Confusing but stylish sci-fi film...
> Never Let Me Go
3 stars (out of 5)
Director: Mark Romanek
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield, Izzy Meikle Small, Charlie Rowe, Ella Purnell, Charlotte Rampling, Sally Hawkins
Rating: (M)
Perhaps its super-subdued pace has something to do with the lack of fanfare for Never Let Me Go, but it contains enough intriguing clues to satisfy anyone curious about bio-engineering and dystopian parallel universes. Though ordinary sci-fi this is not.
Based on Kazuo Ishiguro's 2005 novel, Never Let Me Go struggles as many literary adaptions do to portray the emotion generated by the written word.
Set within the claustrophobic walls of a 1960s English boarding school, the film focuses on a curious relationship among three pupils whose futures are inextricably tied to the National Organ Donor programme.
Asking so many more questions than it ever intends to address, Never Let Me Go is quite cavalier in its expectation that the audience will buy into loaded topics such as cloning and live organ donation. So distracting is its underlying thesis, any quizzical mind will find it hard to focus on the troubled romance in the background.
The photo-realist set-ups and accentuation of the overbearing, concrete, modernist monstrosities will please anyone with an eye for detail. The performances are extremely solid, especially from Carey Mulligan with her doleful face and teary eyes near the end of the film.
Watching Never Let Me Go is a little akin to being stuck in overdrive, heading for a dead end. You might not see a more depressing film this year, but it certainly is thought-provoking and visually beguiling
Best thing: The visual style. A little like a compilation of Mark Romenek's most memorable music videos.
Worst thing: Trying to figure out what the crux of the narrative is.
See it with: Your favourite piece of cosy knitwear.
- Mark Orton
