‘Never Let Me Go’ presents a rose tinted perspective on science fiction. This adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Booker Prize short listed novel has been met with critical resistance; some reviews plant it as somewhat of a glorious failure. I am not usually a fan of sci-fi, but I disagree.
Set in a seemingly idyllic English boarding school the story portrays a love triangle between Ruth (Keira Knightley), Kathy (Carey Mulligan) and Tommy (Andrew Garfield). However, all is not what it seems, and as the film develops the true purpose of the school is revealed.
Knightley excels whilst type cast in her usual role, and Garfield proves that he is one to watch out for in the future. However, I think Mulligan is the star of the bunch. Playing the narrator, Kathy H, she produces a powerful performance which reduced me to tears several times. Her long stares down the lens permeate your mind, and her interaction with Garfield is very real, upsettingly so at times. The cinematography is beautiful, and I particularly enjoyed the sweeping seascapes, filmed not in Norfolk as the film suggests, but in the West Country. The use of muted tones is very clever, and that the actors playing the young Ruth, Kathy and Tommy have mastered the trademark Knightley look and the Mulligan stare made the whole film more believable.
You could hear a pin drop in the cinema, and when the silent end credits started to roll my ears were met with a barrage of sniffles. ‘Never Let Me Go’ is a fantastically beautiful film. Moody, with just the right amount of real emotion…remember the tissues.
Hennie Jerram
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