Review: 'Never Let Me Go'

Still, "Never Let Me Go" practically screams Oscar contender. It tackles serious issues and will be haunting moviegoers long after the credits roll. It has impeccable art direction and cinematography. And Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield make up a first-rate cast. (Garfield is turning heads by playing Eduardo Saverin in "The Social Network." He'll also be the new Spider-Man.)

None of these achievements, however, can overcome the script, penned by Alex Garland with the collaboration of Ishiguro. It reveals too much, too early. It takes the audience into visual territory that was never spelled out in the novel. (A hospital scene will be especially upsetting for the squeamish.) And it lacks the appropriate bite that the late director Stanley Kubrick perfected in such dystopian films as "A Clockwork Orange" and "Dr. Strangelove."

Like the novel, "Never Let Me Go" begins at the Hailsham school, an oddly isolated private British facility where the children are cut off from the outside world. Even odder: The children have no last names and apparently have had no contact with a loving family.

Kathy H. (Mulligan) provides the voiceover narration, identifying herself as a Hailsham graduate who's now an adult "carer." She introduces us to her two best childhood friends, the assertive Ruth (Knightley) and the confused Tommy (Garfield). In flashbacks, the three children are played by Isobel Meikle-Small, Ella Purnell and Charlie Rowe.

From the earliest scenes, it's clear that Kathy has a crush on Tommy, despite his tantrums on the sports field and his lack of interest in academic and artistic pursuits. Ruth dashes Kathy's romantic hopes, however, by latching onto Tommy and being his girlfriend throughout school.

Hailsham has various levels of teachers, or "guardians," including Miss Emily (Charlotte Rampling), Miss Lucy (Hawkins) and Madame (Nathalie Richard). The stern guardians have elaborate rules for the children, who have been told terrifying tales about the great dangers that lurk beyond the school's boundaries.

The children also undergo the nightly ritual of scanning their identification bracelets into a digital device before heading to bed.

All believe they have a special purpose in life, and that's why they've been attending a special school. And all seem to accept their pre-ordained futures.

As in the book, the three transfer to some post-school "cottages" in preparation for their adult lives. They take tentative steps toward contact with the outside world, and the most touching scene comes when Kathy, Ruth and Tommy join another couple in a trip to a neighboring town, where they dine at a restaurant. They've never ordered off a menu, and they don't know how.

As in the book, the three eventually split, as Kathy becomes a "carer," and Ruth and Tommy become "donors." Their emotional connections run throughout the movie, however, with Kathy's narration providing context for the events to come.

And that's where "Never Let Me Go" takes a big turn south. It goes where the book didn't. It shows procedures that were best left unexplored. And it descends into a long, depressing tale about three people who desperately want to be loved.In the end, we begin to understand that all three characters do indeed share great bonds - and that all of them are willing to make sacrifices for one another.

We're also asked to understand that these adults, with their isolated upbringing, have no thoughts of rebellion. It's an odd notion for American audiences, and no amount of critical acclaim - or artistic aspirations - will dispel the overriding atmosphere of passivity that's bound to irritate.

Ishiguro's achievement in the novel revolved around tone - the calibrated acceptance of feelings and fate, as expressed through the words of Kathy.

The movie, which skews much more heavily toward the love triangle of Kathy, Ruth and Tommy and less on the underlying social commentary, does not match that tone. The only character who seems to struggle with his fate is Tommy, who is imbued with nuance and yearning by the brilliant Garfield.

But a movie about love requires a bigger dose of hope than Tommy can provide. There's simply too much pain in "Never Let Me Go."

'Never Let Me Go'

Our grade: C+

Genres: Science Fiction, Drama

Running Time: 104 min

MPAA rating: R