Unconventional Dystopia
When we look at modern cinema in this day and age, most often or not we do see films that have been originated from lot’s of different sources whether it’s from a high-selling book/graphic novel or a highly acclaimed T.V series and then obviously film-makers turn these opportunities into Adaptations. For me at least, when it comes to an Adaptation, I will always be a bit topsy-turvy depending on what the film/adaptation is. A good example of this would be my experience watching Michael Bay’s ‘Transformers’ series which at first glance when I saw the teaser trailer for the first film back in 2007, I was genuinely excited due to the fact that the ‘Transformers’ franchise was something I grew up with back in the 90’s. However when it came to actually watching the feature, it was just a massive disappointment due to the fact that Michael Bay pretty much sexed up a franchise that a lot of kids love… just let that sink in. On the other hand there can be adaptations that can stay true to it’s source material and really offer a immersive experience which ‘Never Let Me Go’ does in a beautiful yet Melancholic fashion with thanks to the script-writing and the acting.
So the story of ‘Never Let Me Go’ is set in an alternative present day and in the opening moments we learn at some point that in this alternative recent past a major medical breakthrough was achieved and fundamentally changed the way people viewed their life prospects. The story is narrated by Carey Mulligans character Kathy H who at the very beginning of the film is surrounded by hospitalised/medical environment and does throughout the entirety of the film, speak as though she has this melancholic weight on her; reminiscing about her childhood growing up at a boarding school called Hailsham, as well as her adult life after leaving the school. We then are introduced to the school where we are introduced to a group of children who appear to be brought up in very strict way which they have been told to look after them selves. In the school sequence we are once again introduced to a very much younger Kathy H and are introduced to her friend Ruth who along the way get’s very brittle and jealous and Tommy who at the start is someone who wreaks in anxiety and never really associates with anyone at the school. As they grow up into young adults, they find that they have to come to terms with the strength of the love they feel for each other, while preparing themselves for the haunting reality that they must face.
First and foremost, the necessary thing to say about this film is that it is a science-fiction film in terms of how it is set in this alternative past world and really does tackle this Sci-Fi idea of the human condition and the capacity to live life to the fullest. In a way it kind of hall-marks back to films such as Michael Bays ‘The Island’ and how that presented this idea of living life under a short amount of time and Alfonso Cuarons film ‘Children of Men’ where it capitulates this idea of Human trial and overcoming the human condition. I would say this film relates more towards ‘Children of Men’ but in a more melancholic, light hearted way in how the characters in ‘Never Let Me Go’ are living in a situation where they are just accepting this haunting circumstance and echo’s this belief of whether or not the human soul is indeed tangible. What I find surprising and a bit annoying is the fact that for the people who have read this book written by Kazuo Ishiguro, they find that these ideas about the value of life, Politics, Hegemony aren’t really expressed to it’s fullest in the film in difference to the book. As far as I’m concerned, being that I really haven’t read the original source material and have watched the film adaptation instead, I have to respectfully deny what people say about the film not going along with the book’s messages and say that the film does display the books messages in a consistent flow which overall made the film very moving and effective. One good example where we do see this is when Kathy and Tommy learn later on in the film that they can’t change their fates which results into Kathy and Tommy bursting out in anger and sadness over the fact that they simply can’t do anything to change their situation. What I also liked about this film is how even though it’s a dystopian story-line, there are elements of romance that is lightly played out throughout the film between the characters of Kathy, Tommy and Kathy’s childhood friend Ruth. The love triangle idea itself very much reminded me of Francois Truffaut’s ‘Jules et Jim’ (1961) in how it not only is revolved around a love triangle, but simply how this theme of the impossibility of achieving true freedom in love pretty relates to Kathy, Tommy and Ruth later in their young adult lives and how they all are trying to grasp this idea and live a life that is indeed impossible for them. Out of the performances between Carey Mulligan (Kathy H), Keira Knightley (Ruth) and Andrew Garfield (Tommy), I would say Knightley put up the best performance as Ruth. The reason behind this is simply due to the fact that watching her performance and other roles she has played as an actress, you can really tell Keira enjoyed playing a role that is so dark to her other counterparts. The way she portrayed Ruth in this film is really good and she was the stand out performance not only for the way Keira approached the role, but also how she really did stamp this emphasis to us that this film is indeed cold and brittle when it can be. Don’t get me wrong about the other performances, I thought Mulligan as well played a character that was probably a challenge for her considering she is playing a role that is constantly alone and scared throughout. As for Garfield, he did do a good job but at times it really is hard to ignore the hard-work of the other performances in Knightley and Mulligan. I would say the sequence of when Ruth confronts Kathy over their relationship at the cottage epitomises their characters and the film perfectly in how yes there is the obvious scuffle in the love triangle, but also the willingness to be free with love and life.
I think the good performances by the 3 main actors owe a huge credit to the screen-writing of this film. I think for the majority of the film, the dialogue and the narration that Mulligan does add to the coldness of this film and huge plaudits go towards Alex Garland who himself has done very good writing on films such ’28 Days Later’ and ‘Sunshine’. One of the scenes that I liked which weirdly enough reminded me of ’28 Days Later’, is the sequence of when Kathy, Ruth and Tommy still young-adults venture off on a day trip from the farm to try and find something important, Again like the previous scene I talked about, although near towards the end of this scene there is this reminder of what lies ahead for the 3 central characters, but I would say it’s a scene with a lot of charm due to the fact that because of their situation, they don’ t have really any experience with other people and the outside world, which for me provided a chuckle considering how this scene plays out. Along with the script-writing, I think the soundtrack to ‘Never Let Me Go’ is equally as pleasing as it’s other cinematic elements. The main theme ‘We All Complete’ no joke really started to make me tear up. It’s annoying how some people again knit-pick and complain that the score of this film is to over-powering and distracts everyone from the story. All I can say to that truly is Really?! These people that say these things obviously just don’t understand how this film plays out in a consistent yet beautiful fashion which leads me to my conclusion.
Overall looking at this film as a whole, If you really want to see a Sci-Fi that is different from the usual trend and certainly offers up so much in terms of story-telling and musical scores that create so many emotions, then ‘Never Let Me Go’ is the film to watch. It’s a shame that I have to say this film is flawed. What I mean by this is how the people who have read the book and really cherish it, tend to knit-pick and say that the portrayal of the film is nothing like the book offers in terms of it’s themes of freedom and whether the Human spirit is tangible or not. I really think that this is one of the best BRITISH film adaptations in recent years which I found moving that at moments actually had a genuine sense of tragedy about it and was admirable for the restraint that it demonstrated and had very good performances from Garfield, Mulligan and Knightley and eventually, all that added up to me having goose-bumps of genuine fear and sadness.
★★★★★ – Alex Rabbitte