Never Let Me Go

Production companies 20^th Century Fox, DNA and Film 4 have recently taken on the difficult task of adapting a popular and highly acclaimed novel. This is always a challenge, but when your source material is Kazuo Ishiguro’s ‘Never Let Me Go’ which has been called the greatest novel of the decade by Times:London the task is made even harder. However, with the help of some great young British talent and a team clearly passionate about the story, director Mark Romanek has managed to pull it off.

The film, like the book, is broken up into three acts, each one set at different times at the end of the 20^th Century on an alternate timeline; before you make any wrong assumptions this not a sci-fi movie with space ships and chrome, but a sci-fi fable set in the English countryside. The science-fiction that is a crucial part of the story is simply used as a metaphor for what the film is trying to put across, which is not that medical advances are scary, but that life is fleeting and difficult.

The first part takes place in Hailsham boarding school and it is in this ‘Just William’ like setting that we meet the three central characters, Kathy, Ruth and Tommy, as children; played by Isobel Meikle-Small, Charlie Rowe and Ella Purnell, who must carry the film for the first third. All three are incredibly engaging and each give phenomenally mature performances. While at Hailsham all the children, are given everything they need: food, clothes, exercise, companionship, the lot, but there is also something sinister we are not told about. Many of the adults act uncomfortable around them, while those that don’t describe the children as special and use words such as ‘donations’ and ‘carers’, which is not made sense of till much later. In the second two parts the adult cast of Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightley are used and the more grown up dynamics, such as duty, jealousy, love and despair are brought in as they all get close to their ‘completion’.

Ultimately story deals with the issue of growing up and realising how fleeting life truly is. It seems we only have a second or two with the ones we love before it is all over and this is what Romanek and Ishiguro are opening our eyes to. With watches and clocks in almost every scene the audience are constantly reminded how short life can be, especially for the poor students from Hailsham.  This massage is also made more tragic by having us watch young people grappling with ideas that they should not be grasping until they are 80-years old. Don’t go into the film expecting a rom-com, but this bleak drama is touching non-the less.

In order to work the film relies on the love triangle that forms between Kathy, Ruth and Tommy so it was the right move of Romanek’s to bring on such amazing British stars. Both Garfield and Mulligan show that they are worthy of the term ‘rising star’. Garfield’s performance has great passion and one of his scenes later on in the film will break your heart and send shivers up your spine. Mulligan gives a much more reserved performance that perfectly fits with her character Kathy who on the surface may seem to accept her fate, but is struggling against it as much as any of them. The two seem to have an adorable, down played chemistry that makes their relationship seem real and believable. Knightley is also exceptional as Ruth, the girl who is blocking Kathy and Tommy’s love. With ‘Never Let Me Go’ she increases her impressive literary pedigree by this time playing the unlikable character, so it credits her ability that she can make the audience sympathise and pity Ruth by the end.

Not only are the actors beautiful to watch but also the scenery surrounding them is stunning. With the film being shot all over England, Romanek captures some beautiful images of the countryside such as Holkam Beach and Clevedon Pier. To give the film an extra feel of strangeness the visual palette was made completely devoid of primary colours, leaving behind only muted browns, greens and blues. The purpose of this was clearly to add to the atmosphere, but it also makes the film seem very dreary, which was not helped by its slow pace. Although the fate of the characters is not explained right away there are enough clues for most to guess what will happen and this predictability, along with the slow pace and subdued colours, might bore many and have them miss the overall meaning that Romanek is trying to put across.  However, those that feel that way will likely have missed what really makes the movie effective. It tugs subtly at our emotions and the fact that Romanek avoids using obvious tear jerking motifs or crowd pleasers is to his credit.

The film sticks very closely to both the original message and dialogue of Ishiguro’s book. This may mean that it is not the right thing for some people, but for others it will be a delightful and haunting watch. Thanks to the superb acting of the leads and the layered source material, the experience will stick with you long after it has all ended.

Degree: 2:1

This is a film that will divide people, even I was umming and ahhing about

what to give it. In the end it is well acted, beautifully shot

and deserves to be recognized, even if the subject matter

isn’t to everyones taste.

(If you are confused about the rating system please click on the ‘About This Blog Page’ which will explain it all)

Never Let Me Go

The film is based on the highly acclaimed novel ‘Never Let Me Go’ by Kuzuo Ishiguro and is set in the english countryside, at a boarding school called  Hailsham. The children at the school are called ‘special’ and kept on a very strict routine. They are given all the food they need, clothes to wear and friends to play with, but they are forbidden to leave the grounds. This all strangely changes when they reach 18 and have given their ‘3rd donation’. This baffling ritual, as well as the feel that the kids are being bred for something, shows the film has more to it than originally meets the eye. The film has gotten great reviews from critics at many film festivals, including the one in Toronto.

The three central characters are Tommy, Ruth and Kathy who are played by Andrew Garfield, Kiera Knightley and Carey Mulligan. It is exciting to see the love triangle that will form between them and also to witness the rising of two new stars. Both Mulligan and Garfield have shown their acting talents in previous films and I can’t wait to see them sink their teeth into these ones. Is also great to see Knightley  doing what I think really shows off her talent by taking part in a gritty drama, such as she did in ‘Atonement’ and ‘The Hole’.  I am greatly anticipating the release of this film in January 2011.

Here is an extra feature; an interview with Keira Knightley on her character Ruth and her dynamic within the film.