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Review: Never Let Me Go

A portrait of passivity
By BRETT MICHEL  |  September 24, 2010
2.0 2.0 Stars

 

Logan sure was on to something when he made his run in Michael Anderson's kitschy 1976 sci-fi classic. When you're condemned to death for reasons beyond your control, flight seems the way to go.

So it's puzzling to find that the three boarding-school graduates — Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Ruth (Keira Knightley), and Tommy (Andrew Garfield) — in Mark Romanek's dreamily photographed, oddly muted new movie are so accepting of their fates as organ "donors."

Kazuo Ishiguro likely explored their passivity in the novel (unread by me) on which this work of alternate history is based, but Alex Garland's screenplay never addresses the issue. What with the wealth of narration he's provided for Kathy, a "carer" for Ruth and Tommy until it's time for them to "donate," you wonder why he himself couldn't have donated more care to the inner lives of characters who remain dramatically lifeless.

Related: Review: Brothers, Review: Armored, Review: Irene in Time, More more >
  Topics: Reviews , Movies, Movie Reviews, Kazuo Ishiguro,  More more >
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