Never Let Me Go – Movie Review

It’s almost impossible to imagine a film doing total justice to the book it’s based on. Similarly, it’s nearly unfathomable that one piece of fiction translated into the language of film can pierce through the flesh with surgical precision to expose the beating heart, raw human emotions – yet this is precisely what Mark Romanek’s “Never Let Me Go” does.

The film is based on the best-selling novel of Kazuo Ishiguro, a harrowing science fiction novel in which science fiction actually comes second to the portrayal of human emotions, most of them internalized.

From a script by Alex Garland, Romanek, a cult music video director and the helmer of the critically acclaimed indie “One-Hour Photo,” creates a layered world where the outside seems to lose all importance, a devastating tale of what it is that makes us human – and the tragic loss of innocence.

It would be impossible to review “Never Let Me Go” without revealing part of the plot, specifically that part which in Ishiguro’s book comes almost as a shock many pages into it.

Carey Mulligan is Kathy H., the leading character and the narrator. The setting is a post-war Britain in an alternate future / past, where medical advances have made it possible for man to reach the average age of 100.

Illnesses are simply nightmarish memories now because, you see, some humans are being sacrificed to let others live – only that they’re not considered humans at all, since they’re clones “modeled on trash,” apparently.

Kathy begins her story by speaking of “carers” and “donors” and “completion.” It’s not until many minutes into the film that all these terms are clearly unveiled for the stunned viewer, in one of the most powerful moments of the film, when the children at Hailsham – a mock / dystopian prep school – are told what it is precisely that makes them so “special.”

Hailsham – and many other institutions like it strewn all over the world – is the place where “special” children are being brought up in a closed environment and a sense of absurd altruism. They are the clones that will help real humans live a full, long and happy life, something they don’t ever dare dream it would be possible for them.

Kathy’s best friend, Ruth (Keira Knightley), is a stylish little girl like a porcelain doll, accustomed to getting whatever she wants. Because Kathy wants Tommy (Andrew Garfield), Ruth decides she must have him, a decision that will mark the remainder of their (uncertain) existence.

Years later, when Ruth and Tommy re-enter Kathy’s life – by now, they each have walked down the path already established for them by society – the roles are reversed, almost like in a mirror. So begins a story of love, redemption and, ultimately, of loss, the likes of which has rarely – if ever – graced the silver screen.

Romanek is a man who is well versed in creating feeling out of images, and this is precisely what “Never Let Me Go” is: aching feeling translated into the language of film.

With powerful images and superb acting from all three leading members of the cast, he creates a world where pain is visceral, making even viewers almost double their body to fetal position – but what makes it worse is that it’s mute. Even smiling seems painful for the characters.

All three, Kathy, Ruth and Tommy submit to their fate without even thinking of questioning it: they’ve been programmed to think that this is what life should be and they see no point of rebelling against this established order of things.

Watching them is like watching meek sheep on the conveyor belt in the slaughter house: the same feeling of shock and powerlessness takes over the viewer.

The only faint glimmer of hope comes when they learn that there is some form of special treatment: if a couple can prove they’re really in love, they can get a “deferral,” a few years “off” until their next donation, thus the chance to actually live a life close to what we may call normal.

It’s heartbreaking to see the naivety with which Tommy and Kathy believe the rumor is true, and how someone they don’t know will verify if their love is the real thing by looking into their hearts by means of the objects of art they’ve created throughout the years.

“Never Let Me Go” is not a movie about the atrocities the human mind can create, though one may believe it to be so given its premise. Neither is it a movie about how love can – or should – be our one saving attribute.

“Never Let Me Go” is ultimately an experience of the senses, in that sight and emotion work together to tell a story that is almost impossible to put into words. It can also be seen as a lesson into the shortness of life, regardless whether it’s artificially created or not – and that, believe it or not, is actually the film’s way of being optimistic.

“Never Let Me Go” premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 3, 2010, will open in Russia and Belgium on February 3 and 9, respectively, and will end its run in Germany on March 31, 2011. It runs for 103 minutes and is rated R.

The Good

“Never Let Me Go” is a devastating film on human relations and the human heart without actually doing much by means of inclusion of action scenes to be so. Director Mark Romanek is an artist of the image and his vision literally comes to life in the film – and it’s mostly thanks to the superb acting of the three leads.

The Bad

Clearly, “Never Let Me Go” is not a film that all segments of the audience will enjoy – and this is its only “flaw,” if one can call it that. Then again, neither is Ishiguro’s novel. Its very source material makes it appear a bit tiresome to those who are inclined towards more action-oriented productions.

The Truth

“Never Let Me Go” is a superb, heartbreaking and moving film on a topic that seemed nearly impossible to translate to the cinema screen. It warrants at least a nomination at the upcoming Academy Awards, critics note. Above all, it’s beautifully acted and shot, with a score by Rachel Portman to match.