Never Let Me Go

Last of my Jet Airlines film experiences was 'Never Let Me Go'. I return to the UK to discover that it hasn't been released here yet, so I guess this is something of an exclusive preview for Friedgold - my first!

Never Let Me Go is an adaptation of a novel that re-imagines recent history as a world in which genetic science has advanced to a point that many terminal diseases can be cured, but only at a terrible ethical price. The film's three main protagonists are people bred specifically for the purpose of providing replacement parts for rich and unknown people somewhere else in society. We start the film in a private school where the children are being bred for this purpose, being indoctrinated to know their purpose and believe that what they're doing is part of the natural order. They act and behave like normal children, but under this polished veneer is a constant tension that they and their teachers are aware of their future as mere replacement parts.

Whereas Hollywood might have turned this into a slick action thriller, director Mark Romanek has used the setting of 1970s UK to generate a depressing, dark and grey feel. It's a feeling that permeates everything in the film; the dull clothing and retro appliances give the feel of a society that's slowly falling apart under the weight of scientific development gone awry. While a minority of the rich can afford to grow replacement human parts and live forever, the rest of the world stays grey and slips slowly back into Victorian times.

The three main actors are Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightly - all people who have felt the pull of the Hollywood pay cheque and so it's nice to see them tackle something a little more thoughtful. It's fashionable to bash Keira Knightly's acting I know, but there are moments in the film when I thought she was pushing her talents a little too far. One scene stands out to me - when she walks through some woods with Carey Mulligan and talks about her pain after a recent operation, I thought you could actually see her acting in that scene. Not a good sign. The child actors used to play the young versions for Mulligan, Garfield and Knightly are all very good - especially Izzy Meikle-Small, who is a dead ringer for Carey Mulligan.

As ever I do enjoy seeing a science fiction film in which the subject matter is tackled from the dystopian point of view that it demands. 'Never Let Me Go' is one such film. Always understated and firmly about characters and people, it's a story of rampant scientific advancement and its negative impact upon ordinary peoples' lives. And Carey Mulligan is awesome. Definitely my new favourite actress.

It's released here in Feb 2011 by the way.