Film Review: Never Let Me Go

Now in contrast to The Fat Years, a book I just reviewed a few days ago, this film truly is a Science Fiction dystopia--and a well done one at that.

First off the central troica of characters in the film are portrayed by a wonderful group of young actors in the form of Andrew Garfield (who I also loved in The Social Network), Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley (again who was solid in Atonement that I watched and reviewed a few weeks back).

Secondly, we have here a good director in Mark Romanek who is primarily known for his iconic music videos (Closer from Nine Inch Nails, Hurt from Johnny Cash, etc.) but who has done minimal feature films.

Lastly we have a great sci-fi story in which an alternate history England has seen organ donation take a different course than modern society and beginning in the middle of the 20th century, people began being bred/cloned from those of lower class stock for the sole purpose of organ donation to the upper or middle class.  Such bred individuals had a limited lifespan of only about 20 or so years as they were required to make multiple donations until they pass away.

Never Let Me Go follows three of these "donors" over the course of their short lives as they grow up, separate and eventually come back together.  The film takes a number of twists, some seen, some unseen but it is never an overly quick film and its atmosphere and "Englishness" are distinct.   Never Let Me Go is about as close to a "love story" or "tear jerker" as I like to get but it is decidedly not a film you'll be depressed over at its end but it will make you think.  Something a good film should always do.