Rating:  

DNA Films, Film4, and Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Written by: Alex Garland, adapted from the novel “Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro.

A solemn, quiet, and perhaps for some, a bleak romantic drama, “Never Let Me Go” has the difficult task of delivering a worthwhile film adaptation of a novel that Time Magazine called the best of its decade. I admit up front to not having read the book as I write my thoughts on the film, but I have to believe that Alex Garland had to have had a devil of a time adapting this source material.

Set in a dystopian world where science and medical breakthroughs have pushed the life expectancy of human beings to more than 100 years of age, three small children – Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy, spend their days attending a posh boarding school known as Hailsham. They take their classes, have their meals, and study. They seem to have a fairly rudimentary life at the school, but something seems a bit off. A toy delivery brings about broken and damaged toys, the teachers tend to be a little impersonal, and soon, the color-washed walls of the rooms and classrooms tend to indicate coldness, distance, and disengagement. We come to learn that the children are very protected, watched over like hawks, and when one teacher violates an unwritten code and speaks of truths not to be spoken about, Hailsham is not nearly the idyllic schoolhouse we all believe it to be.

As realities blend in with maturation, Kathy and Ruth’s friendship is tested when a mutual interest is taken in Tommy. Kathy has had affections for him all along, but Ruth seems to catch his eye and soon as teenagers they fall in love. When the story advances to the older teenage years, the three friends are transferred to The Cottages, a transitional place between adolescence and adulthood for other boarding school students. As Tommy and Ruth’s relationship becomes sexual, Kathy is left to ponder her life’s direction and path as she tries to mute her love for Tommy. Harsh realities begin to close in on the students and for Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy, the decisions they make in navigating a predetermined path mean everything.

There is a vagueness that must be employed when discussing “Never Let Me Go.” The film touches on themes of morality, love, sex, friendship, and betrayal both by adults and by peers. Trust is a virtue not lost on Kathy and yet when she seeks it, she returns back to those who seemingly violated it. Told in a hushed and quiet tone, Mark Romanek sets a terrific mood and pall over the proceedings which make the film engrossing and utterly watchable.

The performances are stellar, especially that of Carey Mulligan. Oscar-nominated for 2009′s “An Education”, Mulligan again proves that she has amazing command of her characters and her performance. Much of Mulligan’s Kathy is told by what isn’t said, what isn’t expressed. Kathy sees a great deal in her quiet and lonely life and when others turn to her for support and encouragement, you can see how conflicted she is in recognizing her fate, the opportunities she had and lost and may never experience. Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) and Keira Knightley (Atonement, Pride and Prejudice) are terrific in supporting roles as the lovers Ruth and Tommy.

The film looks gorgeous with tremendous cinematography and a haunting and contemplative score by Rachel Portman. The acting, the performances, the tone and mood all are beautifully realized, so where are the flaws, you ask?

Despite everything good and great about the film, sadly Romanek never finds the emotional connection a film like this needs to soar to something truly special and moving. We can empathize or even sympathize with the pain, the loss, the despair, and heartbreak that our main characters experience but I never truly felt any of it. I was observing a situation and processing it, even considering what I might do in a similar situation, but I never engaged emotionally. I can only assume this stems from Romanek and Alex Garland losing something in the translation, as many who have read the book have expressed that Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel is one of the most emotional experiences they have encountered.

A beautifully shot and well-acted essay on life and death, but one that keeps you at an arm’s length, “Never Let Me Go” will certainly get its hooks in you and leave some kind of impression. “Never Let Me Go” challenges you to look around and consider your life and the opportunities taken and lost. I am happy that I watched the film and appreciate the themes the film strives for. However, when it ended, I had no problem letting it go. And that ease of letting go was a bit of an unexpected disappointment.

Should I See It?

For those who love romantic dramas with a twist, the dystopian world this film takes place in will offer some refreshing changes to the romantic drama formula.

It’s an actor’s film. Carey Mulligan is fantastic and Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield give strong supporting performances. Fans of actors, and especially fans of these young actors will take this in like food.

If you loved the source material, you will have seen or will be seeking this out.

Poorly marketed, perhaps because of its subject matter, this is a film which deserved more attention when it played theaters.

The film’s slow pace and subdued mood, pace, and feel will turn off many viewers.

I have heard that for some avid lovers of the novel, significant changes in the film border on blasphemy. Be warned apparently that if you loved the novel, there are differences.

The bleak feel and the ultimate conclusion of the main characters’ individual stories may render the entire film was pointless and unnecessary.

There are emotional and visual moments that are not for the squeamish.