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Never Let Me Go is gorgeous. And depressing. It's exquisitely acted. And depressing. It's romantic, profound and superbly crafted, shot with the self-contained radiance of a snow globe. And it's depressing.
Oddly cold and detached, as if director Mark Romanek and screenwriter Alex Garland couldn't decide precisely how to interpret Kazuo Ishiguro's popular novel and so they just laid it out flat. And flat it feels.
Lovely and melancholy, poignant and chilling, Never Let Me Go is an old school sci-fi dystopia with lovely, wistful performances that never quite overcome the fatalism that hangs over the whole affair.
Never Let Me Go is strangely moving and mournful, but I wish more had been made of the beauty these people are relinquishing, if only as a counterweight to all that artful drear.
The emotional impact creeps up on the reader only gradually. Then, bam, it hits forcefully, memorably, and, yes, never lets us go.
The theme of Ishiguro's novel -- that we all construct delicate fictions to mask the dehumanization of modern life -- proves so elusive onscreen that by the last scene it has to be spelled out in a clumsy, didactic voice-over.
I came to this film knowing nothing about it, except that it was based on the highly-acclaimed novel by Kazuo Ishiguru. I had no foreknowledge of its story or premise-and I'm glad...
Melancholy and futility define this subtle future-set drama about three children who grow up knowing that they'll never own themselves or their own bodies.
Although [the] film adaptation does indeed fall short of the brilliance of the source material (and will likely distance viewers even more than the book ever did), it manages to convey the novel's most important themes, and most affecting moments.
Mark Romanek manages to make that very real(ish) world look and feel totally alien and hermetically sealed, a gray/blue/green/brown tragedy terrarium that both perfectly colorless and incredibly, inescapably sad.
It's also a film which affirms what is valuable about life. I think this film is a must-see.
Though often moving at a glacial pace, this mood piece -- aptly described as a refined romantic drama with a cerebral sci-fi twist -- rarely stays in the same place for long.
We are rewarded with many scenes of poignant beauty and touching performances in the central roles.
Director Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo) gives the slow-burning adult drama a nostalgic, almost lyrical glow where hope and acceptance override any impulse to rebel or even question.
Whilst I was intrigued by certain elements, I left the theatre with a feeling of disappointment. It was like I hadn't seen the whole story.
As a triangular love story, this doesn't really soar either, despite good performances from a hip young cast, and the end result is that a story that should have been terribly affecting, isn't.
Real men will see this and weep, as I did. It is one of the most moving and profound films in a long time.
It is a downer -- a heavy downer -- there's absolutely no denying that. I recommend it highly, but not if you're looking at something light to cheer you up.
Driven by terrific lead performances, this achingly beautiful work challenges audiences emotionally and intellectually.
While it's not exactly uplifting, this touching tale effectively tackles confronting questions for mankind with nothing but grace.
Never Let Me Go offers an awful, enduring insight into what it must be like to have your entire being dismissed as well.
Never Let Me Go is such a curiously muted viewing experience. Everything is there for a three-tissue weepie, but it never quite comes together.
It's a subtle film of nuances, played out as an emotional journey of three people in not a future setting but the reinvented recent past.
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