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Cinebloke Gets An Early Look At Mark Romanek's NEVER LET ME GO!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
Merrick here...
Cinebloke sent in this look from a very early screening of NEVER LET ME GO.
This one's from director Mark Romanek (ONE HOUR PHOTO) and based on a book by Kazuo Ishiguro (available HERE
). The script's by Alex Garland (SUNSHINE, 28 DAYS LATER, the Neill Blomkamp HALO movie that never got made).
To the best of my knowledge, no final release date has been set for this film - so be aware than many changes could be made to the movie between the version seen by Cinebloke and the final release version.
BEWARE MAJOR SPOILERS!
Here's Cinebloke:
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).
The story? It's a bit difficult to explain but with the help of Wikipedia I've cobbled this together to help make it clear:
It begins with Kathy H. (Carey Mulligan) a young woman of 31, focusing at first on her childhood at an unusual boarding school and eventually her adult life. The story takes place in a dystopian Britain, in which human beings are cloned to provide donor organs for transplants. Kathy and her classmates have been created to be donors, though the adult Kathy is temporarily working as a "carer," someone who supports and comforts donors as they are made to give up their organs and, eventually, submit to death.
The first half of the film is set at Hailsham, a boarding school where the children are brought up and educated. The teachers there mysteriously encourage the students to produce various forms of art. The best works are chosen by the headmistress (the great Charlotte Rampling) and are said to be collected in a gallery.
Meanwhile, a new teacher (Sally Hawkins) has come to Hailsham and taken over Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth's class. As we see the children living and going to school at Halisham something on-the-whole seems just slightly off about the place. In one scene particular, while playing a game one of the kids hits a ball over the Hailsham gates and no one retrieves it, shortly thereafter the new teacher asks why; the children tell her that kids who have gone over the gates have been found in the woods beyond Hailsham with their hands and feet cut off.
In the meantime, Kathy becomes friends with Tommy and Ruth. Tommy is an isolated boy who has difficulty in relating to others and is often the target of bullies, while Ruth is an extrovert with strong opinions.
In what's possibly the most chilling scene of the film, the children are confronted by their new teacher who has seemingly been overcome and can no longer allow them to go on living a lie and must inform the children of their true lot in life, the stated above.
In this scene, the non-reaction of the children is eerie and the scene's nicely punctuated with a piece of paper being blown off the teachers desk and Tommy picking it up as if it's nothing or second-nature, the same reaction he has to learning his abrupt fate.
As time passes and the children grow, a relationship between Kathy and Tommy begins to develop. In one of the best scenes of the film Tommy buys a cassette at a type of school swap meet and gives it to Kathy. In the next scene we see Kathy listening to the song "Never Let Me Go" on the tape. It's a nice marriage of song, visual, and acting by the young Izzy Meikle-Small , as we see love taking flight. Yet, jealousy overcomes the pretty Ruth and she sways Tommy from Kathy.
Entering into their late teens, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy (now, Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, and Andrew Garfield) have finished their schooling and move to the "Cottages", residential complexes where they start to have contacts with the external world and they are relatively free to do what they want. A more sexual relationship develops between Ruth and Tommy, while Kathy lives amongst them. While at the Cottages, Ruth learns her original lives in the nearby town. The three travel into town to find the original only to be letdown when they find out this person is only someone who resembles Ruth. With their hopes fractured, the trio splits up and all go their separate ways.
As Kathy grows older she becomes a carer and runs back into Ruth, who at this time has given 2 donations. Kathy cares for Ruth and then, after Ruth "completes" (Ishiguro's evocative euphemism for death), Kathy takes care of Tommy. Before her death, Ruth expresses regret over coming between Kathy and Tommy, and urges them to pursue a relationship with one another, and to seek to defer their donations based on their love. Encouraged by Ruth's last wishes, Kathy and Tommy visit a teacher from Hailsham, where they also meet their old headmistress (Rampling) again. During this visit, they learn why artistic production had always been emphasized at Hailsham. They also learn that deferring their donations, a possibility rumoured among clones for many years, is impossible. The clones learn that Hailsham in general was an experiment, an effort to improve the conditions for clones and perhaps alter the attitudes of society, which prefers to view the clones merely as non-human sources of organs. As Kathy loses Tommy, she faces her own inevitable fate as a donor and her eventual "completion."
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.
(If you use this please refer to me as Cinebloke)
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).
The story? It's a bit difficult to explain but with the help of Wikipedia I've cobbled this together to help make it clear:
It begins with Kathy H. (Carey Mulligan) a young woman of 31, focusing at first on her childhood at an unusual boarding school and eventually her adult life. The story takes place in a dystopian Britain, in which human beings are cloned to provide donor organs for transplants. Kathy and her classmates have been created to be donors, though the adult Kathy is temporarily working as a "carer," someone who supports and comforts donors as they are made to give up their organs and, eventually, submit to death.
The first half of the film is set at Hailsham, a boarding school where the children are brought up and educated. The teachers there mysteriously encourage the students to produce various forms of art. The best works are chosen by the headmistress (the great Charlotte Rampling) and are said to be collected in a gallery.
Meanwhile, a new teacher (Sally Hawkins) has come to Hailsham and taken over Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth's class. As we see the children living and going to school at Halisham something on-the-whole seems just slightly off about the place. In one scene particular, while playing a game one of the kids hits a ball over the Hailsham gates and no one retrieves it, shortly thereafter the new teacher asks why; the children tell her that kids who have gone over the gates have been found in the woods beyond Hailsham with their hands and feet cut off.
In the meantime, Kathy becomes friends with Tommy and Ruth. Tommy is an isolated boy who has difficulty in relating to others and is often the target of bullies, while Ruth is an extrovert with strong opinions.
In what's possibly the most chilling scene of the film, the children are confronted by their new teacher who has seemingly been overcome and can no longer allow them to go on living a lie and must inform the children of their true lot in life, the stated above.
In this scene, the non-reaction of the children is eerie and the scene's nicely punctuated with a piece of paper being blown off the teachers desk and Tommy picking it up as if it's nothing or second-nature, the same reaction he has to learning his abrupt fate.
As time passes and the children grow, a relationship between Kathy and Tommy begins to develop. In one of the best scenes of the film Tommy buys a cassette at a type of school swap meet and gives it to Kathy. In the next scene we see Kathy listening to the song "Never Let Me Go" on the tape. It's a nice marriage of song, visual, and acting by the young Izzy Meikle-Small , as we see love taking flight. Yet, jealousy overcomes the pretty Ruth and she sways Tommy from Kathy.
Entering into their late teens, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy (now, Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, and Andrew Garfield) have finished their schooling and move to the "Cottages", residential complexes where they start to have contacts with the external world and they are relatively free to do what they want. A more sexual relationship develops between Ruth and Tommy, while Kathy lives amongst them. While at the Cottages, Ruth learns her original lives in the nearby town. The three travel into town to find the original only to be letdown when they find out this person is only someone who resembles Ruth. With their hopes fractured, the trio splits up and all go their separate ways.
As Kathy grows older she becomes a carer and runs back into Ruth, who at this time has given 2 donations. Kathy cares for Ruth and then, after Ruth "completes" (Ishiguro's evocative euphemism for death), Kathy takes care of Tommy. Before her death, Ruth expresses regret over coming between Kathy and Tommy, and urges them to pursue a relationship with one another, and to seek to defer their donations based on their love. Encouraged by Ruth's last wishes, Kathy and Tommy visit a teacher from Hailsham, where they also meet their old headmistress (Rampling) again. During this visit, they learn why artistic production had always been emphasized at Hailsham. They also learn that deferring their donations, a possibility rumoured among clones for many years, is impossible. The clones learn that Hailsham in general was an experiment, an effort to improve the conditions for clones and perhaps alter the attitudes of society, which prefers to view the clones merely as non-human sources of organs. As Kathy loses Tommy, she faces her own inevitable fate as a donor and her eventual "completion."
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.
(If you use this please refer to me as Cinebloke)
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+ Expand All
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Suckas
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This is a synopsis, not a review. I'd like to have some element of surprise going in. Sounds interesting though.
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Which is, you know, no bad thing.
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they're either a benefit or a hazard. if they're a benefit, it's not my problem.
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Is where this review should start. Just cut everything before out. That wasn't even a synopsis, it was a complete blow-by-blow, point-by-point of the movie. Why?
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Sign me up. No questions asked.
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But should I read the book? Anybody? I've actually had it for awhile, but it keeps getting bumped for other stuff.
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Sorry I was pretending to be Harry back when he left Wolfman. One Hour Photo sucked for the most part.
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Alex Garland brings you a ripoff of a Kurtzman/Orci movie that was a ripoff of a not-terribly-obscure 70s film. The Island actually got sued for this. This time it's based on a book, so it's ok. Garland, Kurtzman, Orci are all completely indistinguishable hacks.
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I just stole George Romero's trash cans off the curb. Ima sign my name on these and see who'll buy 'em.
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Her performance in Happy-go-Lucky was one of the best I've ever seen by an actor.
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Sep 24, 2009 1:12:28 PM CDT
Janet Jackson has been performing w/the SCREAM video
by zombieheathledger
playing behind her and dueting with MJ like Natalie Cole used to do with her late Father.
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More like "with the plagiarism of Wikipedia". The reviewer cut-n-pasted entire paragraphs from Wikipedia's synopsis of the novel.
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Sounds interesting. Color me interested.
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"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."
which equals $40 million total box office in the U.S. -
Sally Hawkins...Carey Mulligan...and Keira Knightly?
This is going to be beautiful, if nothing else. -
And all of a sudden I'm reading about test screenings? Romanek sure didn't waste any time.
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Sep 24, 2009 1:53:36 PM CDT
OK, so that's TWO spy reports on upcoming movies in 2 days
by yackbacker
AICN is delivering, people. Yes, this was a boring review of a potentially boring movie... but they haven't shot GREEN LANTERN yet so sit tight, ladies.
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Or the retarded girl who used to live across the street from me, take your pick. I'm constantly mystified that people call her hot.
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isn't a 'newcomer to stateside eyes' he was in Lions for Lambs!
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Sep 24, 2009 2:19:03 PM CDT
it was one of the best books I've read in recent years
by brotherbradshaw
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Sep 24, 2009 2:29:32 PM CDT
it was one of the best books I've read in recent years
by brotherbradshaw
The browser refreshed and I lost what I typed. Here goes.
It was a beautiful read. Look at wikipedia for the awards it was nominated for or won. I don't know why cineblok posted the entire synopsis of the story. Reading the synopsis doesn't do justice to the book. You start out with these kids in an innocent time and gradually fall in love with their story and all the while the horror of where this is going every so very gradually starts to slip in. I read a couple of his earlier works where he seemed to be trying to invoke wistful, surreal emotions but they don't deliver the way Never Let Me Go does. The book was a masterpiece. -
Yeah I know. Who wants to read that whole "review". Cinebloke lost me when he can't tell the difference between "robots" and clones. WTF! Yeah sounds like a better version of The Island. Everything sounds good til it turns out like shit.
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It was a good enough concept, but I thought the writing was boring and flat. It just seemed to go on and on, and it wasn't even very long. What can I say, it just didn't work for me. Your mileage may vary.
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Sorry, it wasn't good. And it is going to make a tiresome movie unless they punch up the script. A turgid, derivative and weirdly self important story. I really admire Ishiguro's work, but not this story. The way he hangs on the ugliness in the final third (and it is ugly) made for one of the most depressing reads in years. I wouldn't read much about it if you want to (try to) enjoy it, however you are going to figure out where it is going very early on.
It is strange because The Road, which was a very simple dystopian story patterned on a template with which we are all familiar was incredibly disturbing, moving and powerful. There is an adaptation I'm looking forward to seeing (though it looks like they have monkeyed with the script in ways I'd prefer they hadn't). -
Sep 24, 2009 3:16:01 PM CDT
SOUNDS DREARY + NO MULLIGAN/KNIGHTLY LESBO SEX = NO TICKET FOR M
by carlthormark1978
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Sep 24, 2009 3:22:40 PM CDT
Americans won't understand the characters and why they acquiesce
by phil connors
If it's faithful to the book, Americans can't and won't understand why the characters accept their existence, and reasons thereof, without a fight. There's a disturbing tone of quiet dread through out the book and I hope that the director captured it and not conform to test audiences expectations.
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Sep 24, 2009 3:45:13 PM CDT
DON'T FUCKING GENERALISE A WHOLE NATION
by christian_bale_trashed_my_lights
You earn ten points with me for using a word like "acquiesce"; possibly the first time it's ever been used on a Talkback.You lose one million points with generalising an entire fucking nation. Yes, there will be a large cinema-going audience that might not fathom certain aspects of the story but you can't bluntly state "an entire country won't understand this story!" because it means you're either xenophobic, a moron or possibly both.
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ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
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Since we're all about fighting and eating beef jerky over here.
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Sep 24, 2009 4:04:27 PM CDT
PEOPLE AT AICN ONLY KNOW ABOUT THE WORD "ACQUIESCE" BECAUSE....
by carlthormark1978
Captain Barbossa used it in the first Pirates of the Carribean movie. Sad but true :(
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First, they don't really acquiesce so much as capitulate - you fucking prig - as the former implies that that there was never any real protest. We in the states are in the business of capitulation; we have elevated it to an art form and we are just getting started.
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And I'll generalize as I like, because I'm American and that's what Americans do: Generalize!
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See, there's one thing I definitely DO NOT understand about the British- their collective worship of that jackass.
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Did you speak at the UN yesterday? I kid!
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So much of it's success depends on mood, atmosphere, and point of view (the reason for the cloning is handled subtly, and matter of fact, whereas I'm sure it will be explicit in the movie). Not sure Romanek is the best choice for this. Imagined someone like Ang Lee or Jane Campion, people who have a real history of dealing with repressed emotions and passions, but I'll check this out, nonetheless.
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Thanks for posting this. I use this book with a class I teach and it pretty much devastates the kids. I was worried about it being adapted but it sounds like it might get it right.
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It was so meandering as to be virtually plotless. And nothing that did happen seemed to matter: "I lost my tape, then Tommy drew some pictures of animals, then we went to town..." Maybe it comes together in the second half -- I'm actually inclined to resume it now, oddly. (And I skipped the bulk of this review, so it's unspoiled.) We'll see how that goes... Don't fail me, Kazuo!
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I'm going to be so upset.
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In terms of film making.
A tragedy. -
Needs help.
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Can't a caterer through her another sandwich or something?
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I don't understand how anyone can say that Keira is not attractive. What..are you saying that she's 'ugly'? Pttf
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Ah, something new.
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Hi, not saying she's ugly. Way too thin, smokes and swears like a trooper. How could i bring her home to meet the parents? LOL
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It seems the film has introduced a sense of mystery, that the kids at Hailsham do not know what their eventual fate is and are shocked to find out. In the book, however, Ishiguro took the more refreshing and interesting path of having the kids know all along and just accept it, never missing what they'd never have, and exploring what kind of people would ever be okay with that - if they're even people at all. The film could very well still be good, but the synopsis unfortunately gives off the vibe that this is Merchant Ivory's "Parts: The Clonus Horror".
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Just kick back, grab a bourbon and some "medicinal weed", and check this out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jp2VFN-w9d0
*See, I told you that you'd feel better......c ya n the re-education center....ruff ruff -
I recently read the novel "Never Let Me Go" and really loved it. I have been waiting for this film since I heard it was in production. I am a huge film geek and an Anglophile. Kiera Knightley is one of my favorite actresses and Carey Mulligan is excellent up-and-comer. I loved her in the Dr. Who episode "Blink". I will be in line for this one.
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If so, share your thoughts here or on IMDB! How as Keira's performance?
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Happy Go Lucky was one of my favorite films of 2008. I have the DVD and Sally Hawkins performance just blew me away.
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If you're reading this, could you rank the case for me in terms of best performances? Or, if you can't to do that here, join IMDB! Thanks... I'm desperate to know!
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