Never Let Me Go (2010)
Summary
Genre: Drama, Romance, Sci-FiGoodies:
+ Surreal introspection of the human condition, + Visceral acting with relatable characters, + Interesting plot twist that changes the progression of the film, but in subtle and intelligent ways.Baddies:
- Have to take the film as it is, as there are some bizarre plot devicesAs children, Ruth, Kathy and Tommy, spend their childhood at a seemingly idyllic English boarding school. As they grow 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 awaits the
The facet of “Never Let Me Go” that makes it such a phenomenal film is it’s ability to flourish into more than one type of film and use those to pollinate the other aspects of the film. What I mean by this is that on the surface, the film could be seen as just another “Notebook” type of film (the actual romance pieces of the film are nothing new), but mixed with the secondary plot, changes the way the love story is viewed, and when a movie can take a classic concept and make it new and interesting, that alone is a success. For me, the film pushed so much further than that though. There were so many meanings within the film that could be interpreted, but none were laid out. For example, I believe there were some very strong arguements to make comments about social class in the film, embedded within the ethical debate of the clones. What I mean by this is that people are raised to be body sacs, their life has a specific intention, and they are dehumanized for being that way despite their ability to rise anywhere else. In some ways it seems like slavery, but the part that makes those themes shake on it’s knees is that we never are truly given the answer of whether or not these clones are any less human that other people. I love open-ended films that can cause this discussion (and if you’ve seen it, I would love to get your interpretation in the comments), but despite all of that, the film was put together almost flawlessly. The film has received a nomination for an Independent Spirit Award for cinematography, and it deserves it. Sometimes, in a film, we wonder “why did they show us that”, and information seems auxillary to the plot, and this film did a great job of seemingly putting those things in, but becoming interesting plot devices later on.
SPOILER // For example, when Kathy is looking at the pornography, the filmmaker does a great job of making us think it is to prepare for Tommy, and Emma even states that later. The very interesting part of the film is that Emma was the audience at this point, and the filmmaker was almost saying directly to us, “you were wrong!” (which wasn’t a bad thing, it wasn’t blunt), but it was because she was finding her ‘original. END SPOILER
The Sci-Fi aspects of the film were amazing as well, and was part of what I wanted to see more of. The love story became interesting because of the ethical arguements and why love could be so important to these people. Such a subtly existed for the sub-genre, but at the same time was unavoidable and uniquely driving the other aspects of the film. If you aren’t a fan of Science Fiction, don’t worry, the film feels very normal and everyday, and visually you would never think it was sci-fi (it’s mainly conceptual and storyline based rather than what we see while watching the film) — What I mean is that there aren’t aliens or crazy clones walking around all over, it is a centralized love story with cloning as a backdrop to push the boundaries of the character’s love for each other. In some ways, this makes the film about young love and mortality — “living each day as we have it now because who knows what tomorrow will bring”. None of these themes are THE THEME, which I think is what made it stronger. Sometimes, you get a movie like this and there is just too much going on, but the balancing act of Never Let Me go was perfect in every way.
The only thing that could have given this a higher rating for me is if the ending was a bit different. I will explain what I would’ve liked to happen below — but beware of spoilers. Just see this film, it was amazing, and I don’t even know if I will see a better film about love this year (although Blue Valentine looks promising). Phenomenal!
SPOILER // At the end of the film, I feel like there was a PERFECT opportunity to solve some of the concerns in the film. There was obviously a huge theme dealing with whether or not the students from Hailhaim were human or not (hence the whole art side-story). I had a thirst for showing students who rebeled against the donations despite their schooling. So, for me, at the end of the film, you see this sunset and giant tree silhouetted, and I felt strongly that she was going to kill herself. Tommy had just completed and, for her, she had gone her whole life hoping to have the chance to love him, and it was thwarted by his completion. The ultimate rebellion and answer to the concern “is this ethical” could have been solved in a really interesting way if she committed suicide. I know that sounds dark, but when she starts crying, it really felt like she was going to take her life into her own hands, and ironically killing herself would have been the most human thing she could do to them (as they denied the referrals — that never existed). I think Kathy’s show of emotion does a similar job (with less strength) because she is showing intense sorrow, but she was a very proper girl who did what she was supposed to (which is why I wanted her to). I would like to see someone who disagrees with this and why. I realize the film still works, but feel it could’ve really ended on a more interesting note
END SPOILER
