The London Film Festival opened with Never Let Me Go – Adapted into a film from Japanese-British born, Kazuo Ishiguro, the film is a remarkable display of British talent.
The story is told through the narration of Kathy H (Carey Mulligan) and the film follows the life of three students, Ruth (Keira Knightley), Kathy H and Tommy (Andrew Garfield) at Hailsham, an elite eerie English boarding school.
Ruth is attractive and intelligent, Kathy H is more caring and subdued and Tommy is awkward and sensitive. The film focuses on the love triangle that occurs between the three friends – The world in which they live is also problematic, sci-fi England in a way. The children of Hailsham are clones, merely existing to become donors for people with life threatening diseases.
The realization of their fate never prompts anger or protest amongst the three characters, instead, sadness and woe overcomes them. Carey Mulligan gives an exceptional performance; her eyes are beautifully emotive and ideal for her role.
Once the three friends reach eighteen they are sent to the ‘Cottages’, the film is divided into three sections but opens with the present day sequence. The ‘Cottages’ are an opportunity for Hailsham youths to intermingle with ‘ordinary’ life – It is here when Kathy H decided to apply to become a Carer.
One of the most amusing sequences is when they are venture to a coffee shop, their hesitation and confusion with the menu is extremely touching.
The three friends separate for a couple of years and we follow the life of Kathy H, who has become a carer for donors, a melancholy life where she is merely floating through till she has to become a donor herself.
Throughout the film the shots of the British countryside are stunning along with the film’s score – Andrew Garfield also gives a brilliant performance as the somewhat eccentric mannered youth. The child actors are also impressive.
Never Let Me Go is interesting as it focuses heavily on a love relationship and rather little on the issue of injustice – The director that gave us cult classic, One Hour Photo, Mark Romanek succeeds creating eerie sequences.
One in particular is Keira Knightly when she is lying on the operating bed for the last time and she ‘completes’ – This is a euphemism created by Ishiguro, which means death.
There is something particularly horrorific witnessing a thin Knightley during a donor operation – One has to wonder what she has left to give from her thin body. The lighting is eerie and it’s one of the most powerful sequences of the film which concentrates on the idea on an injustice world.
Never Let Me Go’s only flaw and possible strength could be how the characters are oddly accepting of their situation, Kathy H seems like a sort of character that would be take a stand. Perhaps the absence of the character’s fight for their life is what makes the film endearing? It encourages issues such as; powerless, emotional, love stricken youths which makes the film a definite tearjerker.
Never Let Me Go opens nationwide sometime in January 2011.
8/10
Director: Mark Romanek
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley
Runtime: 103 mins
Country: UK
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