{"id":9408,"date":"2010-10-13T23:23:21","date_gmt":"2010-10-13T22:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/?p=9408"},"modified":"2010-10-22T15:19:11","modified_gmt":"2010-10-22T14:19:11","slug":"lff-2010-never-let-me-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/2010\/10\/13\/lff-2010-never-let-me-go\/","title":{"rendered":"LFF 2010: Never Let Me Go"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro\u2019s novel<\/a> is an exquisitely crafted but emotionally distant meditation on mortality.<\/p>\n

Set in an alternate timeline of England where science has cured many illnesses, a young woman named Kathy (Carey Mulligan) looks back on her childhood when she grew up with two friends, Ruth (Keira Knightley) and Tommy (Andrew Garfield).<\/p>\n

As youngsters they attend Hailsham, a boarding school sheltering them from the outside world, and as they grow older it slowly dawns on them that they have been excluded from mainstream society for a reason.<\/p>\n

From the opening credits director Mark Romanek<\/a> establishes a carefully controlled mood, and for the early section we see younger actors (Isobel Meikle-Small, Ella Purnell and Charlie Rowe) convincingly play the three leads as children in 1978.<\/p>\n

Hints are dropped fairly early on about the mysterious nature of their youth, alongside a developing love triangle as Kathy realises Tommy, who she bonded with from an early age, is in love with Ruth.<\/p>\n

The recreation of an ageing English boarding school is thoroughly convincing, with some first rate costume and production design, and the transition to their teenage years in the mid-1980s is fairly seamless.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Romanek handles the material with considerable skill and technically the film is exquisitely made: Adam Kimmel\u2019s widescreen cinematography and Barney Pilling\u2019s editing all help to create a rich mood of sadness and regret.<\/p>\n

As an American, Romanek was an interesting choice to direct the material and he gives it a crisp sense of movement, far removed from the ponderous nature of many British productions which can drearily linger on their period settings.<\/p>\n

The alternative version of England is depicted with unusual precision.<\/p>\n

Look carefully at the school, the countryside, the towns and vehicles and you will notice a piercing eye for detail, which enhances the realism despite the sci-fi backdrop.<\/p>\n

There are also some memorable images: the creepy beauty of Hailsham, the wintry isolation of an empty beach and the clinical interiors of a hospital are just some of the startling visual backdrops.<\/p>\n

Added to this is a standout central performance from Carey Mulligan<\/a>. Her work here is on par with her lauded turn in \u2018An Education\u2019, demonstrating a rich vein of emotion along with a captivating screen presence.<\/p>\n

As the film moves in to the 1990s, she depicts a maturity beyond her years, perfectly suited to the material, and also delivers a potentially tricky voiceover with just the right nuance and feeling.<\/p>\n

But there is a paradox at the heart of Never Let Me Go, which is that for all its impeccable craft, there is an emotional distance to the audience.<\/p>\n

Alex Garland\u2019s screenplay, which otherwise does a fine job at extracting and shaping the ideas of the book, shows its hand early on, so there is a sense of inevitability to the story.<\/p>\n

Whilst this emphasises the notion of fate, it also means the revelations are blunted and end up lacking an intellectual and emotional force.<\/p>\n

This is typified in Rachel Portman\u2019s lush orchestral score which despite containing beautiful flourishes, is deployed too heavily throughout, and ends up blending into a collective sound of despair.<\/p>\n

Added to this, there is no escaping that the material is an emotional downer: a reminder of the transience of existence, it goes against the feel-good optimism of many mainstream releases.<\/p>\n

This is actually to its credit, as precious few films even attempt this, but it may be a reason audiences either don\u2019t respond or simply stay away.<\/p>\n

Going in to the awards season<\/a> this was being touted as a major contender and, after dividng critics at Telluride and Toronto<\/a>, has died an early box office death in the US<\/a> with its platform release evaporating into thin air.<\/p>\n

In the language of the film it has already \u2018completed\u2019 and this is disappointing, as films displaying this level of craft deserve a better fate.<\/p>\n

I suspect some US audiences were instinctively repelled by the way in which the characters \u2018accept\u2019 their condition.<\/p>\n

This is of course an underlying theme of the novel and film – that human beings resign themselves to social conditioning \u2013 but it clearly hasn\u2019t caught the mood, even amongst more discerning audiences.<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

Certainly a film about death, which focuses on the underlying cruelty of a society dedicated to the greater good, is a tricky sell in an era of recession and general gloom.<\/p>\n

Time may be kinder to Never Let Me Go.<\/p>\n

Despite certain shortcomings, it is a worthy adaptation which conveys the profound sadness of the novel and marks a welcome return for Romanek to the director\u2019s chair.<\/p>\n

Never Let Me Go<\/strong> opened the London Film Festival tonight and opens in the UK on Friday 21st January 2011<\/em><\/p>\n

> Official site<\/a>
\n> Reviews of Never Let Me Go at Metacritic<\/a> and MUBi<\/a>
\n> Find out more about Mark Romanek<\/a> and Kazuo Ishiguro<\/a> at Wikipedia
\n> Never Let Me Go at the LFF<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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