Never Let Me Go

Director: Mark Romanek
Writers: Alex Garland, Kazuo Ishiguro (author)
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Kiera Knightley, Andrew Garfield
Release Date: September 24, 2010
Length: 2 hours

Based on the disturbing 2005 novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go stars Oscar nominee Carey Muligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield. Premiering at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, the film tells the troubling story of students who have attended Hailsham, a private boarding school in England that teaches children that they will become full organ donors that will eventually kill them. Kathy (Mulligan), Ruth (Knightley) and Tommy (Garfield) were children who grew up in Hailsham together. The film takes place over three time periods, when the children are in school at the age of 12, when they are leaving at the age of 18, and then reuniting ten years later. This dark tale is told through the eyes of Kathy, a girl whose best friend stole the boy she loves at a very young age. This treacherous love triangle is the conflict set within the dystopian world that they live in. Director Mark Romanek of One Hour Photo beautifully drapes a very disturbing setting on this story. The horrible circumstances of the film are definitely prominent, however Romanek makes them seem so natural to the way the characters live, so that the film can focus more on the characters and plot. I surprisingly found myself getting used to everything this world demanded. The setting affected the story, but did not control it. Screenwriter Alex Garland somehow made the audience empathize for these far out of reach characters. Everything in the story didn’t make you feel sad or heartbroken, just depressed. That was an effect I didn’t completely enjoy about Never Let Me Go. While capturing the authenticity of this feeling exactly like a normal world, the film did not leave me with any intense feeling, nor did I think about it much after I left the theatre. One of the best aspects of this film was the cast. Never Let Me Go seems to be a comeback for Keira Knightley, another stepping stone for Carey Mulligan, and a boost for Andrew Garfield, who is claiming his fame right now. The word comeback should almost not be used for a twenty five year old actress, but it seems appropriate for Knightley, who has been in the public eye since she was 16, and has not been in a movie for two years. Her presence is always loved on screen and once again she performs spectacularly in Never Let Me Go. Oddly enough though, Knightley does not star, but takes a back seat to Carey Mulligan in this movie. Mulligan was wonderful as the film’s protaganist and beautifully carried the film. It was sad to watch her character observe her two friends in their relationship. Sometimes however, it was a bit annoying that nothing was happening to the main character. She was just watching interesting things occur. Also, as a personal fan of Mulligan, I surprisingly found that Knightley’s performance outshined Mulligan’s. The lead male actor of the film, Andrew Garfield is quickly making a name for himself with Never Let Me Go and the extremely successful The Social Network and he’s soon to star in the next Spider Man. Garfield also gives an incredible performance in this film, but no matter how great each actor was individually, it was their convincing friendship which was the believable affective aspect of the film. Even though I wasn’t blown away by this film, I definitely do not feel that I wasted my money or time. Never Let Me Go is surely not a must-see, but still a very good film to catch.