Blu-Ray Review: Strong Acting Anchors Devastating ‘Never Let Me Go’

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CHICAGO – Three of the best young living actors turn Mark Romanek’s adaptation of the highly-acclaimed novel “Never Let Me Go” into one of the more lingering films of 2010, and now released on Blu-ray and DVD from Fox. You know how some films dissipate on the ride home, so much so that you barely remember the plot? The opposite are those movies that burrow their way into your memory and grow with time. “Never Let Me Go” is definitely one of those.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0

When I first saw “Never Let Me Go,” my issues with the film served as a form of denial as to what works about the experience. Yes, I still think that “NLMG” is a bit too mannered at times due to Romanek’s labored pacing but the three actors who bring Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy to life do so in a way that make these three of the most memorable characters of 2010. This is a work that was beloved by a select few critics but widely ignored by most. History will be kind to “Never Let Me Go.” It’s one of those films that I believe no one gave enough credit on its initial release.

Never Let Me Go was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on February 1st, 2011
Photo credit: Fox

The great Carey Mulligan (doing her best work since “An Education” and proving that her Oscar-nominated performance was no fluke) stars as Kathy, a quiet young woman who is introduced as someone who helps ushers others through what looks like a painful end to their lives. Romanek’s film than flashes back to Kathy and two of her classmates (Ruth and Tommy, played by Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield as adults) at a prestigious-looking school named Hailsham. It is there that we discover that these three are not like you and me. They have been sheltered from the world because they need to stay as pure as possible because they are to be used to organ donors before they’ve really begun to live.

What would you do when you realized that your time on Earth was purposefully numbered? Would you express your love for your old friend? Would you grab at whatever joy you can? Would you quietly accept your fate? Knightley, Mulligan, and Garfield do amazing work with this deep thematic material. They are stunningly good and all three should have been a bigger part of the year-end awards season conversation (as should have Rachel Portman’s lovely score and Adam Kimmel’s strong cinematography).

It’s always fascinating to me when I read about movies that everyone now knows, admires, and loves that were essentially ignored or even panned when they were first released. The reason is that I wonder what will be the equivalent films from our current era. If I had to pick one movie from 2010 that people will be surprised didn’t garner more acclaim on its initial release, it would be “Never Let Me Go.”

Once again, just as with “Never Let Me Go,” Fox got a little skimpy on the special features. It would be shameful if this is a continuing pattern of bare-bones releases for the company.

Special Features:
o The Secrets of Never Let Me Go
o Director Mark Romanek’s On-Set Photography
o Tommy’s Art
o National Donor Programme & Hailsham Campaign Graphics

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com