Maybe it
was the hour or the mood I happened to be in, but I stumbled upon “Never Let Me
Go” late last night and I could not let go.
Narrative voice can be such a strong element. When the voice is Carey Mulligan’s, how can
you help but fall in love? The eerie
beauty of this story about a future in which some live different lives than
others in the name of progress had me from the first few words.
The scene
that reveals the innocence of the young man who believes that by creating a
body of exceptional art that reveals our souls we can stave off the inevitable
is touching, tragic and archetypal on so many levels. I won’t forget it soon.
Still shots
like these three – red barns on the hillside, trees seen from below moving in
the wind, and a solitary tree at the end – complement the storyline.
This is a
strange, effective coming of age story. It
succeeds in opening our eyes at the same pace it does those of the
characters. Like any successful story it gives us the specifics
of specific lives vividly, but something happens to us while we watch that
makes us feel, despite the differences, that some part of our own story is
being told, and this keeps our attention.
Usually when
I learn from the credits that a film is based on a book, I rush to get it, but this
time I’m going to wait awhile. I can’t have
my heart broken again so soon.
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