Highbrow science fiction is a perfectly legitimate approach to storytelling, but it sometimes misses the creative energy of the pulp approach. The new movie “Never Let Me Go” is an arty take on a plot that might’ve come from a scrappy little sci-fi magazine.
But it didn’t. The movie is based on a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, the acclaimed author of “The Remains of the Day” and other books. Perhaps the novel eloquently expressed its strong themes, but they feel embalmed in the movie.
The film takes place in an alternate-history version of 1978 England, where medical science has improved to the point where the average lifespan is 100 years.
We are in an isolated English boarding school, but Hailsham is unlike Harry Potter’s Hogwarts in significant ways. The students aren’t there to learn powers, but to be powerless. And they don’t return home in the summer, because Hailsham is their only home.
The purpose of this program is spelled out after 15 minutes or so by a troubled teacher (Sally Hawkins), and if you like to maintain spoilers, go ahead and skip this part. The Hailsham children are being raised solely as future organ donors; they exist to be harvested, which means that none of them will live past age 30.
This melancholy situation determines director Mark Romanek’s approach, which is drained of excitement or vivid color. The sense of impending doom is understandable, even though the main characters do not register strongly as personalities.
Maybe that’s intentional — these people weren’t raised as personalities. The point-of-view is provided by Kathy (Carey Mulligan, from “An Education”), who narrates the film from her position as a “carer,” someone who lives longer than most donors.
She pines for classmate Tommy (Andrew Garfield, “The Social Network”), whose attention has been stolen by the somewhat petty-minded Ruth (Keira Knightley). These three are transferred from Hailsham at a certain point, and learn a few things about the outside world — not that it matters much for them.
Mulligan is a gifted actress, but she spends most of this movie gazing tragically into the middle distance, while Garfield (who would make a great Anthony Perkins in some future biopic) comes alive in a touching scene in which he tries to prove his artistic abilities, in hopes of being exempted from the inevitable.
Keira Knightley offers the gutsiest portrait on screen; Ruth’s flaws make her the most recognizably human of the characters we meet in the picture.
And that is part of the point. Their furtive jealousies and curiosity make them human. Now if only the movie’s muted, perfectly composed style felt a little more human, too.
“Never Let Me Go” 2 ½ stars
An isolated English boarding school is the site for the sinister preparation of young people in this highbrow adaptation of a Kazuo Ishiguro novel. The sci-fi angle is poignant, and actors Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightley give it a go, but the film’s embalmed style doesn’t leave much room for connection.
Rated: R for subject matter
Showing: Guild 45th, Meridian
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