Release Dates: 14/09/2010 (US) - 13/10/2010 (European premiere, opening London Film Fesitval) - 21/01/2011 (UK)

Staring: Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley, Sally Hawkins and Charlotte Rampling.

Director: Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo)

Writer: Alex Garland (Sunshine, 28 Days Later and author of 'The Beach)

Plot:

Three friends grow up together in a boarding school, until they learn that they are clones, bred specifically for organ donation, and with a very finite shelf life.

(The plot spells out the sci-fi element of the story, so I have put it in spoilers)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/25/Never_Let_Me_Go.jpg

 

The trailer for the film has just been released. It is based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro, which has been labelled one of the best books of the decade, and is already being taught in A-Level English Literature clases, similarly to Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner. It tells the tale of three friends; Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Tommy (Andrew Garfield) and Ruth (Keira Knightley) who are pupils at an idyllic English boarding school called Hailsham. Seperated from the outside world and with no apparant family, they are repeatedly told by their teacher (Sally Hawkins) and headmistress (Charlotte Rampling) that they are 'special' and seem destined for a short life and untimely death after a series of 'donations'. Unless, they can prove that they have fallen in love.

 

It seems to be an early frontrunner come Oscar season, and it's not surprising considering the themes it deals with and the talent working on it; (it is directed by the same person who directed the rather brilliant 2002 psychological thriller, One Hour Photo, and written by the person who wrote the screenplay for the gem of a movie Sunshine. If you haven't seen either, they are both worth checking out).

 

Here is an Empire Online article about the film and the trailer http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=28137

 

And the trailer itself:

 

Edited September 15, 201014 yr by Daniel II

Thanks, this looks like it could be good. Will keep an eye out for it.

Thanks, this looks like it could be good. Will keep an eye out for it.

No problem, I've brought the book and I've read the first part, and it is already one of the most beautifully written and touching books I've ever read. No wonder it's being taught for literature, it's structurally magnificent. It's definitely worth a read if you get the chance and has got me even more excited for the movie.

Edited June 25, 201015 yr by Daniel Gleek

I've never heard of this before (book or film), but it sounds amazing, definite must see :)

I've just finished the book, the ending is absolutely heartbreaking :snif: easily one of the best books I've ever read.

 

Interestingly, the script was written back in 2008, and according to wiki "appeared on the 2008 Brit List, a film-industry-compiled list of the best unproduced screenplays in British film." I've requested on another forum for a copy of the script, so I can give it a read, and if I get it, and anyone is interested, I will pass it along.

 

Also I've found a very positive review from an early test screening of the film.

 

"Sherman Oaks, CA.

Arclight.

Test Screening of Mark Romanek's new film, the screen adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel "Never Let Me Go.

 

As someone who has always enjoyed Romanek's work I was very much looking forward to his latest film, not to mention it's been seven years since "One Hour Photo."

The film was also adapted for the screen by Alex Garland (a fine novelist in his own right) and produced by Andrew Macdonald (DNA Films).

 

Going in, I only knew that the novel dealt with

clones.

 

 

For some reason

clones

and Romanek's vision conjured up some whacked version of "I-Robot" (maybe it's from seeing Romanek's Michael Jackson "Scream" video as of late). Fortunately "Never Let Me Go" is more in the vein of Alfonso Cuaron's "Children of Men" meets a Merchant/Ivory film with romantic hints of Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner."

Garland has adapted Ishiguro's story into a very fine dramatic, disturbing, sci-fi, tragic-love story while Romanek's direction cements those elements with a very mature eye.

 

I wasn't sure what I thought about this film while I was watching it.

Didn't exactly love it and sure as hell didn't hate it.

However, now that I've had some time to have it simmer around in my head for a bit, my feeling for "Never Let Me Go" leans heavily to very enthusiastic.

It's nice to see a filmmaker mature in front of your very eyes and Romanek, as well as Garland, has certainly made gains (like any good, growing artist does).

 

All the performances (from the young actors to the older actors) in the film are well rounded and Carey Mulligan as Kathy has a face that you can sink into and when the tragic love story comes to a head, you feel each and every tear that Kathy sheds.

She deservedly earns the attention that is currently surrounding her career.

Keira Knightley does a fine job as Ruth in a supporting part that gives her moments to flex her acting chops while integrating her beauty into the role.

Andrew Garfield (a newcomer to stateside eyes, although great in the UK indie "Boy-A") gives Tommy an understated depth only to have it explode when he learns that

deferring the donations is impossible.

 

 

The film's settings (all of which Romanek and the DP use fittingly) especially the "Cottages" is sure to remind viewers of "Children of Men" as well as some of the technology weaved into a not-too-distant bleak tomorrow. Whereas the

inevitable doomed

love story between Kathy and Tommy echoes the relationship shared between Deckard and Rachael in "Blade Runner."

 

On first viewing the film, I wasn't sure about the tone and pace but upon thinking about it more and seeing how the film plays out, the slow intentions seem to pay off and will seemingly work even better on a second viewing -- which I think the whole film will also play better during.

 

Also of note, it was announced the music was a temp score, but I wouldn't mind if they kept some essence of it as it seem to fit fine.

 

It will be interesting to see how an audience will react to this film.

To be honest, I haven't felt like I did walking out of the theater since seeing P.T. Anderson's "There Will Be Blood."

 

I can't help but think it will polarize audiences; there will be those who love it and those who will absolutely despise it.

 

It's a film that doesn't spell everything out and asks the audience to listen and be patient for what ends up being a story that will make you question your own fate.

 

Hat's off to Romanek and company for making a subtle, disturbing, tragic, and beautiful film."

Edited June 28, 201015 yr by Daniel Gleek

I hadn't heard about this film, until reading this thread. But since reading the plot, and watching the trailer, I feel like I have to watch the film. It sounds/looks so beautiful, and the acting looks sensational. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing this.

This looks amazing, I'm just ordering the book off of Amazon, which I suppose will help me with A-Level English next year :P?

 

But yeah, I guess this is the awards' front-runner so far?

This looks amazing, I'm just ordering the book off of Amazon, which I suppose will help me with A-Level English next year :P?

 

But yeah, I guess this is the awards' front-runner so far?

Trust me, it will be so worth it, and it will all depend on what your English department choose for you to study. I mentioned it as I thought it was a big deal, considering it was only written in 2005, and reminded me of how The Kite Runner, which was also written around the time, is being selected for study. You may even get Ishiguro's other novel, Remains of the Day :P

 

For anyone who is interested here is a short, insightful clip of Ishiguro talking about the novel:

 

 

And a lovely book trailer I found, that manages to sum a lot of the issues the book brings up, set to some lovely pictures and Sara Bareillie and Ingrid Michaelson's Winter Song.

 

 

Both of these clips contain mild spoilers.

Edited June 29, 201015 yr by Daniel Gleek

Director Spike Jonze has seen early footage of the film, and said it made him cry.

 

"It seems like this film is amazingly under the radar right now. But when I was in England, our good friend Mark Romanek was filming a movie adapted from the book of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro and I got to visit him on the set and sneak into his edit room on a weekend and see some of it. I don’t know what I can and cant say about it but I love the story. Even just a few scenes he showed me on their own were really moving. The combination of a science fiction film handled very subtly and naturalistically that also made me cry and is beautifully photographed (Adam Kimmel) is a trifecta. Congrats Mark!! We will post more as we can. Here is a shot stolen from the edit room that gives some sense of the look of the film and Mark at lunch on weekend. We had insane Japanese food at a place called Roca on Charlotte street."

 

Source: http://theplaylist.blogspot.com/2009/11/ea...e-go-makes.html

 

edit: I can't stop listening to the piece of music they used in the trailer, Peter Vronsky's Reprise, which was taken from The Door in the Floor soundtrack, so beautiful :wub:

 

Edited July 15, 201015 yr by Daniel Gleek

The whole of part 3 in the book is just so heartbreaking :cry:

 

 

I've read the book, the book is amazing, can't wait to see the film.

The casting also looks amazing in this; Carey Mulligan should be absolutely perfect to play Kathy and Keira Knightley is exactly who I'd've imagined would play Ruth.

Edited July 22, 201014 yr by nickthenoodle

Nice to see you've read it too Mikey, and that you liked to, have you read Remains of the Day?

 

The whole of part 3 in the book is just so heartbreaking :cry:

The casting also looks amazing in this; Carey Mulligan should be absolutely perfect to play Kathy and Keira Knightley is exactly who I'd've imagined would play Ruth.

I heard people were hesitant about Knightley being cast as Ruth, but to be honest, it is a pefect fit. She play a similar-ish character in The Hole as well. Mulligan is spot on casting, she has the look and the type of personality that really suits Kathy. And I know how you feel, it was so utterly tragic.

The whole meeting was so well written, as it slowly dawns on you just how screwed they are, after spending the second part convincing you there is hope. Also the whole conversation with Madame about how she saw Kathy dancing with the doll and what it made her think of, and through it discovering the meaning behind the title, made me shed tears. Especially the following drive home, when they hug eachother, and the whole metaphor of Kathy and Tommy standing in a river, holding onto eachother even though they know that they will soon have to let go. The ending itself however made me cry buckets, the way they just part, the Norfolk/finding what was lost motif coming back with Kathy getting out of her car to see if Tommy would walk towards her through that field, and the whole idea of them just rolling over and accepting their fate.

:(

 

Anywayz, more news! Never Let Me Go currently has a headline article about it on both Digital Spy and Empire Online. Exciting! There is some good news: the film has been chosen to open The 54th BFI London Film Festival on October 13th which will be its European premiere. Last year, Oscar nominated animation Fantastic Mr Fox opened the prestigious event. This should hopefully generate a bit more hype and attention, which bodes well for finanical and critical success. The release date has also been brought forward in the US to September 15. Now for the bad news: Despite director Mark Romanek suggesting on twitter it will be released around the same time in Europe as America, the release date has been pushed back by over a whopping three months from early October time to January 14, 2011 (at least we have now got an offical release date, and if it gets attention during the awards season, it could mean a successful marketing campaign with "Nominated for..." splattered all over the posters). So make sure to mark that date in the your diaries peeps.

 

Here is a statement from director Mark Romanek.

 

"I think I can speak for the entire cast and crew when I say that we are deeply honoured and excited to have been selected to open this year's festival, for me personally, it seems the perfect way to celebrate the conclusion of an incredible filmmaking experience in the UK."

 

Here is a statement from the festival's artistic director, Sandra Hebron:

 

"'It is a great pleasure to be able to open the festival with a film as accomplished and imaginative as Never Let Me Go. It combines impeccable filmmaking, outstanding performances and a deeply moving story, and I couldn't wish for a stronger or more appropriate opening night."

 

The full festival line up will be announced on September 8 and will run from October 13 to October 28.

 

Source: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/news/a2...m-festival.html

 

Alternatively, check out this article from Empire http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=28562

Edited September 15, 201014 yr by Daniel II

Here is the second, UK trailer for Never Let Me Go. Subtle it ain't: they overuse Kathy's monologue to explain a lot of the plot points that I think should have been left unexplained, and I'm still unsure if I like the inclusion of Muse's Resistance towards the end; it's so jam packed full of information for the viewer to digest it misses a lot of the emotional beats the first trailer had. To be fair though, the premise is relatively complex, so I can understand why they are trying to drive the story home, as not to alienate people who are not already aware of the book, and it's still great to see some more footage. According to an article in The Independent, the films manages to buck the trend of a lot of the other movies in the last few decades to be adapted from the works of the "young british authors of 83' (YBN)" novelists to be actually pretty darn good: a la Atonement. It has receieved highly positive early reviews and is being called "a thing of rare beauty" and "British cinema at its best".

 

Here is the second UK trailer.

 

 

And three posters, each featuring one of the three main characters, and each containing one word or phrase from the title. They were released back in August, and have been in my sig for a while, but here they are in their full, melancholy glory.

 

 

http://www.empireonline.com/images/image_index/hw800/43998.jpg

 

http://www.empireonline.com/images/image_index/hw800/43999.jpg

 

http://www.empireonline.com/images/image_index/hw800/44000.jpg

 

Here is the article from the Independent titled, "Have you read any good films lately?" which is in reponse to Never Let Me Go, exploring why films adapted from the works of the golden generation of young British novelists, such as Kazuo Ishiguro (Remains of the Day) and Ian McEwan (Atonement) are rarely ever good, and why the authors tend to be overlooked, as they fall under the shadow of the mighty film adaption. It's definitely worth a read. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertai...ly-2062955.html

 

Empire's article on the second trailer: http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=28899

 

Edit: Also release date has been pushed back again to 21st January 2011: all the better to fully capitalise on award season hype perhaps?

Edited September 14, 201014 yr by Daniel II

Oh wow, this is interesting. Keira is one of my fav. actresses. I think I'm going to read the book first

Official Poster/One Sheet

http://www.filmofilia.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/never-let-me-go-poster-535x790.jpg

:wub:

Edited September 22, 201014 yr by Daniel II

Never Let Me Go currently had a 7.3 ranking on IMDB, which is decent, although the real test is when it goes on wide release in America on 8th October. It also has 63% on Rotten Tomatoes (48 good, 28 bad).

 

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/never_let_me_go_2010/

 

Press conference at the Toronto Film Festival with Carey Mulligan (Kathy H), Mark Romanek (Director), Alex Garland (Screenwriter), Kazuo Ishiguro (Novelist) and the producers.

 

http://media.tiff.net:8080/player.aspx?vid...ss-Conferen.flv

 

Eight Clips From The Film: "Experience", "Hailsham", "Questioning", "Possible", "The Truth", "Kitchen", "Madame" and "Doesn't See You That Way".

 

http://www.mattsmoviereviews.net/trailers%...%20me%20go.html

Edited September 30, 201014 yr by Daniel II

So, I just watched this. I can definitely understand why it polarized audiences in America, the reaction has been somewhat underwhelming. However, I loved it. The entire film was heartbreaking.

 

 

Ruth on the hospital bed, eyes wide open... So sad. They really built up a false sense of hope with Tommy and Kathy too. Sob. One thing I didn't understand in the book, and the film - why didn't they just runaway?

 

Edited December 11, 201014 yr by ▲▲▲