Life is a precious thing – regardless of what you believe, I think we can all appreciate the fact that life is something to be cherished – but there is something else that governs life in many instances that is often extremely important, as well as extremely divisive: the right to choose. This is the central theme in The Children Act, a film by Richard Eyre and written by Ian McEwan, who adapts his own novel to the screen once again. The Children Act is a film about choices, and how one decision can change the course of not only one individual, but all of those that they come into contact with. In this case, McEwan presents us with a simple story that looks at the extremely relevant conflict between morality and legality to tell a story about the fragility of life, as well as the strength of the human spirit. Perhaps cliched and extremely predictable, The Children Act is a wonderful film, a heart-wrenching,  deeply emotional drama that may be a bit too formal, but is otherwise profoundly moving and incredibly powerful.

Fiona Maye (Emma Thompson) is a well-regarded judge at the London family court. Her job entails her to be the deciding voice in a number of extremely sensitive cases that are more often than not quite literally life-or-death situations. She takes her job extremely seriously, always relying on the facts and the conventions of the law in order to make sure her judgments do not only represent the best interests of those involved but are also legally sound. However, she faces an entirely new quandary with the arrival of a particular case, that of Adam Henry (Fionn Whitehead), a seventeen-year-old young man who has been diagnosed with leukaemia. He stands a good chance of survival with the proper medical assistance and various treatments that will certainly help him make a strong recovery. However, as a Jehovah’s Witness, he and his family are vehemently against the procedures, with one of the treatments requiring a blood transfusion, which goes against their beliefs. Fiona is now confronted with a divided spirit – does she obey the law, which normally results in the hospital being given licence to provide the appropriate treatment, effectively rendering the religious beliefs of the boy and his family inconsequential to the matter, or does she take the side of choice, whereby the choice of the individual is paramount. The matters are only made more uncertain when it becomes clear that Adam’s decision to refuse treatment is not merely the replication of his parent’s wishes, but his own choice. Faced with a difficult decision, Fiona needs to search inside herself for the answer, proving that regardless of how experienced someone is in their profession, there isn’t any way to avoid the inevitable enigmas that we tend to encounter in our daily lives. The life of a young man is held in Fiona’s hands, and she struggles to determine what the right answer is if there even is one.

Emma Thompson is most definitely one of our greatest performers working today, and for the past few decades, she has captivated us with her performances, ranging from those that allow her to exercise her effortless wit and graceful charm, to elegant dramatic roles, where her powerful talents are made abundantly clear. The Children Act is one of Thompson’s finest recent works, and she smoulders with powerful, fierce intensity throughout this film. I marvel at how Thompson is capable of such mighty brilliance, and while The Children Act may be somewhat pedestrian in execution, her performance rises above the predictable conventions and becomes something extraordinary. The Children Act is an earnest character study, a deep exploration of an individual who has made her career out of making choices and follows her personal and professional life when she is confronted with a series of decisions that prove to be far more confounding than anything she has previously experienced. Thompson is absolutely excellent, and she is at her very best here, playing Fiona with such dignified vulnerability. It is not difficult to see why Thompson is such a revered performer – not only does she have charm in spades, but also has the talent that goes along with it.

Alongside Thompson, there are a few additional performances that are worth mentioning. Firstly, Fionn Whitehead has a great career ahead of him. He previously impressed me with his humane portrayal of a young soldier in the otherwise gargantuan war epic Dunkirk, and while that was more of a technical achievement, he was excellent in it. However, the intimate scope of The Children Act allowed him a more difficult task of playing a character that may not be the focus of the film, but rather is the core of it. Whitehead is very good, and while it would have been far more convenient to just relegate this role to the archetypal “dying patient”, Whitehead’s performance is far more complex. My only concern is that the third act of the film somewhat falls apart, and while the character of Adam is still present, his actions, motivations and experiences after seemingly being cured are left quite unclear, and some more focus on his recovery would have made him a more fully-realized character. Stanley Tucci, an ever-reliable character actor, is very good in what can be construed as a thankless supportive spouse role, playing Fiona’s philosophy professor husband who grows exhausted at Fiona’s mental absence from their marriage, and boldly states he will be having an affair (on a side-note, I have noticed several publications and promotional materials based around this film point to this exact part of the storyline, which is important, but far from being the defining aspect of the film – almost as if to say that a woman needs to be at her husband’s whim. Obviously, this film is not this gaudy, but it is something I’ve noticed, but that’s not a conversation appropriate for this review). Finally, I found myself really appreciating Jason Watkins, an actor I was unfamiliar with but found to be the heart of this film. Playing the slightly-bumbling clerk to the elegant Fiona, he shows beautiful loyalty and soulful empathy for the story, and while one can say this is almost a by-product (he is never made to be anything particularly noteworthy), Watkins imbues the character with far more heart than one would expect.

The Children Act is an extremely complex film, and naturally, it is not a necessarily easy film to watch. It deals with themes that cinema is often too anxious to explore in such depth, for fears of alienating the audience – with the exception for a few moments of levity, The Children Act is a rather depressing film, and understandably so – this film would not have been nearly as effective had it had much of a sense of humour or had shied away from the truthfulness of the story. I admire the importance this film places on the intricately human issue of choice, and it extends on the humanist themes with deft precision. It is a film that does not necessarily attempt to imply a certain viewpoint – after all, the audience is invited to partake in this film’s metanarrative by making choices of our own in regards to how we view this story – but it challenges our beliefs, unsettling the notion that there is such a thing as an entirely objective choice and demonstrating that even within the most legally-binding situations, sometimes morality can pervade – and perhaps this is necessary, because to remove emotion from matters that are inextricably human is not only massively misguided, it is almost entirely impossible. The Children Act is not a controversial film – its approach is one of provoking thought rather than inciting outrage, and its formality may restrict it from flourishing outside the confines of a traditional social drama, but it is a meaningful and well-executed morality tale.

I think The Children Act is more than just an intimate character-driven drama. It is an important film – perhaps not for what it is, but rather for what it says. It has a profoundly important message embedded within, that of choice. It is not always easy to look at life as a series of choices, but when we consider it, nearly everything that we do on a daily basis is, in some way, a choice. Some may be small and inconsequential, others may be large and could change the entire trajectory of our lives. Everything we do has consequences, and we have to live with them. The Children Act is a very simple film with a nuanced, layered meaning lurking beneath the surface, and while one could easily predict the directions this film would go (it isn’t necessarily one that conceals its intentions), and it becomes increasingly more melodramatic as it proceeds forward – but you just cannot help me moved by this film. A simple but moving film, The Children Act is one that will stir some thought, and while it may be slightly upsetting, it ultimately is a rewarding experience that has terrific performances, a powerful message and an abundance of heart.