What if your entire life was planned out for you? What if from the day you were born, you had no say in what your life would be like, if you could marry, or have children. What if you never even spent time dreaming about what you would be when you grow up because you knew from birth that someone else had not only decided these things for you, but had also determined how long you would live?
Never Let Me Go (2005), a novel by Japanese-born British author Kazuo Ishiguro, author of Remains of the Day paints a picture of an alternate reality in a dystopian England, and follows the lives of three students in a boarding school. I have read Ishiguro’s brilliant Never Let Me Go twice, and find that I loved it even more upon second reading. The book explores themes such as medical ethics, the definition of being human, what does it mean to have a soul, art, love, mortality and fate.
During a business trip to Los Angeles a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of getting to see the new film Never Let Me Go. The film is directed by Mark Romanek, who directed the sufficiently creepy film One Hour Photo, and is the video auteur responsible such videos as Johnny Cash’s poignant “Hurt” video, Jay-Z’s “99 Problems,” Michael Jackson’s “Scream” and Fiona Apple’s “Criminal.” I highly encourage you to take a look at Romanek’s website, were you can see Romanek’s past work for yourself. The film stars Cary Mulligan (An Education), Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean) and Andrew Garfield (Boy A, Red Riding and will star as the new Spider-Man).
I have to say that it is a safe bet that the film will definitely make my Top 10 list for the year. I do not want to talk a whole lot here in terms of the film’s plot, because I do not want to ruin it for people. Suffice to say that I talk a lot here about the translation of a film from the written page to the big screen. When it is done right, it can be magic. For me, this is one of those films that translates beautifully from the written work. They got it right on this one…and in a big way!
The film will begin to roll out into theaters in late September, and will continue opening across the United States through mid-October. In the meantime, I encourage you to read the novel from Kazuo Ishiguro. And watch the trailer for Never Let Me Go:
