Movie review - Never Let Me Go

Based on Kazuo Ishiguro's 2005 novel of the same title, the in-flight entertainment magazine recommended Never Let Me Go as the movie to watch on the way to Muenchen. According to IMDB, this movie was never and does not have a release date for Australia. To that I ask, why?! Spoilers abound but I guess if anyone knows anything about the film/book, it's not really a spoiler at all.

Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth (Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, and Keira Knightley as adults) are three students at Hailsham, a boarding school in the English countryside presided over by a stern headmistress (Charlotte Rampling). They wear uniforms, have classes, play sports, etc etc. Kathy's got a bit of crush on Tommy, he has a bit of a temper, and Ruth's a bit of mean girl in the making, but everything points to a normal children. Our perception of everything is then changed when a soft-hearted teacher (Sally Hawkins) reveals that the children have clearly never been told that they have in fact been engineered as a donor organ bank for transplants when they reach adulthood. Although they don't quite understand it, this knowledge affects them as they directly and inadvertently search for ways to prolong their lives.

Sounds interesting, doesn't it? I'll admit, I never read the novel for whatever reason so I don't know how it differs from the original text but watching this makes me want to read it. Perhaps what I liked best is that the movie presents itself so normally and that it's up to the viewer to decide what it's about. Excluding the sci-fi cloning angle (which is not really explored other than when they try to figure out who their original was), it could just be a story about kids who grew up together and do things to prove their worth. But it is the presence of that piece of information that changes our perception of them and their perception of themselves. To me, the movie itself is a meditation on the nature of love, jealousy, and choice, with a little bit of the ethics of cloning. Whether you're a clone or not, life is short  the choices we make have aims and consequences even if they're not readily apparent.

A particular strength of the movie is the characterisation and acting. At times Mulligan's clueless expression made me want to slap Kathy for her seemingly spineless character and avoidance of life, until it is revealed later that this is an extension of how she doesn't know what parts of her are purely her or if everything she feels herself to be comes from her original source. The flipside is Knightley's performance as Ruth. Someone who comes across as shrill for me,  this time instead comes out as show what Ruth is willing to do to live longer than her allocated time. One of the most compelling scenes for me is the sight of Ruth lying blank and motionless after her final (fatal) donation knowing how full of life she was mere minutes (or years in movie time) she was beforehand. And then of course there is Garfield, who starts Tommy off as a clueless teen who goes along with the flow, following his p33n, to the guy who realises the mistakes he has made in his youthful choices, and then the devasted realisation that he will never be able to prove his humanity and be given the chance to live long enough to make up for it. *sniffles* 

Oh, and this movie continues my semi-crush on him - proof that he's a bit alright even without excellent tailoring and with horrible buzzcut. 

The movie isn't for everyone though. Filmed with a muted, some might say drab, palette, the visuals aren't awe-inspiring as if to highlight how normal and ordinary their world is, other than the reason for their existence. Likewise, the direction by Mark Romanek could be described as thoughful or as ponderously slow with a rushed ending, although I see that more as the way lives are lived - days start off slow and then we try to cram everything in before we can't  anymore.   
 

Interesting. I think it would make an excellent study text/movie in conjunction with Blade Runner. 
8/10