Never Let Me Go (2010 film)

A medical breakthrough in the 1950s has, by the late 1960s, extended human lifespan beyond 100 years. In 1978, the young Kathy H, along with her friends Tommy D and Ruth C, spent their childhood at Hailsham, a traditional boarding school. The teachers, called guardians, encourage students to be health-conscious and create artwork, the best of which is accepted into The Gallery run by the mysterious Madame. They have little contact with the world beyond the school fences. Miss Lucy, a new guardian, tells her class they exist to be organ donors and are destined to die, or complete, early in their adulthoods; she is fired by the headmistress, Miss Emily. Kathy grows attracted to Tommy, but Ruth wins him for herself despite having teased him. Seven years later, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy, now young adults, are rehoused in the Cottages on a farm. They are allowed to drive on day trips, but remain reclusive, lacking social skills and resigned to their fate. They meet others from similar schools who claim that Hailsham students are privileged, and it is revealed that they are all clones. They discuss rumours of organ donations deferrals that might be granted to clones in love, and the nature of the people they were cloned from, whom they unsuccessfully search for in books and out at the seaside. Tommy, still partnered with Ruth, is convinced that The Gallery serves as verification for deferrals since artwork reveals the soul, and he laments his lack of creativity. Ruth spites a lonely Kathy, claiming that Tommy never thought of her as more than a friend. Kathy leaves, enlisting as a post-operative carer for fellow clones. Nine years on, Kathy has watched many donors gradually die as their organs are harvested. Having not seen Ruth or Tommy since she left the Cottages, she comes across Ruth, frail after two donations. They seek out Tommy to make a nostalgic seaside trip. Ruth reveals that she only seduced Tommy because she was afraid to be alone; she is consumed with guilt and wishes to help Tommy and Kathy seek a deferral. She leaves them with the address of Madame, whom she believes has the power to help them, and later dies on the operating table. Kathy and Tommy enter a relationship, and Tommy explains to Kathy, now his carer, that he has been creating artwork in the hope of earning their deferral. The couple bring it to Madame, but she remains distant, and invites Miss Emily to speak. They reveal that deferrals are indeed a myth, and that the gallery was created to affirm the basic humanity of clones as an appeal for their ethical treatment. Hailsham, now shut down, was the last institution to value young clones as "all but human". Kathy and Tommy leave in silence, but Tommy explodes with grief and anger mid-journey, as he used to as a child. Tommy dies on his fourth donation, leaving Kathy alone as hers begin. Contemplating the ruins of her childhood, she questions in voice-over how different her life has been from that of normal people. ==Cast==

Director Mark Romanek has highlighted that everyone must clarify a relationship with their own mortality: either go against it or find a way around it, as the character Tommy does, the clones' acquiescence echoing aspects of original author Ishiguro's British Japanese background. He said that it could remind people that every morning they can choose whether to pursue their own activities, or do what they should do, or do what they are obliged to do. ==Production==

Development Alex Garland, a long-time friend of Ishiguro, asked the author for the rights to the novel before he had finished reading it. Before the novel was published in 2005, Garland had already written a script for a possible film. He gave the screenplay to two producers, Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich, and development started at that moment. "We are delighted to be shooting this special project, which Alex Garland first brought to us before the book's publication in 2005." The movie was made into a dystopian drama. Romanek was glad to get the opportunity to shoot this film: "From the moment I finished [reading] the novel, it became my dream to film it. Ishiguro's conception is so daring, so eerie and beautiful. Alex Garland's adaptation is sensitive and precise. The cast is perfect, the crew superb." The Seattle Times observed that the project was "something of a departure" for the novelist, noting that it merges Ishiguro's signature "elegant prose with a decidedly science-fiction theme". Garland, who has explored science fiction themes in his previous work, was a sounding board for ideas for the novel and an early reader of the book. Ishiguro stated that, despite Garland's screenwriting skills and previous experience with film, they did not discuss the idea of a film until after the novel was complete. Casting Carey Mulligan plays the narrator, Kathy, an introverted, observant character who projects both innocence and knowingness and who over the course of the story develops from a passionate, optimistic child to a wise and accepting young woman. The young actress said that she could not "bear the idea of anyone else" portraying Kathy, although she acknowledged that she thought other people would be able to do a better performance. Andrew Garfield was cast as Tommy, a well-meaning, rather dim young person who struggles to find a place in an environment which values imagination and creativity above all. He said of his character, "There's a sense of anxiety that runs through these kids, especially Tommy, because he's so sensory and feeling and animalistic, that's my perspective of him." Garfield was attracted to the film based on its existential questions. Garfield enjoys an opportunity to let loose with his roles. He said the scenes in which his character—unable to contain his frustration—erupts with a wail, was "intense" for him. "I think those screams are inside all of us, I just got a chance to let mine out". Knightley admitted that she only agreed to appear in Never Let Me Go because her friend Mulligan had asked her to. She portrays Ruth, a zealous, ambitious character who behaves manipulatively out of inner insecurity. When asked what she did and did not have in common with her character, Knightley said she was unable to relate to Ruth's situation of being involved in a love triangle. Sally Hawkins, who co-starred with Mulligan in An Education, had a supporting role as Miss Lucy, a teacher at an isolated English boarding school where the students slowly become aware that they are feared by people in the outside world. Charlotte Rampling portrays Miss Emily, a schoolmaster who presides over the orphanage at Hailsham. Richard was cast as the administrator, known as Madame, who is conducting a project to analyse the students' characters and psychologies, which has been compared to treating them as if they were subjects in an experiment. and the film was shot by English company DNA Films. A location on Hill Road In Clevedon was used, and a shop was converted into a travel agency. They also filmed on the beach and the Victorian pier in Clevedon. The pier is featured on the film poster and the cover of the rereleased book. A large property on the Bexhill-on-Sea seafront was used on 12 and 13 May 2009 to act as the exterior for the residence of Madame, where Tommy and Kathy go to apply for a deferral. Andrew Melville Hall in the University of St. Andrews was the setting for the Dover Recovery Centre. Nearly thirty film extras, film producers and location scouts had to wait several hours for the sun to set so they could film the scenes there. Chiswick Town Hall, a dark building in London, was also used as a shooting location. The scenes where the Hailsham assemblies were held was filmed at Forest School in Snaresbrook in May 2009. Ham House, Richmond, was used for filming mostly exterior scenes at Hailsham School and a couple of interior scenes. Romanek described working with child actors and "knowing that the first act of the film was going to have to be carried by 12-year-olds" as probably the most difficult aspect of making the film. He said that most of the rehearsal schedule was devoted to ensuring that the first act would be good. When accessing the very deep emotions called for by her character, Mulligan stated, "I really took my cue from the book". She noted that her role did not require her to have much to say because Kathy was more of an observer throughout most of the film. She recalled that "every time I was in a scene where I wasn't quite sure where I was going with it, I would go to the book and read through the lines because she's unreliable, in that much of the time she's not being truly honest with herself or the audience." She said that her friendship with Knightley made their scenes together easier because they would both regard each other's comments helpful and would not feel "insulted or hurt" in discussion. Portman employed a smaller orchestra consisting of 48 players, and used instruments such as piano, strings and harp, with solos for violin and cello, and recorded the score within four months. ==Promotion and release==

In July 2010 Never Let Me Go was screened to film critics, who gave it generally positive reviews, with The Daily Telegraph calling the film's three leads "brilliant". Never Let Me Go premièred at the 37th annual Telluride Film Festival, presented by the National Film Preserve. The festival began on 3 September 2010, running through Labor Day in the remote Colorado town. The Hollywood Reporter observed that the audience "seemed to respond positively to the film's look at what makes us human and what defines a soul." The film was in the 35th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) line-up during September 2010, with 300 other films. Never Let Me Go was originally expected to have its world premiere at the 2010 Venice Film Festival in September, but Fox replaced it with Black Swan. They favored the TIFF over Venice, but eventually settled on the Telluride Film Festival. In the same month, the film was screened during the 2010 Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. Never Let Me Go opened the 54th London Film Festival on 13 October 2010, the same day as its European release date. Never Let Me Go was the second film based on an Ishiguro novel to open the festival, after Merchant Ivory–Ismail Merchant's The Remains of the Day in 1993. Regarding the film's screening at the London Film Festival, Ishiguro said, "It is a fantastic privilege, I feel very lucky. To some extent it is a showcase for British talent and it's a tremendous honour". Describing Never Let Me Go as "accomplished and imaginative", Sandra Helborn, the London Film Festival Artistic Director, added that "It combines impeccable film making, outstanding performances, and a deeply moving story, and I couldn't wish for a stronger or more appropriate opening night". Six screenings of the film were held in the Little Theatre at Western Michigan University between 17–19 December 2010. Never Let Me Go was scheduled for a limited release for select cities in the United States on 1 October 2010, but the date was later moved up to 15 September. The film was released in the United Kingdom on 11 February 2011, and in France on 9 February 2011. To promote the film, Mulligan appeared at movie screenings, including at the Landmark Theatres and AMC Loews Lincoln Square. After the Telluride Film Festival, the Los Angeles Times called the film an "Oscar wild card". He believed its reviews were "likely to be split between those who consider the film a bleak masterpiece and others who find it straining so mightily for aesthetic perfection that it fails to provide a gripping narrative." The Globe and Mail called Never Let Me Go one of 2010's "big noise" films. In the United States, Never Let Me Go was released on DVD on 1 February 2011. By 6 February, it had sold 44,911 units (amounting to US$628,305 in consumer revenue) and was the 17th-best-selling DVD for that week. The DVD and Blu-ray sales revenue stands at US$3,794,951. ==Reception==

Box office In its opening weekend in the United Kingdom, between 11–13 February 2011, it took ninth place at the box office. Playing on 265 screens, it took in an estimated £625,000, which the British press considered disappointing. In its second week its box-office revenue decreased by 45%, to £338,404. Never Let Me Go has made a total of US$9.90 million worldwide. In its opening weekend, the film made over US$111,700, averaging US$30,250 per theatre, taking 42nd place at the box office. Based on answers from film experts and executives for Fox Searchlight, there were five factors to why the film commercially disappointed: its timing, airing too early in the year when lighter summer fare is still popular; a novel that is particularly difficult to adapt; mixed reviews from critics; its depressing tone; and its lack of appeal to male viewers. Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". David Gritten of The Daily Telegraph saluted the film, applauding the production and the performances of its supporting cast. The Hollywood Reporter critic Jay A. Fernandez said that Never Let Me Go was an engaging film, but he thought that its overall impact was not as emotionally devastating as the book. and Eric Kohn from IndieWire praised Garland’s script and Kimmel’s photography. Chris Knight of the National Post wrote that the film was able to capture the wistfulness and the unpredictable tone of Ishiguro's novel, but added that it "spills the beans much sooner". Mark Jenkins of NPR called Never Let Me Go a "remarkably successful adaptation" of Ishiguro's book, but acknowledged that Romanek and Garland "do make a few missteps", which were mostly the result of the limitations imposed by turning the novel's contents into a film. Entertainment Weekly film critic Owen Gleiberman described the film as feeling like a "period piece" and rated it a C+. Reuterss Stephen Farber called the film a disappointment, because although it was "expertly acted, impeccably photographed, intelligently written" and "even intermittently touching", Never Let Me Go is "too parched and ponderous to connect with a large audience"; he said the film should have laid out more completely the logic of its parallel universe, such as the cloning process, and he thought the film had a "theme" of "the dangers of medical experimentation", which he found "rather tired". Slant writer Ed Gonzalez gave the film a two-out-of-four-star rating, saying the characters' actions do not feel "appropriately warped" while the interactions between the teachers and students is not "at all rife with the what-are-they-thinking-about-us mystery of the book". Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com wrote that Romanek "does so many difficult things beautifully in this movie". He thought the film carried a reminder that life is short regardless of how long it lasts rather than a "lecture about the horrors of human history". Tom Preston from The Guardian described Mulligan and Garfield's acting as solid, while commenting that Knightley's emotional performances are occasionally jarring. He said that although the film finely demonstrated subtlety, its screenplay could have been written with less compression in some parts. Writing in Newsweek, Louisa Thomas praised the film for its beauty and its performances but declared that "there's something just missing here." Marshall Fine of The Huffington Post noted that like the novel, the film is difficult to embrace. He said that the film does work on a "suspense level", due to Romanek's creating a "quiet, leisurely pace that would not be out of place in a yoga class". He stated that he "no doubt was aiming for an eerie, Children of the Damned vibe, except that it's the children who are damned". The writer concluded that Never Let Me Gos final result is a "staid, lifeless tale that never talks about what it's about, or at least not enough to provoke deep thoughts on the subject." Film critic Rex Roberts of Film Journal International thought the film was moderately surprising given Romanek and Garland's previous work, saying that they "show real affinity for the subtle shades of resignation and quiet desperation that characterize Isighuro's [sic] prose and, as would be expected, accentuate the unsettling eeriness that pervades Never Let Me Go". Roberts felt that Mulligan and Knightley were not convincing in portraying their ages until the last third of the movie. Christy Lemire stated that the film was a "gorgeous, provocative look at humanity" and observed that like its characters, the film "demands much of its audiences emotionally". She concluded that Never Let Me Go is worth the investment. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan thought that the film was "passionate about deliberation and restraint" and believed that the latter may not appeal to all audiences. Scott Bowles, writing for USA Today, gave the film a negative review, declaring "never was a movie so bleak and empty". He claimed that Never Let Me Go did not "embrace the book's unrelentingly dark tones", but rather wallowed in them. He commented that not even the cast's performance, particularly Garfield's, was enough to redeem the film. New York Times journalist Manohla Dargis said that the film presented "the aspect of a tasteful shocker" because its "cruelty is done so prettily and with such caution that the sting remains light". Accolades ==See also==