Never Let Me Go (2010)

I read Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel “Never let me go” in 2006, long before this film has been produced. I was shocked by the calm and destroying reality of the book and the way characters accept their fate without fight regarding it as inevitable. In my opinion, as it usually happens, film is not as good as the novel itself.

“Never let me go” was directed by Mark Romanek and starring Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley. First of all, I have to admit that I avoid Keira Knightley –starring – films. I cannot take her weird lips; they annoy me throughout story and I end up with wrongful opinion about film. But I could not avoid “Never let me go”, as the book had a huge impact on me.

The captions in the beginning of film explain that after the medical breakthrough in 1952, human life expectancy reached beyond 100 years. Kathy H (Carey Mulligan) narrates the film: her memories of the boarding school called Hailsham and her life as a carer.

At Hailsham, we see ordinary boarding school pupils. One day, teacher Miss Lucy informs them about their fate.  They are destined to provide donor organs for humans. They will never grow old or have a profession as they dream to obtain in future.  After Hailsham, Kathy and her two friends - Tommy and Ruth live with other teenagers in cottages on a farm. There, it is revealed that all of them are clones. After second or third donation they will die. Their deaths are referred to as “completion”.

The carer is a clone who is temporarily reprieved from donations for taking care of other donor clones. Ten years later, after leaving the farm because of tension with Ruth, and Kathy’s feelings towards Tommy, we see her working as the carer. Kathy comes across her friends again.

“Never let me go” is sad and hard film. It makes to think about the lives of world’s children living in child institutions. The film is not an evening watch, nor a family film. But, it is definitely worth watching.

Reviewer's rating: 7.0 out of 10