All disease has been cured and people routinely live to be 100 years. The reason for this, it seems, is that children are bred to be 'donors' Their minds and bodies are conditioned to prepare them for an adulthood spent donating organs over a period of months or years until 'completion', their death.
"Never Let Me Go" is based upon the novel, "Never Let Me Go", by Kazuo Ishiguro.
Very intriguing movie. I've heard people call "Never Let Me Go " a science fiction film but I think it feels more like an alternative history film. There are no futuristic scenes or techno gadgets. It is a bleak, austere world. The film is set in the 1960's, 70's, 80's, and 90's and the only 'sci-fi' element about it is that somehow the world was easily convinced to allow the forced execution of perfectly healthy, innocent young people so organs can be farmed.
Never Let Me Go focuses on three people, raised in a school for donors called Hailsham. Hailsham reminds me a great deal of the school in the Harry Potter series. That sort of happy, all-too-innocent atmosphere with dark, dark undertones. Hailsham being by far the darker.
The story moves along flawlessly. I was not once bored or looking at the clock. It was quite intriguing. The idea that the characters will die soon from donation was a heavy undertone of the film but it did not come close to dominating the dialog. It contributes to the depth of the characters but does not get in the way of the actual story. The story focuses on three 'donors' and their intense lifelong relationship.
Keira Knightly, Andrew Garfield and Carey Mulligan play the three donors and are simply perfect. Watch their emotions as closely as you listen to their lines. They give the characters great depth. Depth is important in this film as there are no save the world or save ourselves heroics. The characters are born to die and are willing to do so dutifully. There are no gimmicks to fall back on. The film relies totally on good writing, directing and acting. It does this beautifully.
Rated R
2010
More Great TurtleDog Film Reviews
Cutting Edge WWI Film.... For a Flick Made in The 30's
One Hard Film to Watch - Very Good, Very Artsey, But Hard
NY Times Fashion Photographer - Greatest Enigma Ever?
"Never Let Me Go" is based upon the novel, "Never Let Me Go", by Kazuo Ishiguro.
Very intriguing movie. I've heard people call "Never Let Me Go " a science fiction film but I think it feels more like an alternative history film. There are no futuristic scenes or techno gadgets. It is a bleak, austere world. The film is set in the 1960's, 70's, 80's, and 90's and the only 'sci-fi' element about it is that somehow the world was easily convinced to allow the forced execution of perfectly healthy, innocent young people so organs can be farmed.
Never Let Me Go focuses on three people, raised in a school for donors called Hailsham. Hailsham reminds me a great deal of the school in the Harry Potter series. That sort of happy, all-too-innocent atmosphere with dark, dark undertones. Hailsham being by far the darker.
The story moves along flawlessly. I was not once bored or looking at the clock. It was quite intriguing. The idea that the characters will die soon from donation was a heavy undertone of the film but it did not come close to dominating the dialog. It contributes to the depth of the characters but does not get in the way of the actual story. The story focuses on three 'donors' and their intense lifelong relationship.
Keira Knightly, Andrew Garfield and Carey Mulligan play the three donors and are simply perfect. Watch their emotions as closely as you listen to their lines. They give the characters great depth. Depth is important in this film as there are no save the world or save ourselves heroics. The characters are born to die and are willing to do so dutifully. There are no gimmicks to fall back on. The film relies totally on good writing, directing and acting. It does this beautifully.
Rated R
2010
More Great TurtleDog Film Reviews
Cutting Edge WWI Film.... For a Flick Made in The 30's
One Hard Film to Watch - Very Good, Very Artsey, But Hard
NY Times Fashion Photographer - Greatest Enigma Ever?
I’m afraid I didn’t have quite the same take on the movie. There wasn’t enough intrigue to keep me watching once I realized the purpose of the film (mostly from the movie description) and I wasn’t that interested in the romance because there wasn’t enough connection between Tommy and Ruth. Their resolve made the movie seem less tragic until the end which didn’t seem quite so natural. I caught this on HBO in HD and love the quality on my big screen TV. I would prefer to see movies with my DISH Network employee HD service than fool with downloading as hit and miss as my internet is; all-in-all though I liked the movie.
ReplyDelete