'Never Let Me Go' trailer (Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan)

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 6/16/10 at 3:15pm

I can't wait to see this film.
trailer

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/16/10 at 3:38pm

Amazing novel, but I don't know if I could handle seeing it on film. For what it's worth, that trailer looks exactly the way I pictured the setting and characters.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 6/16/10 at 3:54pm

The book has been on my reading list for AGES!

[scott68]

Posted: 6/16/10 at 4:55pm

I'm so excited for this. I just read the novel a few months ago, and it's still my favorite book I've read in a long time. I was a little skeptical about seeing it onscreen, but the casting seems pitch-perfect and the preview has me totally on board.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/16/10 at 4:58pm

It's probably best to have some idea of the story before reading the book or seeing the film. I knew nothing about the novel before I read it and I was quite shaken by its reveal. It's a tragically beautiful work.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 9/4/10 at 12:58pm

"Sometimes an artist’s instrument is so sharp that many of the viewers will not feel the incision, either on the surface nor in its unusual depth. Such is what you’ll find in Mark Romanek’s new film, Never Let Me Go.

The story sounds like genre, but it is uninterested in the elements that drive genre. It is not only a deconstruction; it seeks to find the true universality in what, in the past, has been a very specific, gimmicky idea. And it succeeds without reserve."

(If you don't know what the premise of this movie is, and you don't want to know before you see it, don't read the rest of this review.)
http://moviecitynews.com/2010/09/review-never-let-me-go/

[canmark]

Posted: 9/4/10 at 9:42pm

Review in Variety (with spoilers): http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_review&reviewid=VE1117943426&categoryid=31

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 9/5/10 at 3:17pm

I love Keira Knightley and I am glad she's doing a film that does not take place in the OLD DAYS of England. She was amazing in "Pride and Prejudice" and "The Duchess" but some people say that she's not a diverse actress and she plays the same kind of roles. Even her character in "Pirates of the Caribbean" was also someone who would wear corsettes. It's nice to see her do something different.
Updated On: 9/5/10 at 03:17 PM

[Roscoe]

Posted: 9/5/10 at 7:06pm

The novel is really something, beautiful and moving and actually haunting. The trailer looks interesting, it looks like they've gone to some lengths to keep the tone of the novel intact. I'm looking forward to seeing this.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 5:57pm

It's playing in limited release now in New York, Chicago, L.A., and a few other places. Anyone check it out yet?

[Roscoe]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 6:19pm

Saw the film and liked it a good deal. Impeccably acted by the three leads, and basically by everyone. I can't blame people who find it moves too slowly, but this is not an action film, or a genre movie in the way that we've come to expect them. The film moves at its own slow pace, allowing the relationships between the characters and their relationship to the world they live in to grow and grow in intensity. If you're paying attention and feeling anything at all for the people onscreen, I don't see how it is possible to come away unmoved.

I'd never seen Ms. Mulligan before, and am putting AN EDUCATION at the top of my netflix queue. Ms. Knightley does some of her best work here, too.

A shame this is probably going to get lost in the movie shuffle this year. Mss. Mulligan and Knightley are deserving of, at the very least, serious award consideration.

[canmark]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 7:52pm

I've seen this twice now--at the Toronto film festival and at the regular theatres, and really like it. Haven't read the book, so the experience was different the first time (when I wasn't aware of the special world of the story) and the second time (when I could understand the meaning and implications of what characters were saying and doing--things which are slightly mysterious to someone who doesn't know the story).

Beautiful film to look at. Well written, well acted. Thoughtful. Contemplative. Sombre. Moving. I did not find it depressing, as some do (a young woman in the theatre behind me was literally bawling at the end of the film, claiming it was "so depressing"). I think it's sad, perhaps, but as Kathy H. (Carey Mulligan) says near the end (SLIGHT SPOILER), "We all complete." So true. And therefore, not depressing at all. We must make the most of our lives for whatever time we have. And love and life and sacrifice and duty and missed opportunities are all just a part of life.

I really don't know why "Never Let Me Go" is not getting more mention as an Oscar nominee for Best Picture (esp. with the expanded 10 nominees). I think it's better than Black Swan or The Social Network or Inception, for example, and right there with The King's Speech and my personal favorite of the season so far, 127 Hours.

Don't read too many reviews if you are planning to see the film. (Example, Roger Ebert, who has read the book, gives away way too much info in his 4 star review of NLMG.) Trust me, it's good. It's best not to know too much going in. Savor the beauty and the sadness of life, as revealed in the film.

Updated On: 10/5/10 at 07:52 PM

[Jon]

Posted: 10/6/10 at 11:31am

I'm afraid to click on the link, for fear I'll get Rick Astley singing "Never Gonna Let You Go."

[JudasIscariot]

Posted: 10/6/10 at 11:51am

I saw it a few nights ago and honestly it didn't do anything for me. I've never read the books, but I thought that the plot was very muddled and that the movie have an incredibly weak screenplay. I though that the movie was visually very nice to look at, and that Carey Mulligan gave one hell of a performance, but it wasn't enough to save an otherwise boring movie. I was expecting much more from Andrew Garfield, but to be honest I didn't think his role was all that well written, and the same goes for Keira Knightly.

I really really wanted to like it, but by the end I was left very unimpressed which is a real shame because it did have so much potential and the trailer looked amazing.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 6/22/11 at 8:07pm

I finally saw this film. It definitely was unfairly under the radar during awards season.

Mulligan and Knightley (albeit in a smaller role) were fantastic and I loved all three of the Hailsham-period child actors. I am not really an Andrew Garfield fan, and for me his Tommy was in the same vein of character in a few roles I have seen him in other films. Charlotte Rampling was quite startling in the iciness she conveyed, especially in her final scene of the film.

I actually thought the script was strong. The loose ends fall on the fact it is Kathy's POV. She doesn't know the reasons for why Ruth initially went for Tommy and didn't think much to why Tommy accepted Ruth. To me the reasons why those questions were not answered or considered made sense based on who told the story. Alex Garland is a strong writer, and frequent Danny Boyle collaborator. Him and Romanek (who should continue making feature films) make quite a pair. Beautifully shot and told with just right amount of pace and structure.

I thought Garland and Mark Romanek nailed the docile nature these people were placed into with little empathy or question from outsiders of just how terrible it is (clearly it was reasoned in this world as humane for the receivers). It is what makes it all the more devastating from the deferral scene to the final scene. This is actually one of the better dystopian films I have seen and this is coming from somebody who is an admitted sucker for that genre. Now I really want to check the book out.
Updated On: 6/22/11 at 08:07 PM

[AC126748]

Posted: 6/22/11 at 9:39pm

I've seen the film about five times now (I teach the novel, and sometimes show the film in my class) and I think it's absolutely perfect. One of the best adaptations I've ever seen. I'm vaguely acquainted with one of the film's producers, and he told me that Kazou Ishiguro told him that he couldn't imagine his work being done better justice on film.

[tazber]

Posted: 6/22/11 at 11:39pm

I loved it, thought the 3 actors were outstanding, and greatly admired the cinematography.

But what a bleak tale. Of course that's the point, but it depressed the hell out of me for three days.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 6/23/11 at 10:11am

I read the book, but it was so depressing in some ways that I could not bring myself to see the movie.

For some reason, the whole concept just devastated me.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/23/11 at 10:20am

I saw it quite a while ago and remember leaving and feeling that I was missing something from it. Just like there was this one piece missing and I couldn't put my finger on what it was but that one thing kept me from truly loving it.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/24/11 at 10:34am

I finally reached a place where I could sit down and watch the film and it was EXACTLY how I imagined it from reading the book. It's a shame it was forgotten during awards season as it was worthy of so many nominations: direction, cinematography, performances, and screenplay. The only negative I can find is that perhaps it may seem somewhat incomplete if you haven't read the novel. Like strummergirl mentioned, it was all about the POV which is obviously more easy to express in a novel than on the screen without too much intrusion of voice-over narration.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 6/24/11 at 11:49am

I watched it last night. Big mistake when I was already in a bit of an down mood. It certainly did nothing to lift it. I can't say I loved it, but it was haunting.

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/24/11 at 1:05pm

Jon, Rick Astley's song is "Never Gonna Give You Up".

[tazber]

Posted: 6/24/11 at 1:15pm

Btw, did anyone else love the song "Never Let Me Go"? I bought it from itunes after seeing the movie.