Never Let Me Go

For a film based on such a significant novel in English literature, Never Let Me Go didn’t really blow me away. It tells an emotional and important story, and it does so fairly well. There are plenty of moments where the film looks absolutely stunning—like the kind of scenes you’d want to frame if you were standing next to the cameraman. But honestly, that’s not enough. The rest of it felt more like a slog, weighed down by the overwhelming sense of gloom that radiates from the whole thing. (31/01/2011)

A retro intimate alternative to Michael Bay's The Island, but Without the monstrous budget, cool set pieces and train axles flying down the highway. Never Let Me Go is a slow, seemingly ordinary romantic film with an uncompromising dose of the raw reality of an alternate version of the present world where the basic rules of medicine and human life are, in some fundamental ways, constructed very differently. The sad violins work, the pensive glances into the sunsets also work and so do the inner monologues. A smart and aware film that drags a bit in the middle, but the final 20 minutes are a reliable wrap-up and a confirmation that this is something you won't soon forget. (02/08/2021)

Sad. An untraditional plot in a traditional form. Romanek has a firm director’s hand and the acting performances are excellent. Hope is the driving force behind the story of Never Let Me Go, even so, like real life, it is always swept aside by a world that doesn’t want to understand that compassion for others is something that cannot be created. You either got it or you don’t. (10/04/2011)

Never Let Me Go offers yet another in a series of alternative views of the future, in the negative sense of the word, a world in which humans are literally "grown" as organ donors for those who can afford it. As far as the premise is concerned, it is imaginative material, and the cast was also well chosen. However, I have to say that the film did not stick in my mind as much as I would have expected and any impressions actually evaporated a few days after the screening. In short, it's one of those films that has (judging by the awards) a perfect premise, but its atmosphere, mission or whatever is not easy to send across. (08/02/2016)

I know that I should focus on how little Kathy H is magically peeking at her special idol, on watching the perfect Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield's perfect portrayal of the innocent Tommy D, or Keira Knightley's typically convincing acting. But I just can't because there were simply too many questions that bothered me throughout the second half. And they weren't pleasant question marks that I could answer myself to complete half-exposed plot mysteries. Unfortunately, these were questions that mostly start with the words "For God's sake, why...?" Logic takes one blow after another, an instinct for self-preservation flips into forced and desperate efforts – and I just can't bear it. I don't know if the book tries to address these plotholes, but either way, the adaptation fails brutally. (04/11/2012)