Never let me go
Considering that Keira Knightley is in this, I now realize that “Never let me go” is a lot like “Atonement”. Gorp really loves comparing movies to other movies, where “Inception + Before Sunrise = Copie conforme” is my absolute favorite. In the same veins, “Never let me go” is a mix of “Atonement” and… something sci-fi?
Actually there really is nothing really sci-fi in this film. No spaceships, no aliens, nothing. But the only sci-fi element in the film is crucial. The premise of this film relies upon an alternate reality in which clones exist purely for organ donation purposes. There is something hauntingly realistic about that, and I thought that makes this film surprisingly beautiful.
At the end of the day, they are people, and by that logic, life expectancy has not grown. Actually they just made a few more slaves with the difference that these slaves prolong your life. Mankind is fairly scary. If you consider how people find Hatsune Miku creepy, then I wouldn’t be surprised if clones (much more creepy after all!) would be ostracized and mistreated, fueled by the belief that they might not have “souls”.
If I knew that I am going to die, fully healthy at around age 30, I would most likely do things very differently in life. That is why there is something beautifully haunting about these characters’ lives. They don’t have to worry about anything like a career, or the meaning of their lives, because they are not allowed a career and the meaning of their lives is an extremely sad one. They don’t have to survive, but instead their early death is predetermined. Is this a blessing in disguise or just plain sad?
When you have lived a life long enough to love, it really is incredibly sad. Especially in this movie it was. Sure, the characters have their flaws. They are incapable of pursuing their love for each other until their love rival (of all people!) pushes them to. That is kind of pathetic but you know, so are Tengo and Aomame in 1Q84 for over 20 years. It is a sweet and pure love, and you want to root for them the entire time.
I loved the movie for its incredible sadness, because it’s a great “what if” type of sci-fi story, and because Andrew Garfield is cute enough to be parts of a triangle story. I can’t believe I have not yet seen this film before considering how relevant it is to my interests.
i liked this film, too! i think it really nails the central mood of the book, which is one of despair that really gets to you as you start to realize what these children were destined to become (in the book this plot is revealed in the most subtle and indirect way imaginable, so for slow people like myself it really came as a depressing revelation! hahaha!). carey mulligan annoys the crap out of me though ugh.
I thought the “young Carey Mulligan” (whatever her actual name is) did a really good job! Somehow she also really looks like the older version? XD It’s almost creepy.
The movie is such despair! I think I was most depressed at the end when they said “There is no deferral” – so sad!
Yeah, this is no movie which made me remember the name of the director (who is it anyways?) but the story and its haunting imagery would stay.