Review of Never Let Me Go (2010) by Ryan H — 27 May 2012

NOTE: This is a movie that is better to see without knowing any of the story before going into it. This "review" contains much of the story.

Here's one of those films that just touched me at the core while watching. Perhaps because it had so many things I love in a story and it's told in a way that lets you really feel the characters before you know what's actually going on. Never Let Me Go starts in 1978 and seems to be a touching love story with kids at a boarding school. Everything seems normal until Miss Lucy tells her fourth grade class, which contains Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth, that normal kids don't know what they will be when they grow up, but these kids do. They won't grow up to be doctors or teachers, they will live until the are in their twenties, maybe thirties, then they will donate their vital organs until they are dead. How can this be so? They are real people. We have seen this! Tommy is a boy who needs to learn to control his anger, and Kathy has loved this boy enough to give him a chance and try to take care of him. He might not be liked by others because he can't do art and is bad at sports, but she cares about him as a person. Ruth sees the love between them and becomes jealous. She steals Tommy away from Kathy and we see in 1985 that they are still together. Oh, and Miss Lucy is fired for telling the kids the truth. She saw how human they were and couldn't stand them being lied to. The second part of 1985 shows Kathy trying to control her teenage hormones and also subdue her desire for Tommy. It's a beautiful love story at the core. There is another couple in the new place they go to called The Cabins, and they base their relationship on television. Ruth tries to do the same thing with Tommy. Kathy sees their relationship as fake the whole time, but Tommy isn't the type to act out anymore. I'm sure he's happy enough. Then they hear that they might have found Ruth's person she has been based on. When they go out with Rodney and Chrissie, Ruth asks Kathy to come along. She's nervous. This is also their first outing in the world. The ordering scene is quite funny. But here, Rodney says he hears people from Halisham have gotten an extension if they prove they are in love. This becomes the basis for the rest of the film. Kathy and Tommy have truly been in love since they were in the fourth grade. They begin to think that they were told to make art because it shows the depth of their soul and that way they can discover love. It's supposed to play as evidence they believe. In 1992, Ruth has given two donations already, and same for Tommy. Kathy hasn't yet because she's a carer. Kathy goes to see Ruth and she's weak. They decide to go on a trip and pick up Tommy. All together, Ruth comes clean and says she wants them to forgive her for screwing things up between them all their lives. But she has found Madame and if they find her they can get an application to live a few years longer. Everything here seems so genuine, and Mark Romanek and Alex Garland do a fantastic job of immersing the audience in this alternate history sci-fi world. They are careful to never call the ones like Ruth, Kathy, and Tommy people. They never say they die, these beings are only complete when their hearts stop beating. I guess what strikes me at the core is the question of what makes me a human? I know that's what they're asking. It's genuinely saying we have souls and there's something more to us that can't be explained through art or anything. Perhaps the best way to explain us is through love. Never Let Me Go is filled with strong performances, beautiful music, and top-notch cinematography. I was completely surprised, especially not knowing much before going into it.