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NEVER LET ME GO
(****)
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Movie Review by:
Jim "Good Old JR" Rutkowski
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Directed by:
Mark Romanek |
Written by:
Alex Garland, baded on Kazuo Ishiguro novel: "Never Let Me Go" |
Starring:
Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield, Carey Mulligan |
Running time:
103 minutes
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Released:
09/15/10 |
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Rated R
for some sexuality and
nudity |
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"...a handful of sensitive moments that explore the grasp of love and
death, two experiences horribly perverted in this sci-fi dusted saga of medical
achievement."
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To review “Never Let Me Go” requires me to spoil
“Never Let Me Go,” and I understand how delicate a situation that is for some
readers. However, the “twist” of the movie isn’t a twist at all, but a casual
revelation that requires a modest readjustment of perspective. Still, I want to
preserve as much of the experience as I can for curious filmgoers, so, if the
delicate nature of this knowledge is a mighty burden, please do not read any
further. Actually, one more thing: this is an exquisite, artful tragedy of a
motion picture. A film not to be missed.
OK, now stop reading.
Raised in the remote Hailsham boarding school, Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Tommy
(Andrew Garfield), and Ruth (Keira Knightley) have grown up isolated from the
rest of the world, learning about the outside through fragments of information
supplied by a commanding staff (including Charlotte Rampling and Sally Hawkins).
For Kathy, the doldrums are broken by Tommy, a temperamental boy who gives the
young, thoughtful girl hope for romance. Cruelly, Ruth comes to steal Tommy
away, building a relationship with the boy while Kathy watches in silence,
unable to assert her true feelings. Leaving Hailsham, the trio learns of their
true purpose: as clones in possession of internal organs that will soon be
medically harvested. While Kathy joins the “Carer” program to comfort the
donors, her thoughts return to Tommy and Ruth, who reenter her life during the
delicate period of protracted death, referred to as “completion.”
Though it touches on the ethical landmine of cloning, “Never Let Me Go” isn’t a
hot-button suspenser, with Kathy tearing off across the land in an effort to
avoid her predetermined duty. Director Mark Romanek (his first film since 2002’s
“One Hour Photo”) instead turns the novel by Kazou Ishiguro into a searing
funeral march, examining the three stages of consciousness found within the lead
characters as they wander through time toward their mysterious fate. It’s a
troublesome tale of prolonged grief, but, in Romanek’s hands, the story becomes
something of hushed beauty; a handful of sensitive moments that explore the
grasp of love and death, two experiences horribly perverted in this sci-fi
dusted saga of medical achievement.
Primarily Kathy’s tale of awareness, the film attempts to construct a durable
triangle of commitment, with the threesome moving from classmates to lovers and
friends, and eventually to donors. The acting efforts from the cast are
marvelous, with Mulligan, Garfield, and Knightley making meticulous use of their
close-ups to communicate a specifically contained frustration in the lives of
their characters, with added alarm coming in the form of rumors -- tales of
donorship deferred due to love and artful gifts. Promises that help to fuel hope
that the end can be postponed. The read of panic as the clones bite into life is
spellbinding, with exceptional work all around, giving Romanek plenty to build
with as he conducts the fragile tone of the piece. The performances take the
material to another level, allowing the film to indulge its sense of distance
while tapping straight into a potent vein of optimism as Kathy is soon
confronted with an opportunity to retrieve what was taken from her as a child.
“Never Let Me Go” is a picture of immense sadness and resignation, but those
blue corners create a riveting sit while, ever so slightly, bringing an
eye-opening perspective to the concept of human cloning. With films such as “The
Island,” the sugar rush was provided in the ultimate fight for life. “Never Let
Me Go” accepts the end as the way of the world, softly shuffling along to a
purpose, not a choice.
"Never Let Me Go" is the sort of science fiction that tends to hide its genre or
go by another name - "speculative fiction" or "slipstream" - because it wants to
associate itself with a different audience. Science fiction is considered to be
stories about gadgets and things, while this work is about people, and
relationships, and ideas. It's a false distinction, but even if one buys into
it, all of the best science fiction has been about ideas, and this film is about
people treated as things. It's all brought together in nearly perfect fashion, a
character-based bit of science fiction brimming with unsettling ideas and
excellent performances. The total package is one of the year's best movies,
regardless of what genre labels are applied to it. |
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NEVER LET ME GO © 2010 Fox
Searchlight Pictures
All Rights Reserved
Review © 2010 Alternate Reality, Inc.
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