Nunca me abandones

Recently I got a chance to see Never Let Me Go, a film based on the acclaimed novel by Kazuo Ishiguro.

I ask those who read my review to take it with a grain of salt, as the film is sharply divisive between love and hate. Those who love it say it's emotionally devastating, those who don't find emotion to be lacked. But from my point of view, I find it to be an elegant feature.

Carey Mulligan stars as Kathy, a passionate young girl who is in a complicated love triangle that also includes Tommy (Played by Andrew Garfield), the not so secret love of Kathy's life, and Ruth (Played by Keira Knightley), a jealous woman who stole Tommy while the three of them were attending a mysterious boarding school known as Hailsham, where all students are bred for a specific purpose explained to us at the end of the first act.

Alex Garland, the writer of films such as 28 Days Later, may not have been the most obvious choice to pen the script, but since seeing the film, I understand why. It may come across as a melodramatic romance, but at Never Let Me Go's core is an enigmatic Science-Fiction, make no mistake about that. Even if you don't find the passion to be translated effectively on screen, you can tell it was there on paper. The result is a captivating feature leading to a finale that, as far as emotions go, is heartbreaking to behold, but it wasn't overwhelmingly tragic.

I also admired the performances. Not just from Andrew Garfield's fine performance as Tommy, not just for Charlotte Rampling, Sally Hawkins and Nathalie Richard making great use of their small roles, or even Keira Knightley's exceptional, and gripping performance as Ruth, the true driving force is Carey Mulligan. The Handling of her character is perfect, made even more so by her gentle performance of quiet passion.

It's also a beautifully shot feature, sporting lovely cinematography by Adam Kimmel, as well as a lovely score by Rachel Portman. Although at times her score feels a little intrusive to the more quiet nature of the visuals, her strings score captures a strong essence of each character's emotional state.

Like I said, take a huge grain of salt in regard to Never let Me Go, which I give ***1/2 out of ****

Though inspired from a highly acclaimed novel, this movie is relatively less publicized and that might be one reason for not being known to many.

Two deepest of human emotions, love and betrayal are depicted in a subtle fashion in this movie. Cinematography and direction are good. Screenplay is slow in later half, yet gripping over all. Certain scenes sure will have a haunting affect on you.

Mulligan's acting is solid. Knighley's emotional performance is intense. But above all, I believe it's Garfield who stole the show, in the role of an isolated, confused and struggling boy.

I would say...Watch this movie with little expectations, you won't be disappointed.

The first time I caught this film I turned it off quite early, as I found it too upsetting, (only the second film to do this to me). The second time I was prepared and got through the scene in question and so glad I did. The plot can seem absurd on the surface, but that only amplifies the messages it conveys. It was several years ago that I watched it yet it is embedded on my psyche and I often think about it to this day in a way only a handful of films have. I also rate The Godfather as a 10, but it doesn't haunt me the way this film does.

You are following the story of a group of friends, beautifully acted and directed, which engages you as a good drama should, only at the end (when she says the final lines) did it dawn on me that I had just watched humanity under a microscope. I couldn't see the wood for the trees, till this story lifted me up and let me see it whole. Uplifting.

Some novels are very difficult to film. This is one of them. Even if the scenario was a well written one, it would be a hard thing to do. Unfortunately, the scenario is not good. It fails to capture the most significant moments described beautifully in the novel. I understand the necessity of leaving some material out, changing the sequence or nature of some events in a screenplay to make it more suitable to film, but here the whole storytelling feels rushed and empty of context. It does not do justice to the characters and events in the source material.

For someone who didn't read the book but only watched this film, the story must have looked like it is a simple love triangle drama with a dystopian background which is only there to make it interesting but doesn't really add up. In fact the book is far from it. The writer meticulously constructs the setting which is very much relevant to the events in the book and the moods of the characters. The book is a genre defying masterpiece in examining true human nature, love, hope and desperation. The film unfortunately can not achieve conveying these ideas. Emotion is there, thanks to good acting, but it is overall not a good film and the fact that the novel was such a beauty makes the matters worse.

In my opinion, it should only be watched after reading the book to visualise parts of it if you need that.

"Never Let Me Go" is an interesting, haunting and affecting story of love and jealousy. The story that we see occurring on the surface is fairly commonplace of friends growing up together and falling in love. But the backdrop of this film, which eventually takes over the main story, is science fiction like. It's dark and tragic and thought-provoking.

The world the film is set in is 1980s England and it looks very similar to the real world. But it's not our world and I had a hard time fully realizing all the characterizations for characters in a world that I don't quite know and understand. But it's just such a well done film that my interest was piqued and the story had me captivated, or at least curious, from beginning to end.

The film was incredibly well shot, making dreary England look spectacular but still getting the feeling of damp and cold across. It was also really well cast. The kids playing the younger versions of Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield looked and sounded just like them and were able to carry the beginning of the film. As others noted, Garfield also really stood out for me and his character moved me.

I recommend "Never Let Me Go" because of the high quality of film-making. The science fiction elements are rather subtle so it's more for fans of romantic dramas, but it's an interesting enough film that it can cross into most genres.