Review: Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go is an artful and elegant work. Director Mark Romanek uses a muted palette throughout the film, so moments of vibrant color stand out and are few and far between. The main characters have little control over their own fate, and the drab costuming (lots of dull browns and grays) and color tone of the film enforce this theme.

Twenty-eight-year-old Kathy H. (Carey Mulligan) narrates the film, which takes place in a sort of alternate past. In this alternate (but seemingly possible) past, Kathy and her friends Tommy and Ruth attend school at Hailsham in the 1970s. Their headmistress tells them, "Students are Hailsham are special." Their class learns why they are "special" when their new teacher Miss Lucy (Sally Hawkins) confesses their true purpose: to serve as living organ donors. That is "the life that is already set out" for them. With this, any semblance of free will they may have assumed they had disappears.

Still, fondness grows between young Kathy (Izzy Meikle-Small) and Tommy (Charlie Rowe) until Ruth (Ella Purnell) starts dating Tommy. This love triangle is a main focus of Never Let Me Go, which is sectioned into three parts: at Hailsham, at the Cottages in the 1980s, and the final chapter set in the 1990s. At the Cottages, 18-year-old Kathy shacks up with her crush Tommy (newcomer Andrew Garfield) and Ruth (Keira Knightley) who are still an active couple. We see the group as they are confronted with the real world and pop culture. Another donor couple tells the trio of the possibility of deferment; if a couple can prove they are in love, they can defer their donations.

Carey Mulligan's performance as Kathy -- like practically everything else in this film -- is gracefully understated. Knightley's Ruth can be a spitfire at times, but Garfield's Tommy is dull enough to make me wonder why Kathy still held feelings for him. Never Let Me Go includes rare moments of intense emotion, but the performances tend towards steady and controlled (this likely has to do with the type of roles being performed).

I read Kazuo Ishiguro's wonderful book Never Let Me Go, but it's been a few years and I've read many books since then.  I remember the basic plotline and the emotional impact the book had on me upon reading, but that's about it.  If the screenplay of Never Let Me Go (penned by Alex Garland) strays from certain smaller plot points, I wouldn't know; it packs the same emotional punch as Ishiguro's original work.

The pensive original soundtrack composed by Rachel Portman adds another layer to the movie. There was one point in the film when I was tempted to close my eyes and soak in the music. But then I would have missed the gorgeous cinematography! The composition of shots in the film is flawless. It all adds up to make Never Let Me Go a beautiful film.