DVD RvReview: Never Let Me Go
Little Women. Dumbo. Watership Down. All movies to make Ross McG cry. And here’s another. But between the blubbing, did he think Never Let Me Go was any good?
Never Let Me Go (five stars)
The only thing sadder than Never Let Me Go’s failure to attract awards attention earlier this year is the film itself. While The King’s Speech’s inherently British tale of one man’s struggle to overcome the odds soared with audiences and the Academy alike, Never Let Me Go’s inherently British tale of nobody even trying to overcome the odds was overlooked on account of its bleakness. Ultimately, however, it’s a more satisfying experience than the Best Picture winner, even if it is an experience that will leave you shedding bucketloads of tears. The film doesn’t attempt to provide easy answers but this just makes it all the more interesting and, impressive considering it is a sci-fi movie, all the more real. Based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2005 novel, Never Let Me Go is essentially the love (triangle) story of three boarding school friends (Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightley) whose seemingly idyllic surroundings in the English countryside hide a tragic truth. Theirs is a world of cassette tapes and cottages, of marbles and dolls, of rounders and rumours. And yet it is a world the central characters cannot quite fully grasp, even after its cold mechanics are broken down to them in one simple but shocking scene. Never has the acceptance of one’s fate in a film been so poignant. At times overwhelmingly sad, this is not a first date film (unless you want to show your date your capacity to blub like a baby) but something more: a modern British classic. Restrained yet powerful, unsentimental yet incredibly moving, Never Let Me Go does exactly what its title instructs, gripping you tightly from start to finish.
This review first appeared in the Metro newspaper
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF NEVER LET ME GO?
Ross v Ross 
June 28, 2011 at 4:05 pm
I wasn’t blown away by Never Let Me Go but it’s a movie that has remained in my mind for a long time. I think it could have been better, the central twist is revealed much too early but certainly a highly memorable and haunting film.
September 11, 2011 at 3:23 pm
Sorry, but this film quickly entered my list of Worst Ever movies. it’s slow, boring, plotless, unengaging, depressing and wholly unbelievable and, quite obviously,intentionally so. Yes, it’s beautifully acted, yes it’s beautifully shot, yes some people will love the score… but great film-making does not mean you have constructed a great film. It might get the critics salivating but for me, it’s two hours of my life that, sadly, I won’t get back!