Hope seeps from the otherwise glum "Children of Men," a futuristic morality tale energized by action but able to elicit deeper thought.

Based on the P.D. James novel, the film is set in 2027, when an infertility defect prohibits humans from reproducing, and only England survives as a nation.

Elsewhere in the world, chaos rules, and immigrants seek shelter in the U.K., where they are herded off to interment camps.

The sad civil servant Theo (Clive Owen), living a lonely life in London, is shocked to find himself temporarily kidnapped, then surprised by his abductor, his ex-wife Julian (Julianne Moore), the leader of a radical underground group. Theo is further shocked by the appearance of a young woman named Kee, who is clearly pregnant.

The radicals demand Theo secure the necessary traveling papers for Kee so she can have her baby safely somewhere. The reluctant Theo complies, but a sudden, violent series of events places him on the run from both the rebels and the British military, and he becomes the sole caretaker of the pregnant woman, and by default the future of humanity.

Bleak but frequently riveting, the film does well by moving past explanations for the state of the world as it is, saving us the exposition that so often bogs down science fiction and futuristic films. Rather, "Children of Men" presents the world as what it has become, and takes its ride from there.

The effort is helped by director Alfonso Cuaron's ("Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban") decisions, employing hand-held cameras frugally but to great effect, and lending emotion and empathy to the sometimes bloody but contemplative story. "Children of Men" certainly won't compel you to wish the future would arrive sooner, but the film does compel.