As children, Ruth, Kathy and Tommy, spend their childhood at a seemingly idyllic English boarding school. As they grow into young adults, they find that they have to come to terms with the strength of the love they feel for each other, while preparing themselves for the haunting reality that awaits them. (IMDb.com)
I’ve been anticipating the release of Never Let Me Go since I first heard about it last year. I tried not to spoil the story before I actually saw it, so that everything would be new and surprising when I finally did. Now that I think of it, I’m not sure I ever saw a trailer for it - not this year at least.
So I got the chance to see it at last and I was not disappointed. It was such a beautiful film both in a narrative and stylistic sense. This is very much a character driven film and the acting was so strong from the whole cast. The three leads: Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield certainly proved themselves in this film, bringing the characters to life, making them believable and pulling off some very emotional scenes.
Their young counterparts were just as impressive – Isobel Meikle-Small, who played young Kathy (Carey Mulligan) looked so similar to Carey that I was certain that they were somehow related. Each of their characteristics followed through from child to adult, making it that bit more convincing to watch.
In Dan Jolin’s review for Empire Online, he dubbed the film a “sci-fi weepie” – while the themes of the film are science fiction, it’s not set on a space ship, far in the future or even a different planet. The story takes place in 20th century England, albeit in an alternate one where the children are raised to become donors for the people on whim they are ‘based’, before they ‘complete’ which is their term for dying. It explores themes of love and existential questions about life and fate.
Steve Weintraub said of the film:
I managed to see a screening here at TIFF and the film really hit me. Normally when I see a movie, I immediately want to talk about it with friends. But after watching Never Let Me Go, I didn’t want to talk to anyone. That’s because the film deals with big issues and it tackles them without telling you how to think – which is one of the best parts about the Alex Garland script and Mark Romanek’s direction.
The film is very emotional and haunting, especially the way in which the characters calmly accept their fate, because they have known no different their whole lives and therefore don’t even attempt to flee from this captivity.
The score carries the emotion of the film and assists in creating the atmosphere of the film. This beauty is reflected in the mise-en-scene of the film from the costumes, which remain quite constant, with a 1960s feel to them, the colours of which reflect the setting of the English countryside – with many shades of green and brown.
One thing that particularly stood out to me was the cinematography. The colour palette used enhanced the story in so many ways and helped convey the atmosphere of the film. I noticed how well each shot was composed, the movement of the camera was fluid and un-obtrusive and kept with the rhythm of the film. The film was softly lit and naturalistic and made everything appear subdued yet colourful at the same time.
- Plot from IMDb Written by Fox Searchlight Pictures 2010, Viewed 3rd April 2011
- Film poster and interview with director Mark Romanek by Steve Weintraub 14th September 2010, viewed 3rd April 2011
- Dan Jolin Review for Empire Online, March 2011, viewed 3rd April 2011 http://www.empireonline.com.au/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=1000001230
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