAT! TAT! TAT! -- as the remote machine gun on the
cab swivels -- Bullets sail over their heads.

THEO
Fuck! To the house!

Theo grabs Kee's hand, pulls her toward the house and...

VOICE (SPEAKER)
Stop!

And TAT! TAT! TAT!... Shingles fly from the roof of the home
behind them.

VOICE (SPEAKER) (CONT'D)

Or I'll shoot to kill!!

Theo, Kee and Miriam freeze. They turn toward the Humvee.
 but can't see through the tinted windows.

VOICE (SPEAKER) (CONT'D)

Hands where I can see them! Get
down on the ground!

MIRIAM
We're looking for Syd!

VOICE (SPEAKER)
ON THE GROUND!

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 92
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KEE
Jasper told us to come!

A beat, then...

VOICE (SPEAKER)
You have something for Syd?

Theo holds up Jasper's backpack. The tinted driver's window

lowers.

VOICE (SPEAKER) (CONT'D)

Toss it inside!

Theo tosses the backpack through the open window. The window
rolls back up. Theo, Miriam and Kee, exchange looks.

The window rolls down. A BORDER COP leans out, smiles.

BORDER COP/SYD
(extends his hand)
Say hi to Syd.

108 EXT. ROAD - DAY 108

A Humvee moving along a muddy road.

109 INT. HUMVEE - DAY 109

Syd is behind the wheel, smoking a cigarette. Mid-50's,

stout, lifelong cop. He loves his mother but would sell her
for the right price.

SYD
Wiggy old bastard... So proud of his
weed. Always asking more than it was
worth.

Theo, Kee and Miriam sit in back, behind a metal mesh divider.

SYD (CONT'D)
 Could get the same shit -- way cheaper -
from the Zeds, but Syd likes buying
from him... Straight chap, a true
gentleman. God bless him.

Kee MOANS with sudden pain. She shoots a look of alarm at

Miriam.

SYD (CONT'D)
What's with the Zed? She sick?

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 93
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MIRIAM
Nothing.

Miriam takes Kee's hand, reassuring.

SYD
She's not going to puke, is she?
Can't wash out puke. Smell never
goes away.

MIRIAM
She's fine.

The Humvee rolls alongside a cyclone fence topped with a

swirl of razor wire.

SYD
Usually it's people trying to get
out of Bexhill, not in. Syd doesn't
know why you want to get in, Syd
doesn't wanna know, Syd doesn't care.

Theo and the others look past the fence: two miles away, the
sad town of Bexhill. Beyond that, the sea.

SYD (CONT'D)
When they release you, stroll out
with the rest of the detainees. You'll
see a statue of a soldier. There
you'll meet Marichka. She's an Arab,
gypsy or something, always has an
annoying piece'a shite little dog
with her. She'll arrange fine
accommodations for the night.

Through the windshield, up ahead, a gate in the outer fence.

A pair of Immigration Control buses waits next to a small
outcrop of buildings.

Syd glances back at his passengers.

SYD (CONT'D)
 You're fewgees now. So show Syd a
big sad face, come on, let's see
them...
(shows them a sad
face)
C'mon, sad fewgee face. And don't
speak English. No such thing as an
English fewgee.

Syd pulls to an abrupt stop outside the gate.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 94
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SYD (CONT'D)
It's been Syd's privilege to serve
you.

110 EXT. GATE IN THE OUTER FENCE - DAY 110

Syd gets out of the Humvee, addresses the DOZEN SOLDIERS who
are waiting near the buses, finishing their smokes.

111 INT. HUMVEE - CONTINUOUS 111

Theo looks at Kee with concern. Kee suddenly doubles over,

reacting to a sharp pain.

THEO
What's wrong with her?

MIRIAM
She had a contraction. It's normal.
Probably from the exertion.

Syd YANKS the doors open.

SYD
All right, fewgees. Out! Move!

112 EXT. ROAD -- CONTINUOUS 112

Theo slides out of the Humvee, helping Kee down, Miriam

following. Walking to the "IMMIGRATION CONTROL" bus -- an
old school bus, painted over black, bars on the windows.

SYD
Go on, get in.

113 INT. IMMIGRATION CONTROL BUS - DAY 113

The steel cage door opens and the trio climbs on board. They
make their way down the aisle, looking for a seat. Forlorn,
malnourished, desperate, trapped faces of captured refugees
stare back at them. The bus lurches forward. Kee MOANS as
she's rocked by the sudden jolt. Miriam steadies her, finds
 her an empty seat.

MIRIAM
Here.

She helps Kee into a seat and sits next to her. Theo sits
across the aisle.

Theo feels a tug on his shirt. He turns: it's a withered old

COUPLE, filthy, pitiful, hungry. The Old Woman puts her

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 95
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fingers to her mouth, pleading for food, utters a few words

in German. Theo turns away, staring out the window.

114 EXT. ROAD - DUSK 114

The bus traveling down the road -- approaching Bexhill.

115 INT. IMMIGRATION CONTROL BUS - DUSK 115

Theo looking out at the ghetto-city. He turns to Miriam.

THEO
What time are we supposed to meet
the boat?

MIRIAM
Sunset -- Tomorrow.

THEO
How can we be sure Luke hasn't
diverted the boat back to Iceland?

MIRIAM
(shakes her head)
Luke has no way to contact the Human
Project. Nor does anyone else.

This seems to satisfy him for a moment. then...

THEO
Come again?

MIRIAM
Communication with the Human Project
is done through mirrors. Julian
was one of the mirrors.

THEO
You lost me, Miriam.

MIRIAM
Mirrors. Someone contacts one of
 our cells. That cell contacts another
and so on... down the line until
word reaches Julian and Luke.

Theo lets this all sink in...

THEO
You mean you never actually talked
to any of them? Like a game of
telephone?

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 96
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KEE
Uhh!

Kee reacts to a shooting pain.

THEO
(low, to Miriam)
Don't fucking tell me you never even
talked to them!

But Miriam is focused on Kee, who doubles over as her

contraction peaks.

KEE
Uhhh!

Other refugees turn. Theo realizes Kee is drawing attention.

THEO
(whispers to Miriam)
You sure this is normal?

MIRIAM
(quietly)
Shouldn't be this frequent. She's
only in her eighth month.
(to Kee)
Breathe through them. Just breathe.

KEE
Can't fuckin' breathe --

Theo looks outside: the bus stops at a CHECKPOINT illuminated

with spotlights. One bus already ahead of them.

KEE (CONT'D)
Miriam... I'm all wet.

Water drips down her leg, forming a tint puddle on the floor.

MIRIAM
Her water broke. This baby's coming.
 THEO
She can't have the baby now.

MIRIAM
(glares at Theo)
You want to tell that to the baby?

Kee reacts to the beginning of a new contraction.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 97
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KEE
(gritting)
Uhhh...

MIRIAM
Just breathe, sweetie. Breathe in...
breathe out. Everything is perfect.
Remember, the knowledge or all women
who've ever given birth is with us.
(to Theo)
How long until we're there?

THEO
They're checking a bus ahead of us.

116 EXT. CHECKPOINT - CONTINUOUS 116

Theo's bus is stopped behind another bus. The checkpoint is

wired off with steel fence, trimmed with razor wire.

From the bus in front, Police violently yank off three black
refugees, vicious dogs barking at them.

117 INT. IMMIGRATION CONTROL BUS - CONTINUOUS 117

Kee breathing through a contraction.

MIRIAM
What's going on?

THEO
I don't know.

Theo looks out the window and sees Police forcing the black
refugees to their knees. Dogs barking. Refugees pleading.
One of the Police hits a refugee with a rifle butt -- the
man collapses. Another Police Officer kicks the fallen victim.

INSIDE

The overhead lights flick ON, shine harshly on the passengers.

Kee is still breathing through her contraction.
 Two POLICE OFFICERS enter the bus, one holding a guard dog
on a leash. They walk slowly down the aisle, checking the
faces of refugees.

A couple of refugees react to Kee's labored breathing, looking

back at her. Theo and Miriam turn to Kee, concerned.

MIRIAM
Shhh... .

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 98
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The 1ST POLICE OFFICER glares at a REFUGEE, who averts his

eyes.

1ST POLICE OFFICER

Look up!
(no response from
refugee)
Look up, you piece of shite!

The 1st Police Officer pulls the refugee up by his hair.

1ST POLICE OFFICER (CONT'D)

Out!

REFUGEE
(pleading)
Pieta', pieta', no, no, no, ti prego,
un po' id compassione...

The 1st Police Officer keeps walking. The 2ND POLICE OFFICER
drags the Refugee to the front of the bus, pushing him out
the door.

Now, the guard dog starts BARKING. Theo, Miriam and Kee
tense, as the dog pulls the 1st Police Officer forward. The
dog stops in front of Kee, BARKING at her, smelling something
it has never smelled before.

The 1st Police Officer scrutinizes Kee: she is breathing

hard, Clutching the seat in front of her, looking at the
floor, in the middle of a contraction.

1ST POLICE OFFICER

(to Miriam)
What's wrong with her?

Miriam frozen with fear. The dog barking. The Officer hands
the dog's leash to his partner and steps closer.

1ST POLICE OFFICER (CONT'D)

(angry)
I said, what's wrong with her?
 The Police Officer grabs Kee's hair, twisting her face toward
him. Kee's eyes wide, wet, terrified. Miriam springs up...

MIRIAM
(shakes her head no)
Rien! Rien!

The Police Officer lets go of Kee. Theo watches but there's

nothing he can do as the cop turns his attention to Miriam.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 99
7-1-07

1ST POLICE OFFICER

Sit down before I slap you down.

Miriam holds her ground.

MIRIAM
Elle est bien! S'est necessaire que
elle dorme. Laisse elle tranquille!

The cop stares at her a moment.

1ST POLICE OFFICER

Are you French? Fran-say?

MIRIAM
Oui! Laisse elle tranquille! S'il
vous plait!

1ST POLICE OFFICER

(to his partner)
A Fuckin' Frog, Teddy.

The 2nd Officer approaches. The 1st cop tuns back to Kee.

1ST POLICE OFFICER (CONT'D)

You. Get up!

Theo's mind is racing as the cop reaches for Kee and...

THEO
(with an accent)
Caca!

The Police Officer turns to Theo.

1ST POLICE OFFICER

What?

THEO
Cacao Caca, piss.

Theo points to the floor. The Police Officer sees the puddle.
Doesn't want to get his shoes dirty. Steps back away from
 Kee.

THEO (CONT'D)
Caca, piss, girl, big mess. Smell!

The Police Officer recoils.

1ST POLICE OFFICER

Smell it yourself... Jesus almighty!

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 100
7-1-07

A beat and the cop turns away disgusted, starts off, then
turns to his partner, seems to have just remembered Miriam
and...

1ST POLICE OFFICER

Get the French monkey outta my sight!

And the second cop grabs Miriam by the hair -

THEO
(under his breath)
No.

Miriam, shoots a parting look at Kee as she takes the bullet,

doesn't resist as the cop drags her out the door of the bus.

Theo and Kee watch in shock. The doors close, the bus jerks
forward. Theo looks out the back window and sees Miriam,
standing with the rest of the detained refugees. In the b.g.,
a second bus waits.

KEE
What's going to happen to Miriam?

THEO
I don't know.

The image of Miriam receding as the bus pulls away.

118 EXT. BEXHILL - GATE - DUSK 118

The bus pulls up Too the BEXHILL FENCE -- the high steel
fence that walls off the prison city. Hopeless faces peer
out through the gaps...

The bus doors open. Refugees pile out, guard dogs nipping at
their heels. Theo helps Kee down. Chaos. Guards wield
nightsticks, herding the group through the final gate into...

119 EXT. RUINED SQUARE - CONTINUOUS 119

... Bexhill. Theo and Kee look around, disoriented, lost...

surrounded by a teeming mass of humanity. Hustlers and touts
 rush the fresh arrivals SHOUTING at them in a myriad of
languages, aggressively looking for easy scores. A TOUT
wearing glasses with a cracked lens moves in front of Kee.

TOUT
(Norwegian accent)
You need a room? Room?

Kee and Theo ignore him, pushing past... but he's suddenly
in her face again.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 101
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TOUT (CONT'D)
Nice room for you!

THEO
Fuck off!

Theo leads Kee through the cacophony of strange sounds,

smells. Kee suddenly stops, doubles over -- a new contraction.
The flow of refugees keeps pushing behind them, Kee trying
to mask her pain, but...

KEE
BLOODY HELL!

Theo holding Kee for support.

KEE (CONT'D)
I can't stay here, Theo!

Theo looks out at the crowd. A roiling sea of humanity. For

a moment, Theo looks lost.

THEO
Just hang on

He rip. into the crowd, moving past improvised tent-like

structures. He spots a statue of a soldier, nearly hidden
by a pile of debris.

Theo circles the statue, a WWI soldier holding a bayonet

rifle, charging. The plaque reads: "The Lost Generation."

YAP! YAP! A tiny runt dog nips at his heels, scaring the
hell out of him.

THEO (CONT'D)
Shit...

Theo turns to see a WOMAN: olive skin, 40, the exhausted

eyes of someone who accepts life's hardship as fate. She's
 learned when to duck.

THEO (CONT'D)
Marichka?

120 EXT. STREETS OF BEXHILL - NIGHT 120

The rickshaw crosses through the dark streets. Theo and Kee
in the back. MARICHKA in front, wrapped in an old wool coat.
The dog on the handlebars, enjoying the breeze.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 102
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Kee looks out at Bexhill. Remnants of the happy times: a

sign for a fun house, what's left of the facade of the Bexhill
Aquarium. Small, Jury-rigged plastic tents around the
sidewalks. People warming their hands around scattered piles
of burning rubbish, watching the passing rickshaw; suspicion
in their eyes.

Theo notices graffiti spray-painted on the side of a

building... the words "The Uprising" above a drawing of 5
fish lined up in a row. Before he can consider the
implications. Kee is struck by another painful contraction.

KEE
(in pain)
FUCK!

Kee doubles over.

KEE (CONT'D)
You have to help me, Theo.

THEO
Sure, sure. We'll be fine.

Kee grabs his hand, grips it tightly. Theo forces the most
reassuring smile he can muster, then he looks away, and we
see it on his face -- fear.

121 INT. STAIRWAY - BUILDING - NIGHT 121

The dog hopping up the stairs, Marichka next, holding a butane

lantern, leading them up the dark stairwell. Kee stops
suddenly, holding herself against the wall, in pain.

KEE
FUCKING! LITTLE SHIT! BASTARD!

THEO
Breathe through it...

KEE
FUCK!
 THEO
That's It! One more flight...

Marichka starts prattling to them in Romanian --

122 INT. BARE APARTMENT - NIGHT 122

The door opens. The little dog scampers inside, uses a chair
as a springboard, leaps onto the table and, through the broken
window, yaps his presence to the dogs barking outside.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 103
7-1-07

Theo helps Kee on the table. Marichka sets the butane lamp
in the table. The room is bare, peeling walls, broken window
panes, a rough mat on the floor. Cold enough to see your
breath.

Theo immediately pulls the mat to the center of the room.

Kee doubles up with another contraction --

KEE
Fuck all!

Marichka trying to explain something they cannot understand,

pointing at two BUCKETS of water, the dog yapping and yapping.

KEE (CONT'D)
(to Theo, re: Marichka)
Make her go.

Theo move to Marichka, escorts her out the door into the
hallway.

123 INT. HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS 123

From inside the room, Kee screams. Marichka looks at Theo,

alarmed.

THEO
(to Marichka)
She's fine, she's fine.

Marichka stares at him blankly.

KEE (O.S.)
Get her fucking out!

Marichka is still staring, concern in her eyes.

THEO
(to Marichka)
Go! Look for Miriam.
(hands her money)
 Mir-ia-am.

MARICHKA
Santo!

The little dog comes bounding outside. Theo shuts the door.

124 INT. BARE APARTMENT - SAME 124

Theo helps Kee lower herself onto a mat. He removes his

jacket, putting it under her head.

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 104
7-1-07

THEO
Just relax, now...

KEE
You know 'bout this?

THEO
Oh sure. In the old days, in New
York, I did a stint as a cab driver.
Bunch of times: couple's on the way
to the hospital, we get stuck in
traffic, I deliver the baby in the
backseat. Bunch of times.

He looks at her, then slowly adjusts her knees in what might

be a proper position.

THEO (CONT'D)
(tentatively)
I'm uh... just gonna see what's
happening. See how things are
progressing.

Theo slowly hikes up her dress. His expression: as if he

were looking at a half-assembled engine. He doesn't know
where to begin.

KEE
Well ?

THEO
You're uh... pretty far along. That's
good...

Theo looks toward the door, waiting for a miracle, hoping

Miriam will walk through it. Nothing but silence.

He goes to the window, looks out the dirty pane into the
street. Deserted. He waits, still nothing. Another painful
MOAN from Kee. He takes out his flask, looks like he wants
to drink it, but instead, pours the alcohol over his hands,
 washing them.

He walks back over to Kee, looks down.

THEO (CONT' D) (CONT'D)

(low, lost in his own
world)
Jesus Christ...

KEE
What?

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 105
7-1-07

THEO
(snapping out of it)
I think you're pretty close.

Kee writhes in pain, SCREAMS.

THEO (CONT'D)
Now just lie there and let your body
take over. Get in touch with your
body like Miriam said, that thing
about tension.

KEE
I can't!

THEO
You can! Just breathe, breathe like
Miriam taught you... relax, and when
you feel like it, push!

KEE
I can't fucking do it!

THEO
Yes you can! Breathe and push!

KEE
Fuck you! It hurts!

THEO
Fuck you! Push!
(then)
All the women who've ever given birth
are with you!

Kee pushes -- her breath visible in the cold room.

KEE
Fuck all!

THEO
 That's it. Just like that. Keep
breathing. Breathe in... breathe
out...

Kee clutches Theo's hands harder -- although we can see her

breath, she is covered in sweat.

THEO (CONT'D)
(bending lower)
Push! It's working goddamnit. I think
it's actually working!

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 106
7-1-07

Kee pushes with all her might. Theo witnesses this, utterly
amazed...

THEO (CONT'D)
I can see its head!

Kee screams -- excruciating pain -- fear. She pushes -- the

head stretching open the vagina, coming through...

THEO (CONT'D)
Push!

Theo holding onto Kee, blown away.

THEO (CONT'D)
You're doing great.

Kee looks up at Theo, her face wet with sweat and tears, a
little reassured.

Theo watches: the baby's blue head emerges completely...

THEO (CONT'D)
Keep doing what you're doing...

Kee pushing -- the rest of the baby's body flowing out in a

stream of blood. Theo supporting the emerging infant...

THEO (CONT'D)
Here he comes, here he comes...

125 KEE PUSHING MIGHTILY - 125

THEO
You're nearly there...

Kee screaming as she taps a reservoir of female strength,

giving her body over to the new life coming through it, to
life itself, the miracle

KEE
 FUCKING GOD!!!

-- the baby bursts forth, a bloody explosion of life...

Theo pulling it free, still hooked by the umbilical cord,

the placenta spilling out in a bloody finale -

There is a moment, a pause.

For the first time in eighteen years, four months, two days,
sixteen hours and eight minutes, a human child has been born.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 107
7-1-07

Theo holds the newborn baby, all blue, covered in white

specks, steam rising from the tiny body in the cold room.

KEE (CONT'D)
How is he?

But Theo doesn't answer... he's stunned, holding the baby...

then...

THEO
Actually, it's a girl.

KEE
Lemme see her!

Theo helps Kee lie back dom on the mat. Gives her the baby.
He walks to the broken window and plucks a shard of glass.
He pulls out his flask, takes a quick drink then pours the
rest of the alcohol over the glass.

THEO
I have to cut the cord... I don't
think It's gonna hurt.

Theo moves the shard of glass from one spot on the umbilical
cord to another -- unsure where to cut it. Then takes a
breath and makes a decision and SLICES. The cord splits,
spurting a bit of blood. Theo takes a bracelet from Kee's
wrist, ties it to the stump left on the baby.

Theo takes off his shirt and cleans the white, cheese-like
residue from the baby.

KEE
Hey you... my boo, bloo... look at
you...

The baby CRIES, a strident, rhythmic scream that shatters

the night. Kee puts the baby to her breast. Instinctively,
the child nurses. Theo watches, amazed.
 KEE (CONT'D)
Cheedo, eh?

126 EXT. BEXHILL - NIGHT 126

The Bexhill skyline. Battered three and four-story buildings

blending into the black night. It's silent. Even the dogs
have stopped barking. In one small window, a dim light glows --
the silhouettes of Theo and Kee beholding this new life.

The SOUND OF THE SURF FADES IN...

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 108
7-1-07

127 EXT. BEACH - DAY 127

WHITE OCEAN FOAM tops a wave, blue and glistening, rolling

luxuriously toward the beach.

The backlit woman in the sarong, her beautiful form moving

closer...

Theo in the sand, smiling, in heaven... as she approaches...

Theo shades his eyes as she nears... and now we see... the
woman is Kee, but she's not carrying a drink. She's carrying
a baby, smiling and laughing... She walks right by Theo. He
looks down the beach after her, is blinded by a blazing sun.

Theo leans back -- the texture of the sun and sky decays...
seems less real, like a mixture of reality and watercolor,
and the sounds of the rolling surf slowly give way to distant
HELICOPTERS... sporadic GUNFIRE... and a dog YAPPING...

128 INT. BARE APARTMENT - EARLY MORNING 128

YAP! YAP! Theo opens his eyes, waking up on the floor, his
coat pulled over him, getting his bearings: The first morning
sun seeping into the empty room. Kee still sleeping on the
mat, the baby on her chest.

YAP! YAP! The barking is now outside the door. FOOTSTEPS

following. Theo creakily gets to his feet.

Someone PUSHES the door. But a chair wedged against it holds

it shut.

Kee is awake now, looking at Theo. Whoever is outside gives

the door a powerful shove, and the chair skids forward, about
to give.

VOICE
(outside)
C'mon, we don't have much time! Open
the bloody door!
 THEO
Who is it?

Kee wraps her cloak around the baby, hiding her. In the
distance, a staccato burst of gunfire.

SYD (O.S.)
It's the Queen of England, can you
spare a cup of tea? It's Syd, you
fool. Open the door.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 109
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Theo pulls the chair away and Syd shoves his way in, Marichka
behind him.

SYD (CONT'D)
Didn't you hear the bomb last night?
City's gone to hell.

Santo is now running around inside, yelping.

SYD (CONT'D)
What's with the Zed?

THEO
She's fine. Some woman's thing.

Santo is on the scent, sniffing at Kee, yelping.

SYD
A few hours ago part of the fence
got blown up, and a group of fewgees
escaped. The army came in, they're
trying to control the situation.
But Syd happens to know that hole in
the fence is not about the fewgees
getting out, it's how the Fishes get
in.

KEE
(to Theo)
Luke?

SYD
(ignoring Kee)
Syd doesn't know what they want, but
the Fishes have guns and the fewgees
are armed to the teeth -- It's gonna
be a fucking mess and this time the
army will bomb the shit out of this
place. Syd's gotta get you out of
here.
 THEO
We have to get to a boat.

Santo keeps yapping at Kee.

KEE
(to dog)
Go on, piss off.

Santo won't leave. Kee kicks him. Santo yelps, retreating.

Marichka yells at Kee.

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 110
7-1-07

Then --

CRYING. From the baby. Rhythmic, loud. The dog comes charging
again...

KEE (CONT'D)
Get your fuckin' dog!

Kee kicks the dog again.

MARICHKA
Santo!

Marichka grabs her dog. The baby still crying loudly. Kee
puts the baby to her breast. The baby quiets, nursing.

SYD
The hell was that?

Santo still yapping in Marichka's arms. Marichka gives Santo

a little slap, shutting the dog up. Silence -- except for
the sound of the baby nursing.

SYD (CONT'D)
What is that?

THEO
I'll explain -- can you get us a
boat?

SYD
what you got there? Let Syd have a
look.

He moves closer. Pulls back Kee's cloak, revealing the BABY,

at her breast.

SYD (CONT'D)
Bloody Christ.
 Marichka approaches. Kneeling, seeing.the baby, stunned.

SYD (CONT'D)
It's a fuckin' baby!

THEO
That's right. We've got a baby.
Now we need a rowboat.

Syd starts pacing. Theo pulls out a wad of bills, puts them
in Syd's hand.

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 111
7-1-07

THEO (CONT'D)
(firmly)
Today.

Oddly, Syd hardly notices the bills in his hand, keeps pacing.

SYD
Hush! Hush! Syd's trying to think
here!.

Marichka reaches out with her finger. She looks to Kee, who
nods her permission. Marichka touches the baby. Her face
lights up, her eyes well with tears -- she has touched a
miracle.

SYD (CONT'D)
Okay, okay... Get her up. We've got
to go right now.

THEO
Can you get us to the boat?

SYD
Sure, sure, sure. Just get her up!
Come on, do it!

Kee wraps the baby to her breast with her shawl. From outside,
another burst of gunfire, closer.

Marichka turns to Syd, talking to him, animated, adamant.

THEO
What's she saying?

SYD
Fuck knows...

Marichka turns to Theo and Kee, prattling on, urgent. Marichka

insistent, grabbing Syd's sleeve

SYD (CONT'D)
 Shut up! Basta!

Syd pulls free of Marichka's grip.

SYD (CONT'D)
Let's go.

MARICHKA
No!
(points to Syd)
Bad! Bad, bad!

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 112
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KEE
She doesn't want us to go.

Syd pulls out a gun. Marichka instinctively ducks to the

floor, covering her head, pleading.

SYD
Okay, move. Let's go.

KEE
No!

A standoff. In the distance, a mob chanting.

THEO
What do you want, Syd?

BANG! Syd shoots he floor by Santo's feet. The dog yelps,

scampering for Marichka's protection. Syd points his gun at
Kee's forehead.

SYD
Move!

THEO
She's going.

Theo turns to Kee.

THEO (CONT'D)
I'll help you.

129 INT. STAIRWELL - DAY 129

Theo carries Kee down the stairs, his flip-flops SLAPPING

against the steps. Syd follows behind, gun trained on Theo.
Marichka at Syd's side, still prattling on.

SYD
Last night, Syd gets home. Mommy's
sleeping in front of the telly. She
 always does that, my sweet soul.
Syd kisses her good-night. She has
cancer, my mommy. Syd's about to
turn off the telly-- and there's
your mugs. On the news. Couple of
nasty pricks gunning down these cops --
bam! bam!-- you fuckers! Big reward.
Then Syd finds out the Fishes are
looking for you too. So Syd thinks,
the cops are looking for them, the
Fishes are looking for them, these
(MORE)

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 113
7-1-07

SYD (CONT'D)
blokes are bang-up commodities. And
a baby? That's capital!

130 INT. STAIRS / LOBBY - CONTINUOUS 130

The group descends the final flight of stairs into the empty
lobby. Syd one step behind. Marichka next to him, ranting
even louder. Santo yapping --

SYD
(to Marichka)
Shut the fuck up!

He slaps her hard, silencing her. But as he turns back toward

Theo, Marichka gives Syd a forceful shove and...

...he trips down the last few steps... his gun hand folding
under him as he tries to break his fall and...

Theo quickly puts Kee down, leaps toward Syd, who gets a
SHOT off in the air before Theo lands. Theo's weight snaps
Syd's head against the floor. Syd's stunned, his gun hand
flailing like a snake as he struggles with Theo.

THEO
GO!

And Marichka grabs Kee, guiding her toward the back hallway
while Theo and Syd struggle for control of the pistol.

Theo's hand -- trying to muscle the gun away while Syd tries
to point it back toward Theo. Theo's bandaged finger getting
bent back -- Theo screaming in AGONY as he pulls the trigger
BAM! BAM! BAM! The bullets fly into the wall, plaster
falling -- BAM! BAM! two more shells -- barely missing Theo's
head, until the chamber CLICKS. CLICK. Empty.

Syd drops the gun, reaches for Theo's throat. Theo gasps,
trying to break Syd's grip.
 IN THE CORRIDOR

Kee turns to Marichka.

KEE
Go -- go help him!

Marichka hurries back toward Theo. Kee leans against the

wall, making sure her baby's okay.

Syd tightens his grip around Theo's neck.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 114
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Marichka spots the gun on the floor, grabbing the barrel and
roundhousing it -- SMACK! into Syd's face. Syd falls
backwards.

Marichka helps Theo get to his feet. Theo's still gasping

for air as he looks down at Syd. Syd seems to be out cold.

Theo and Marichka join Kee at the mouth of the corridor -

they rush down the passageway and reach a door at the end of
the hall.

It's blocked with boxes and junk. Theo forces the door open...
just enough space to pass.

Marichka snakes through, out to a small alley, Santo following

her. Then it's Kee's turn, but she can't fit through while
holding the baby. From the alley, Marichka extends her hands.

MARICHKA
Baby, Marichka!

Kee hesitates. Behind them, in the lobby, a groggy Syd getting

up off the floor. Picking up his gun, loading it.

Kee passes the baby through the doorway, fearing the worst.
Marichka takes the baby. The point of no return. A moment.
Marichka motions for Kee to follow.

MARICHKA (CONT'D)
Come!

Kee squeezes through the opening. Down the corridor, Syd

stumbling toward them, gun in hand.

Theo trying to squeeze out, but no one is helping with the

door. And BAM! a bullet flies past his head.

131 EXT. ALLEY - CONTINUOUS 131

Theo slips into the trash-strewn alley... SQUISH! Theo's

 expression -- he's lost one of his flip-flops.

His bare foot sinking in a mound of rotting garbage. Then

POCK! POCK! POCK! Bullets pierce the door.

He looks at Kee and Marichka. Both are on the left side of

the door, while he's on right side... and POCK! POCK! two
more bullets cut holes in the door.

THEO
(to the women)
Go!

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 115
7-1-07

The women hurry down the alley. POCK! Another bullet pierces
the door. Desperate, Theo digs through the trash at his
feet. Worthless plastic, rotting food, a heavy old electric
mixer.

The door jerks open -- Syd's face appears. He looks at Theo,

furiously shoving his way out and...

Theo swings the rusty iron mixer -- SMACK! into Syd's face.
Syd falls back inside. Theo stares at the door, ready for
another round, mixer in hand. But there's no movement from
inside. Theo drops the mixer and hurries to catch up with
the others, one flip-flop on, one flip-flip off.

##AT THE END OF THE ALLEY

Kee leaning against the wall, gathering her strength.

Marichka peering around the edge of the building.

Theo approaches. "La Marseilles" can be heard, chanted by an

approaching mob.

THEO (CONT'D)
You okay?

KEE
It hurts.

THEO
(to Marichka)
We need a boat.

Theo picks up a stick, draws a rowboat in the sandy street.

THEO (CONT'D)
A boat. Un bateau. Das boot.
Capice?

Marichka nods, points in a direction. Theo and Marichka take

either side of Kee, helping her walk, Santo following. Theo's
 one bare foot bleeding. They turn the corner and...

A mob marches toward them, more than fifty. A large flag

billows, blue, white and red.

VOICES
Alons enfants de la patrie...

They pass the mob, heading in the opposite direction.

Passionate chanting, some wearing masks, all carry guns --
modern semi-automatics, a few old Glocks.

Theo and Kee stare: Nothing is surprising anymore.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 116
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They pass a wall spray-painted with graffiti: five fish and

the words "The Uprising." Theo and Kee exchange a look.

132 EXT. FORMER BANK - DAY 132

This street seems quiet, "La Marseilles" now distant.

Marichka gestures, leading them into what once was the city
courthouse, now covered with graffiti. Further down the
street, on rooftops, men with rifles dart from building to
building.

133 INT. FORMER BANK - CONTINUOUS 133

Theo, Kee with the baby, Marichka and Santo, enter. Dozens
of old shoes on the floor, neatly paired. They hear CHANTING --
rhythmic prayers.

It was once a bank, but now it's just skeletal remains: a

few teller windows, pieces of tumbled Plexiglas. Past them,
they see men kneeling on a carpeted floor, bowing toward
Mecca in humble prayer. The bank now a makeshift mosque.

Marichka guides Kee toward stairs at the end of the hall.

Theo is still staring at the shoes.

134 INT. FORMER BANK - SECOND FLOOR CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS 134

At the end of the dark corridor, Marichka is bent down at a

metal door, talking to someone through a low eye-slit. A
tiny flashlight shines through the opening, at her face. A
trembly voice on the other side of the door, in Russian:

GEORGIAN MAN (O.S.)

Nyet.

Theo and Kee watch from the other end of the corridor. Kee
leans on Theo, resting. On Theo's feet, a very worn pair of
slippers. He looks up as Marichka waves forward, insistent,
prattling. Theo helps Kee down the dim hallway.
 GEORGIAN MAN (O.S.) (CONT'D)
Nyet, nyet...

As they approach the secure metal door, the flashlight from

the eye slit shines in Theo's face.

Marichka grabs Kee's cloak. The light shifts to Kee's face

as she resists, but the cloak opens. The light tilts down,
shining on the baby, eyes closed, feeding on Kee's breast.

From the eye-slit, the flashlight shaking, a gasp.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 117
7-1-07

135 INT. GEORGIAN MAN'S APARTMENT - DAY 135

The ancient GEORGIAN MAN (90) stands beside his wife. The
pale, withered WOMAN (87), sitting in a wheelchair, hums a
folk song as she carves the final touches onto an orange
that she's cut into a swan. She presents the swan to Kee,
who lays in bed eating some sort of potato stew, the baby
asleep at her side.

KEE
Look at that.

We're in a simple home that was once a banker's office. One

table, two chairs, a gas burner, photos, a reproduction of
Chagall's cow on the farm. And, in the clean, big windows,
a few potted plants. Classical music playing.

KEE (CONT'D)
(calls out)
Theo, they love my baby.

Theo sits at the table, also eating stew, across from the
old Georgian man. Marichka stands nearby, wolfing hers down -

THEO
We need a boat.

The Georgian Man speaks in a trembly voice with thick accent.

GEORGIAN MAN
Why boat?

THEO
The Human Project is sending a ship
for Kee. We have to be out in the
bay at sunset.

Theo holds out a handful of bills. A SOFT RAP at the door

and the Old Georgian Woman hobbles for it.
 GEORGIAN MAN
Human Project real?

THEO
It better be.

The old woman opens the door. A MAN carrying a rifle steps
in, thirties, Slavic features.

He's an imposing figure, tall and broad. The butt of an

automatic pistol is visible in his waistband. The Georgian
Man wheels over to him.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 118
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Theo watches the two men converse quietly in Russian. The

younger man looks over at Theo with cold eyes.

An amplified voice echoes from the street.

VOICE (O.S.)
(over loudspeaker)
The Warden has declared a State of
Emergency! Everyone remain indoors!
A curfew is now in effect!

Theo moves to the window, looks out: A caravan of armored

carriers and tanks move slowly down the empty streets.

VOICE (CONT'D)
(over loudspeaker)
Anyone on the streets will be
considered hostile and shot! England
supports you and provides you shelter.
Do not support terrorists.

Then the same message repeated, translated into French. On

top of the building across the street, men in masks armed
with rifles run in the opposite direction of the tanks.

KEE
Theo?

She's holding up her baby.

KEE (CONT'D)
Come hold her.

Theo walks to her.

THEO
I'd probably break her. Let Marichka.

KEE
I'm going to name her Froley.
 THEO
Froley?

KEE
You don't like it?

THEO
The first baby born in twenty years
and you want to call her Froley? It
sounds like a dog's name.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 119
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KEE
It's a good name. I like Froley.

She smiles to hersellrf, her eyes closing. The Georgian Man

and the Younger Man, SERGIUS, approach. Sergius stares in
awe at child, finally turning to Theo...

SERGIUS
Sunset is five-thirty.

Sergius's eyes sparkle disarmingly.

GEORGIAN MAN
Stay here for now. In one hour, you
go.

SERGIUS
(mimics rowing)
I have boat.

Theo holds out a fistful of 100 pound bills. Sergius closes

Theo's fist on the money, not interested in it.

Theo looks over at Kee; she's fallen asleep nursing the baby.

136 EXT. FORMER BANK - DAY (HOURS LATER) 136

Fog rolling in now.

Sergius stands in the middle of the street, his senses on

alert. Sporadic gunfire and shouting in the distance, but
the street seems safe. He signals, and moves off.

Theo pushes Kee from the bank in the Georgian Man's

wheelchair. Marichka with them.

137 EXT. BAY STREET - DAY 137

They move down the fog-shrouded street.

A RUMBLING is heard. Santo stops, turns around and starts

 barking. The ground shakes... Through the fog... a silhouette
slowly taking form... mammoth. A mechanical clatter drowning
out Santo's barking.

THEO
Shit...

IT'S AN ENORMOUS TANK. And it's close, coming right at them.

Sergius darts into a cross street, turns to the others...

SERGIUS
This way!

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 120
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Theo pushes Kee toward the cross street. Marichka following

behind. She looks back: Santo is still holding his ground,
barking at the metal monster. Marichka races back for him.

THEO
Marichka...!

The tank looming closer, appearing larger. Santo losing his

courage, whimpering, backing off...

Marichka snatches up the dog and runs back toward the others,
trying to catch up...

DOWN BAY STREET

They pass a long metal pole wedged in a sewer, buttressed by

a mountain of broken concrete and debris -- a barricade.

Sergius gestures toward a narrow alley. Theo turns the

wheelchair, veers toward the alley and stops...

... seeing a Basque man holding a machine gun. Sergius has

seen him too. Theo follows Sergius's gaze... finds another
armed Basque man... and another... and another... They are
surrounded. A beat then...

BASQUE MAN
(in Basque)
Down! Down!

Theo and The others scurry into the alley as the tank rolls
down Bay Street -- A metallic CREAK as the tank runs up
against the metal barricade pole. The tank's tracks churn,
but the pole holds fast. The Basque Man signals --

BASQUE MAN (CONT'D)

Now! Now!

The Basque men swarm into the street.

 ACROSS THE STREET

More men surge forward -- a flaming bottle hurled from a

building EXPLODES against the tank. The ambush is on.

NARROW ALLEY

Sergius guides Theo and Kee through the alley. The distance
and fog mask the carnage, but not the SCREAMS OF THE WOUNDED
AND DYING.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 121
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138 EXT. WHARF STREET - DAY 138

Three armored carriers cruise by...

Theo and the others, huddled in a doorway, waiting for the

formation to disappear into the fog.

THEO
(low, to Sergius)
Time?

Sergius shows Theo his watch.

SERGIUS
Is okay. Close.

The coast clear, Sergius leads Theo, Kee and Marichka into a
quiet alleyway.

139 EXT. ALLEYWAY - DAY 139

The alley seems a sanctuary from the fighting. The SHOOTING

seems MUFFLED, distant now, fog obscuring the far end of the
street. They stop near a courtyard with a small fountain.
Sergius bends to lift a manhole cover near the fountain.

SERGIUS
Here...

Theo helps Sergius pry the manhole cover up. Then, FOOTSTEPS.
They drop the manhole cover as, from both ends of the alley,
vague figures appear in the fog and circle around them.

VOICES
Drop your gun! Drop your gun! Drop
your gun!

Sergius spins, weapon in hand... Theo blocks Kee and the

baby with his body...

THEO
Don't shoot! Don't shoot.
 VOICE
Then drop the gun!

Sergius lays the weapon down.

SERGIUS
Is safe! No gun.

A man rushes in and grabs Sergius's gun -- it's Patric.

Other armed men surround the group. Patric moves to Theo and

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 122
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THUD! -- slams his rifle into Theo's gut, knocks him to the
ground.

KEE
Patric!

From the fog, more FOOTSTEPS. Luke walking toward them, out
of the mist. The tout with the cracked eyeglasses behind
him.

LUKE
Get the girl...

KEE
NOOOOOO!

And Patric and Ian subdue Kee. Luke squats down, eye level
with Kee in the wheelchair.

LUKE
(to Kee)
You're safe now. Are you all right?

Kee SPITS in his face. Luke suppresses his anger and takes
out a handkerchief to wipe his cheek.

THEO
(struggling to his
feet)
Let her go, Luke! You don't know
what you're doing!

LUKE
Oh no? Look around, Faron. It's
happening! I did what Julian
couldn't. I called for The Uprising.
And the people are responding.

He gestures vaguely out at the sound of the gunfire.

LUKE (CONT'D)
 They're following me. And they haven't
even seen the baby.
(turns to Ian)
Detain Theo and the others. When Kee
and I are far enough away and they
can no longer cause trouble -- let
them go.

He turns back to Kee, speaking in a gentle tone.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 123
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LUKE (CONT'D)
Theo has been nothing but a thorn in
my side, yet, I hold no malice toward
him.
(then)
Now we must go.
(to the others)
Help her...

Kee struggles, SCREAMS, as two of the Fishes grab her, holding

her in the wheelchair as they hustle her away.

Luke holds back, one last look at Theo and Marichka before
turning to Patric

LUKE (CONT'D)
(low)
Wait until we're far enough away...

Patric understands. Luke leaves the quiet of the alley.

Patric cocks his pistol, looks out into the street, waiting
for Kee and Luke to turn the corner. As they disappear from
sight...

MARICHKA
(begging)
Please, please, please...

... Patric points the gun at Sergius and POP! Shoots him in
the head. Sergius falls backward, and Patric aims the pistol
at Theo, finger on the trigger, and...

BAM! BAM! Shots ring out.

FROM THE OTHER END OF THE ALLEY

An armored carrier is rolling toward them, two soldiers

shooting from the turret.

Patric fires back -- POP! POP!

Theo grabs Marichka and hustles her back to Wharf Street. He

guides her to a doorway, Theo looks down the street and...
 FURTHER AHEAD.

He sees Luke and his men pushing Kee, rounding the CORNER
onto 3rd Street and...

A TANK

Shielding the group of soldiers SHOOTING at Ian and his men.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 124
7-1-07

THE CORNER

Ian and his men hold their position, FIRING BACK, but are
unable to stop the advancing tank.

IAN
(to the men)
Go!

The two men peel off after Luke. Ian fires a few more rounds,
then follows.

WITH THEO

Theo looks to his right: the tank advancing, soldiers

marching, holding their fire, weapons trained, focused.

And he musters his courage, runs out into the open, chasing
after Luke and Kee.

The soldiers are caught by surprise, a double-take before

they BLAST AWAY...

WHARF STREET

...Theo runs, makes it across Wharf Street turning the

CORNER

He presses himself against the wall, catching his breath. He

looks out and sees...

UP AHEAD

Luke and the Fishes fleeing with Kee. Ian and his men, not
far behind.

Theo trails after them. IAN turns, fires at Theo. THEO dives
behind a stoop. AN ARMORED CARRIER emerges from the fog,
cutting off the Fishes' escape. Luke gestures, leading Kee
and the Fishes into a modern apartment building.

Theo in hot pursuit when...

 Soldiers fire the back.

TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT! One of Ian's men is hit in the back.

Theo dives into a burned-out double-decker abandoned on the

sidewalk across the street from the apartment building and...

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 125
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140 INT. BURNED-OUT DOUBLE-DECKER 140

... falls on top of people huddled inside. SCREAMS of fear

in SPANISH as bodies scramble away.

Theo gets up. He's just crashed into crowded makeshift living
quarters: mats butted along the floor of the bus, a stove in
the middle of them. The inhabitants ducking for cover, a
few peering out through the cardboard-covered windows.

Theo bends the cardboard back from the window, looking out:

OUTSIDE

Soldiers fire as Ian and the last Fish make it to the...

MODERN APARTMENT BUILDING... bullets RIDDLING the concrete

facade as the Fishes slip through the doorway.

The Soldiers rush the apartment building, disappearing

inside... and a fierce fire-fight ensues -- TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
Flashes of GUNFIRE visible in the doorway. SCREAMS. Soldiers
stagger back out of the doorway, some wounded, retreating
from the opposing gunfire.

141 INT. BURNED-OUT DOUBLE-DECKER 141

Stray bullets strafe the bus. Theo ducks out of the way.

BACK OUTSIDE

A TANK rumbles into position behind the soldiers, its gun

turret cranks slowly toward the apartment building.

THEO

realizes the tank is about to fire on the apartment building

with Kee and the baby inside.

THEO
No, no, no, no...

He runs out of the bus into the street soldier positioned

near the tank open hits the ground and...
 BOOM! The tank recoils with the blast, the explosion rips a
gaping hole in the building.

Theo rolls out of the way of falling concrete. He looks up

at the apartment building -

White sheets and clothes wave from windows, desperate pleas

for mercy from tenants still in the building as...

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 126
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...from the floor above, Fishes open fire on the soldiers.

Someone throws a Molotov cocktail... it explodes in the
street. Soldiers return fire -

Tenants streaming out the front doors, hands in the air,

SCREAMING SURRENDER in a dozen languages and TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT --
the soldiers gunfire CUTS THEM DOWN. A few survivors scramble
back into the building.

The tank tilts its big gun up, aiming at the snipers on the
fourth floor... BOOM! The tank shell blasts another hole
into the building.

In the silence of the aftershock, a thick cloud of dust in

the air Theo gets up and races for the apartment building

He's almost at the doorway when a soldier spots him through

the haze and opens fire -

BULLETS RAKE the entrance. Theo sidesteps the bodies of

dead soldiers and refugees, makes it inside and...

142 INT. APARTMENT BUILDING 142

slips on the blood-slicked cement, crawling in panic further

into the blood-splattered building. Staying low, he moves
through the lobby, desperately searching for any sign of Kee
when --

Gunfire erupts from the staircase. Theo takes cover behind

a pillar -- it's Ian who's firing at him, but bullets from
one of the soldiers in the street tear into him.

Theo spots Kee's wheelchair, abandoned at the foot of the

stairs, and heads up.

143 INT. SECOND FLOOR STAIRCASE 143

He reaches the second floor landing -- looks down the hallway.

A few tenants huddled in the dim shadows, staying low, keeping
away from the windows. A man crying in agony bleeding badly.
The heavy gunfire is playing out on the upper floors. Theo
continues up.
144 INT. THIRD FLOOR STAIRCASE 144

Theo steps out onto the third floor. Tenants on the ground
covering their heads, a few wounded, screaming. Theo spots
Patric in a blown-out apartment, firing at the street below.
Soldiers' bullets strafe the room, and Patric bursts out
into the hallway. Theo hides as Patric pushes past tenants...

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 127
7-1-07

PATRIC
Fuck outta my way, fuck outta my
way!

... and kicks open the door of another apartment. Theo starts
after him but then he hears, faintly...

THE MUFFLED CRY OF A BABY. It's coming from the floor above.
Theo heads for the stairs.

145 INT. FOURTH FLOOR CORRIDOR 145

Theo emerges on the fourth floor, moves toward the MUFFLED

CRIES. Following the sound into...

146 INT. FOURTH FLOOR APARTMENT 146

The apartment has been tattered by bullets, glass shattered,

everything upended. Kee in a corner, protecting her baby
girl with her body.

Luke lays by the window in a pool of his own blood, with his
back toward Kee, firing out the window.

Theo steps into the room, moves to Kee and her crying baby.

THEO
(low)
You okay?

KEE
Yeh.

THEO
How is she?

KEE
Pissed off.

Theo helps Kee up.

THEO
Easy. We're gonna make it.

Shots from outside RIDDLE the wall near them. At the window,
 Luke fires back at the soldiers.

Theo and Kee making their way across the ruined room to the
door. Luke turns and sees them. He points his gun. Theo
freezes.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 128
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LUKE
I was carrying her up the stairs and
I started crying. The baby. A girl.

THEO
Yeah, it's a girl.

LUKE
I forgot what they looked like. So
tiny.

Theo begins to inch Kee to the doorway, wary of Luke.

THEO
We need to get her out of here.

LUKE
No, no, no. You don't understand,
Faron. This child must stay with
us. She can unite us. She's our
flag.

KEE
Fuck she is!

Theo and Kee at the doorway.

LUKE
She's our beginning.

THEO
Luke, she'll be killed if she stays
here. We have to go.

BAM! Luke shoots. Theo grimaces TAT-TAT-TAT. Glass shatters

as guns fire from the outside, ripping Luke to pieces.

147 INT. FOURTH FLOOR HALLWAY 147

Theo walks out the door, Kee following. He's in momentary

shock, clutching his gut, looking at a trickle of blood
spreading across the fabric of his shirt.

THEO
Shit.

KEE
 Fucker shot you.

THEO
I'm okay. Bullet went through.
(MORE)

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 129
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THEO (CONT'D)
(gritting through
pain)
We gotta move...

Theo breathing through the pain, holding up Kee, walking

down the hall, the baby still crying. A volley of bullets
from outside tear through the walls. The ROAR of the GUNFIRE
is punctuated by the BABY'S CRIES.

People huddled in the corridor, looking in disbelief. A

WOMAN falls to her knees.

WOMAN
(praying)
Dios te salve Maria, llena eres de
gracia, el senor es contigo, bendita
eres entre 1as mujeres...

Theo and Kee approach the stairwell. Bullets are still flying,
but people seem fearless, poking their heads from doors,
risking their lives to get a closer look.

The baby's crying gives Theo and Kee a sense of security.

They are no longer dodging bullets but are walking straight
down the hall.

A man breaks into tears. An old woman, bleeding to death on

the floor, reaches her gnarled finger to touch the baby's
blanket. She smiles as they pass -- she has heard the song
of an angel.

Theo and Kee reach the stairs. Kee starts down the steps,
but Theo stops her.

THEO
Come on.

KEE
You're shot.

THEO
I can do it.

Kee allows Theo to pick her up. He strains to lift her, then
starts down the stairs.
148 INT. FOURTH FLOOR STAIRWELL 148

The baby's cry echoes through the stairwell. Theo slowly

carrying Kee down. People huddled on the stairs, amazed,
eyes glued to the baby. Others looking down at them from
the upper. floors.

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------------------
Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 130
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TAT-TAT-TAT. A gun battle, moving up the stairs toward them.

It's Patric and two other Fishes -- backing up the stairs,
battling pursuing soldiers.

Patric hears crying, turning, pointing his gun at...

...Theo and Kee. No place to hide. Patric points the gun at

Theo's head, about to pull the trigger. But the baby is
wailing in Kee's arm. Patric looking at the baby in stunned
disbelief. Then he lowers his gun. He and the Fishes back
away, staring at the infant as Theo and Kee continue down
the stairs.

149 INT. THIRD FLOOR STAIRWELL 149

Gunfire from below forces people against the wall. Theo and
Kee continue their descent. A SOLDIER surges up the stairs,
pointing his gun at the newborn girl, who wails away.

Theo and Kee walk past him. The Soldier breathless, the
baby's cry clashing with his adrenaline.

SOLDIER
Hold positions and hold fire!

Theo continues carrying Kee down. People on the stairs

standing up, getting a look. More soldiers, holding their
weapons in silence, immobilized by the baby's cry.

150 INT. APARTMENT BUILDING 150

The baby's cries echo through the lobby, now held by the
military. Soldiers hold strategic positions, watching Theo
and Kee pass, glimpsing the child in confusion, awe.

At the shattered doorway, Theo staggers. Kee sees his sweat,

his pain. His shirt is covered in blood.

KEE
Put me down.

Theo hesitates.

KEE (CONT'D)
I wanna walk.
 Theo sets her down. Kee walks slowly, resolutely, leaning on
Theo for support. They pass through the shattered doorway.

151 EXT. APARTMENT BLOCK PLAZA 151

Theo, Kee and the baby step into the murky light of the foggy
day. An impenetrable line of soldiers positioned in the plaza

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 131
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face them, their weapons pointed, ready. The heavy machinery

of war silenced by the cries of a baby.

Theo and Kee walk forward, toward the soldiers. The weapons
aimed at them begin to lower. An instinctive shuffle to the
side, as if commanded by the cry, creating a space for them.

Kee carrying her child, Theo at her side as the soldiers

part like the Red Sea. Somber faces watching as they pass,
touched by the baby's crying.

BAM! BAM! BAM! Rifle shots from the fourth floor window
shatter the silence. Two soldiers behind Theo are hit. Theo
covers Kee as soldiers open fire on the apartment building.

A new battle flares. Theo and Kee walk on, ignored by the
soldiers who race forward, taking up new positions.

BOOM! The tank blasts a massive hole in the fourth floor.

CORNER - WHARF & 3RD Leaving the battle behind, Kee and Theo
hurry down the street. Marichka emerges from a blown-out
doorway, holding Santo, greeting them with a crooked smile.

152 EXT. THE LITTLE FOUNTAIN - A LITTLE LATER 152

With great effort, Theo pries off the sewer lid. They all
disappear down the hole.

153 INT. SEWER 153

A ceiling lamp illuminates a concrete sewer drain, a narrow

channel of foul water running through it. Boxes of contraband
stacked to one side: alcohol, batteries, medicine, cans of
food, electrical wire.

Theo holds Kee's arm as she steps into a wooden launch.

Marichka lights the candle fixed to the bow of the boat. She
prattles on, Santo on her shoulders, tears in her eyes,
gesturing toward the end of the tunnel where ambient light
filters in.

MARICHKA
Go, go boat.
 Theo extends his hand to help Marichka into the launch.

MARICHKA
Marichka no go.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 132
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Marichka smiles. Theo nods a thank you. And he climbs in

the boat and sets the oars. Marichka gives the boat a
shove...

Theo puts the candle into a holder and starts to row. They
glimpse graffiti on the walls, like cave paintings, as they
pass.

AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

A breeze from outside extinguishes the candle. Theo rows -

toward the light. Passing through a metal grate which has
been cut away.

154 EXT. SEA'S EDGE - TWILIGHT 154

The launch emerges into the fog at the end of a large harbor.
Behind them, misty air cloaks the back side of the Bexhill
Fence which runs the length of shoreline, separating the
prison-city from the sea. The MUFFLED SOUNDS of the riot.

Theo rows steadily, painfully. Dead calm, but the tide is

on their side. What lays beyond is obscured by milky fog
and growing darkness.

155 EXT. OPEN SEA - DUSK 155

Theo is rowing slower now, his strength waning. The fog has
enveloped the city behind them, the riots a distant echo.
The world around them has disappeared. From somewhere off,
the sound of a BELL.

KEE
The buoy! Theo, the buoy!

Ahead of them, through the fog, patches of dull orange

sunlight. The buoy visible in the distance. Theo rows once
more, groans with the effort.

KEE (CONT'D)
What time is it?

THEO
Late.

The launch gains momentum, then slows. The sun touching the
 horizon, the day ending. No sign of any boats anywhere on
the desolate sea.

KEE
They'll come back.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 133
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The SOUND of the bell is drowned out by the WHINE of JETS

high in the sky. Followed by the ROAR of EXPLOSIONS -- POOF
POOF POOF and, behind them, a glowing light, expanding in
the fog...

Theo rests, exhausted. He feels his gut, which has been

steadily oozing from the bullet wound. His eyes drop down
to his hands, now covered in blood. Something is poking
through the ripped lining of his pea coat -- He lifts a
hundred pound note, staring at it. The sounds of the sea
gently lapping at the boat.

Kee looking around, anxious. The buoy rocking rhythmically,

splashing water... no trace of a boat.

THEO
I am sorry, Kee. I am so sorry.

KEE
We gonna make it.

He shakes his head. His eyes are watery.

THEO
I'm not gonna make it.

Kee looks at him.

THEO (CONT'D)
And I'll never know if you make it.

Theo smiles at her.

THEO (CONT' D) (CONT'D)

But I want to believe that you will.

Tears well in Kee's eyes.

KEE
I will.

THEO
Promise?

KEE
(through tears)
Fuckin' yeah. Cheedo.
 THEO
Theo in pain, genuinely smiles.

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Screenplay-Children_of_Men p. 134
7-1-07

THEO (CONT'D)
(looks at the baby)
Froley. That's a fine name.

Theo musters all he's got left, reaching the oars back, wood
cutting through water, propelling the launch a little further.
He closes his eyes. HOLD as the SOUND of the surf fades
in...

THE CLOUDS PARTING -- REVEALING A RED SKY

Theo is sitting in his chair on the white sandy beach,

watching a mother and child in the blue water, laughing and
splashing in the waves. The mother is Kee but her child is
now a toddler. Then, two other woman rush down to the beach,
planting their infants on the sand, letting the foamy waves
lap at their baby's feet. Kee looks from the babies to Theo
and waves. A smile slowly comes to Theo's face. He is happy,
content.

KEE'S VOICE
(a whisper)
Theo...

BACK TO SCENE

Kee looking at Theo. He's slumped over, dead.

The launch drifting. No direction. Drifting... Drifting...

Kee is still, silent... The baby begins to CRY...

A light flickers, piercing the fog -- Kee looks up

KEE
Theo...

The fog gives way, revealing purple sky...

Cutting through the water toward them, A LIGHT, A BOAT.

The wooden vessel approaching, nets and gear -- A FISHING

BOAT. The name painted on the stern. "THE TOMORROW."

FADE OUT